Paris (AFP)
Behind the debate on the derogation of homeopathy is the question of her teaching: opponents of this controversial discipline demand that she no longer be admitted to the university, a perspective that worries her supporters.
The body that represents the general practitioners teaching in fac claimed Friday the "suppression" university degrees of homeopathy: it conveys "gross aberrations at the antipodes of the scientific approach," accused the CNGE (National College of General Practitioners teachers).
The abolition of these diplomas is also a request of the Fakemed Collective. It is this group of health professionals who revived the debate on the derogation of homeopathy by publishing a vehement forum in March 2018.
This debate should soon find its epilogue. The High Health Authority (HAS) ruled on June 28 that homeopathy should no longer be refunded, for lack of scientific evidence of its effectiveness. The government must now decide, without obligation to follow this advice.
In their fight to keep the reimbursement, pro-homeopathy also insist on the issue of education.
"It is important that homeopathy is prescribed by doctors and that its teaching continues to be delivered in an academic setting," said mid-June Charles Bentz, President of the Syndicate of Homeopaths (SNMHF), during the presentation of a "white paper" of homeopathy.
Published by the manufacturers laboratories (the French Boiron and Lehning and the Swiss Weleda) and homeopathic organizations, this document recommends to integrate into the training of doctors, including general practitioners, "a teaching module on complementary medicines, including homeopathy ".
Currently, this teaching is only optional and is the subject of university degrees (DU), sometimes issued jointly by several facs (interuniversity diplomas, or IUDs).
"Half of the faculties of medicine (about thirty in all, ed) still offers university degrees of homeopathy, as well as some faculties of pharmacy," says the CNGE.
Some, however, have given up. Last September, the college of Lille had suspended his pending the opinion of the HAS, and that of Angers had deleted it altogether.
Since then, Lille decided to definitively abandon this two-year training. "There was no reason" to continue teaching "a treatment that is not effective," says AFP dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Didier Gosset.
- Lack of attractiveness? -
For its part, the University François-Rabelais of Tours decided to close the first year of homeopathic IUD, she told AFP. On the other hand, the second one is still maintained to "allow the students to finish their course". Tours offered this IUD jointly with Poitiers.
In Bordeaux, homeopathy is no longer taught since 2009. Reason: "none of the teachers who gave the courses, in front of medical students or doctors settled, was an academic," says AFP. Jean-Luc Pellegrin, one of the leaders of the university.
Conversely, other universities do not intend to abolish their degree in homeopathy, at least for the moment.
Lyon 1, which offers an IUD in partnership with Brest and Reims, does not envisage its closure "without an official request from the conference of the deans or the ministry".
"Care with homeopathy is a reality in France, so it is up to the university to be able to accompany training that would otherwise be done outside without any control," says the college Lyon.
The University of Strasbourg had already announced that it did not intend to end its DU.
Paris 13, it, "expects a consultation between all the deans of medicine for a possible joint decision making".
In September, representatives of the medical and pharmacy deans decided that homeopathy should continue to be taught at the university.
This also raises the question of the attractiveness of these diplomas.
Before its closure, Lille attracted "very few" students, "7 or 8" per year, according to Didier Gosset: "It no longer attracted the crowds, and that's normal.The new outgoing doctors have learned to to reason about evidence-based medicine ".
? 2019 AFP