Homoeopathy is a natural therapy where an active ingredient is diluted again and again until there is very little of the original substance left. It originated in Germany in the 1700s, and is widely used in Britain and some parts of Europe, with a growing following in Australia.

British MP and United Kingdom science and technology committee member, Phil Willis, says homeopathic products are not medicines and should no longer be licensed by the British National Health Service (NHS).

"This is a fundamental point of principle as to whether we are actually hoodwinking individual patients, and they are being given a treatment that the NHS knows does not work," he said. And the report says the "existing scientific literature shows no good evidence of the efficacy of homeopathy and further clinical trials are not justified". But the Australian Homeopathy Association's Michelle Hookham says the committee was biased and only considered one kind of scientific evidence.

"They also disregarded a lot of the studies that have been done where homeopathy came out very well, including studies of thousands of people in hospitals," she said.

"They were looking at randomised clinical trials and that is not a good way to measure homeopathy, as it is individualised medicine." In Australia, homeopathy is not covered on Medicare, but most health funds reimburse their members for visits to registered homoeopathic practitioners.

"That shows you have met the government-endorsed competency standards and that you have indemnity and first aid and all those other requirements," Ms Hookham said.
The health insurance industry says it will continue to fund homeopathy and it is up to individual funds to decide what treatments they subsidise.
Source : http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/23/2828304.htm