Table 3.
Practice and prescription pattern of the homoeopathic practitioners in the management of DM.
| Variable | Response options | n (%) |
|---|---|---|
| When does diabetic patients mostly consults for treatment | Diabetes already under medication (allopathic or other AYUSH treatment) | 474 (92.4) |
| Diabetes not under any medication | 39 (7.6) | |
| Diabetic patients approaches for mainly | Treatment of their diabetes | 24 (4.7) |
| Treatment of their diabetes related complaints | 69 (13.5) | |
| Both | 420 (81.9) | |
| Type of allopathic medicine mostly taken by diabetic patients | Oral hypoglycemic drugs | 288 (56.1) |
| Insulin | 4 (0.8) | |
| Both | 213 (41.5) | |
| None | 8 (1.6) | |
| Type of homoeopathic prescription usually prefer to treat diabetic patients | Classical homoeopathic prescriptiona | 201 (39.2) |
| More than one homoeopathic medicineb | 120 (23.4) | |
| Complex homoeopathic prescriptionc | 192 (37.4) | |
| Average no of homoeopathic drugs prescribed at one consultation to diabetic patients | One | 153 (29.8) |
| Two | 234 (45.6) | |
| Three | 104 (20.3) | |
| Four | 10 (1.9) | |
| More than Four | 12 (2.3) | |
| Preferred potency scale for homoeopathic polychrest remedies in DM | Mother tincture | 18 (3.5) |
| Decimal scale | 33 (6.4) | |
| Centesimal scale | 262 (51.1) | |
| LM scale | 71 (13.8) | |
| Combination of all | 129 (25.1) | |
| Preferred potency scale for homoeopathic organospecific remedies in DM | Mother tincture | 212 (41.3) |
| Decimal scale | 70 (13.6) | |
| Centesimal scale | 98 (19.1) | |
| LM scale | 23 (4.5) | |
| Combination of all | 110 (21.4) | |
| Most common investigation advised for monitoring blood glucose level in DM | Fasting blood glucose | 18 (3.5) |
| HbA1C (Glycated haemoglobin) | 37 (7.2) | |
| Postprandial blood glucose | 5 (1.0) | |
| Random blood glucose | 10 (1.9) | |
| More than one investigation | 443 (86.4) | |
| Outcome measure prefer most to assess effectiveness of homoeopathic treatment | Blood sugar profile | 103 (20.1) |
| Patient reported outcome | 30 (5.8) | |
| Quality of life (well-being) | 35 (6.8) | |
| Combination of above | 345 (67.3) | |
| Advice lifestyle modification along with homoeopathic treatment to diabetic patients | Always | 446 (86.9) |
| Most of the time | 59 (11.5) | |
| Few of the time | 5 (1.0) | |
| Rarely | 2 (0.4) | |
| Never | 1 (0.2) | |
| Do patients suffering from DM follow lifestyle modification advised | Always | 111 (21.6) |
| Most of the time | 262 (51.1) | |
| Few of the time | 124 (24.2) | |
| Rarely | 13 (2.5) | |
| Never | 3 (0.6) | |
| Do you consult or follow STG on DM published by CCRH, New Delhi | Yes | 190 (37.0) |
| No | 78 (15.2) | |
| I am not aware of such guidelines | 245 (47.8) | |
| Guidelines followed in clinical practice for treating DM | Guidelines by Indian Diabetes Associations | 15 (2.9) |
| Guidelines by International Diabetes Associations | 12 (2.3) | |
| Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of India guidelines | 24 (4.7) | |
| Practice of Medicine textbooks | 217 (42.3) | |
| WHO guidelines | 25 (4.9) | |
| More than one | 137 (26.7) | |
| I do not follow any guidelines on DM | 83 (16.2) |
N = Number; % = Percentage; DM: Diabetes Mellitus; AYUSH: Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy.
Specific remedy, biochemic medicine or patented formulations; LM: 50 millesimal scale; STG: Standard Treatment Guidelines; CCRH: Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy; WHO: World health organization.
Bold Font: It indicates the highest frequencies.
a
Single medicine.
b
More than one potentized medicine as per indication.
c
Any combination of medicine among individualized medicine, mother tincture.