Efficacy of Group Study in Studying Materia medica

OVERVIEW : -

• Group is "A number of similar drugs or remedies taken or considered together related in some definite way".
• Group analysis is a "language of the remedies is a particular group".
• This is a good substitute for clinical homœopathic prescription.

HISTORY : -

• Dr. James Tyler Kent was the first to coin this concept.
• Dr. E. A. Farrington made an attempt to study the remedies by classifying them in various groups in his classical book 'Clinical Materia Medica'.
• This work was further continued by stalwarts like Dr. M. L. Dhawale, Dr. Rajan Shankaran etc.

UTILITIES : -

• One sided diseases pose a problem in selecting the most similimum. Group analysis helps in such cases.
• In cases of mental diseases, where mind & behaviour are mainly affected - group analysis helps to reach correct medicine.
• It helps to know the rationality & practicality of medicines.
• Group study creates awareness in the homœopathic fraternity regarding materia medica & its utility.

OBJECTIVES : -

• To simplify the cumbersome data of materia medica.
• To reach to the constitutional medicine in general.
• To develop the scientific relationships & correlation of radicals & data of materia medica.
• To derive unknown facts of remedy & to apply them in practice.
• To formulate some concepts & verify them through experimentation.
• To incorporate the work by researchers & verify them in clinical practice.
• To derive conceptual data out of the logical thinking & to make a portrait of remedy in absence of drug proving.
• To extra-polate remedy relationship of a particular group of the remedy.

ADVANTAGES : -

• It can be elaborated & lead to a great height in exploring new dimensions in study & understanding materia medica.
• Many drugs' 'CORE' can be studied simultaneously & can save time for individual study.
• It has helped to evolve a new dimension to grasp psycho-somatic concept of disease.

LIMITATIONS : -

• Study of materia medica invariably requires process of generalization. In group study we have to neglect or sacrifice individual attributes.
• It requires analytical skills of higher degree - which is absent in neophytes.
• We should not rely fully on group study as its contents exclude the individual features of the remedy.

CONCLUSION : -

• It is tool or 'wise' instrument of study materia medica.
• It is not the only way of prescribing.
• For good result we must be an expert in this aspect.
• We must be able to differentiate the cases.
• We should know the utilities and limitations of group study.