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Homeopathy
Homeopathy market to Touch Rs 52,000 crore by 2017
Findings say homeopathy is the second largest system of
medicine in the world
According to WHO, homeopathy is the second largest system of medicine in the
world and is experiencing an annual growth of around 20-25 per cent. It is estimated
that by 2017, the world homeopathy market would be equivalent to the current
alternative healthcare market, which is Rs 52,000 crore.
The research was conducted to gauge the potential of the industry through
market study and a patient behaviour analysis. It also highlighted the contribution
of Dr Batra's Positive Health Clinics towards homeopathy. For the research,
AC Nielsen conducted 650 interviews across seven cities among a mix of people
with certain specific characteristics. About 222 interviewees were regular allopathy
users, 215 non-Dr Batra's homeopathy users and 213 Dr Batra's homeopathy users
between November 2006 and April 2007.
According to the research, 51 per cent of the people suffering from chronic
ailments try home remedies and 30 per cent prefer to leave it unattended. Around
26 per cent of the people resort to medical intervention, of which 47 per cent
people visit their family doctor or a GP (general practitioner), 18 per cent
resort to conventional treatments and 34 per cent visit a homeopath if their
ailment is chronic. Commenting on this, Dr Mukesh Batra, Chairman and Managing
Director, Dr Batra's Positive Health Clinics Pvt Ltd, said, "Approximately
81 per cent of people suffering from chronic ailments either self medicate or
do nothing at all. This is a disturbing trend throughout the country. Homeopathy
is often approached as a last resort when all other treatments have failed.
Due to this, the duration of the treatment increases since the ailment reaches
an advanced stage. In fact, 52 per cent people in Mumbai believe that homeopathy
is safe."
The research threw light on the friction between conventional medicine and
homeopathy. It highlighted that while people opt for conventional medicine because
it enjoys top-of-mind recall (59 per cent) and has immediate results (56 per
cent), they choose homeopathy because it is safe (53 per cent) or is recommended
by friends and relatives (50 per cent). Also, 20 per cent of the population
who had never tried allopathy would opt for it because it provides quick relief,
and solutions for all problems. An important aspect to be considered is that
while 62 per cent of the current homeopathy users have never tried allopathy,
82 per cent of homoeopathy users would not switch to conventional treatments.
If a person enrolls for homeopathy in the early stages of his problem, it is
less likely he would want to switch to conventional treatments.
EH News Bureau
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