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Dear Readers,
The word 'ethics', derived from Old French 'ethiques' and Greek 'ethika', refers to a system of moral principles governing
the appropriate conduct for a person or group. Medical ethics is the discipline of evaluating the merits, risks, and social
concerns of activities in the field of medicine. Every major medical organization in the world supports a set of 'ethical
practices' or a 'code of conduct' which regulate the physicians associated with a particular organization. In general most
of these codes lay down certain set of standards for professional conduct by the physicians, keeping in mind the best interests
of the patients.
Like the conventional medicine organizations, many homeopathic organizations have also set some code of conduct and ethical
practices for their members. While the basis remains the same, there is a lot of difference in these codes. The reason for
this is the lack of uniform regulation and laws which regulate homeopathic practice in various countries. While in some countries
like India, homeopathy is well recognized and there are definite laws governing its practice, in most western countries, there
are no separate laws which deal with homeopathy. The education structure also varies from country to country. In some places
you need to be a conventional medical doctor to practice homeopathy and in others you don't need any qualification at all. The
difference is huge and uniform standards of practice are difficult to achieve as long as there is such disparity in the state
and the status of homeopathy in different countries.
Still, the question of what is right homeopathic practice and what is wrong, is hotly debated. Within homeopathy, there
are many factions - single remedy prescribers, multiple remedy prescribres, combination prescribers, people who prescribe
solely on mentals or pathology and many others. Each faction calls its method right and there has never been any consensus
on 'what is homeopathy'. In the recent years the situation has only worsened with more homeopaths coming up with more
'schools of thought' and more divisiveness within community - not just on principles but also on gurus that people follow!
Another problem is that there is no single homeopathic body with international presence which can lay down some universal
set of standards which can work as reference for national level organizations. We at Hpathy realize this state and the
need for some uniformity in our conduct, irrespective of the national boundries. Therefore we have dedicated this whole
issue of Homeopathy 4 Everyone to the questions of ethics in homeopathy practice. We have started a whole new
section at Hpathy where we have collected the codes layed down by various homeopathic organizations. The next step will
be to initiate a discussion within our community to set some global standards of moral conduct and agreed-on practices
in our community. This is a very serious issue and I hope that the Hpathy community will participate actively in this
effort. Once you have gone through all the ethical codes that we are publishing in this issue, send us your opinion
and ideas for creating a universal code of conduct and ethics at editor@hpathy.com
Vote in our current poll and share your opinion.
Do you think that there should be a set of universal 'code of ethics' for homeopathic practitioners that are applicable
in all countries?-
- Click here to cast your vote & Share your views.
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