At last, homecoming for homoeopathy...

 

 

Thanks to wide media coverage, alternative medicine is now becoming one of the most sought after treatment for tens of thousands of people living across the globe. After yoga, it is the 3500-year-old homoeopathy medicine that is becoming popular in India.

At present, there are around 400,000 registered homoeopathy doctors in India, who serve in 2,860 hospitals, which amounts to a total of 45,720 beds. In addition to that, there are around 22,100 dispensaries across the length and the breadth of the country.

The rise in the demand and particularly the trust in this medication should be credited to the success rate of treatment. It basically treats the core reason of the problem and not just the symptoms of the problem. Homoeopathy treatment is also easily accessible online to over 10 million patients across the country and in 95 countries across the globe.

According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the Indian homoeopathy market is expected to touch Rs 26 billion ($650 million) by 2010. Currently, the market size is just Rs 12.5 billion but is growing at roughly 30% annually. This growth rate is much higher than that of the pharma market which is just 13%. In a country like India, where most of medical expenses are paid out-of-pocket by the patient's family, around 40% people are pushed below the poverty line every year due unable to cope with rising costs. Under the circumstances, homoeopathy comes to their rescue as the cost is low compared to allopathy treatment. Besides providing effective treatment for chronic ailments, homoeopathy is also easily available and accessible. In 2006-07, patients who undertook homoeopathy treatment were estimated at 4-5 crore, and are predicted to touch the 10 crore figure by 2010. According to a survey, currently 24% people choose homoeopathy as their first option.

Professional homoeopathy clinics like Dr Batra and Dr Baksons, and the likes are not just providing people with best possible medication, but also are spreading awareness about this treatment. Both, the market growth in terms of revenue and people's acceptability clearly show a bright future for this system of medicine. What is needed to further escalate its popularity is more clinics.