{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.homeopathy","code":"thing-q81058","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q81058/","name":"homeopathy","alternateNames":["veterinary homeopathy","homeopathy in National Socialism","release activity","homeoprophylaxis"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.5","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.KNW"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A system of alternative medicine created by Samuel Hahnemann in the 1790s, based on the doctrine that like cures like and that remedies become stronger by repeated dilution and shaking; the 2015 assessment of Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council found no reliable evidence that it is effective for any health condition.","purpose":"Let an agent explain what homeopathy claims, what the scientific evidence shows and how it is regulated, without recommending it as treatment.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Claims that highly diluted substances act as medicines; at common dilutions no molecule of the original substance is likely to remain.","Not the same as herbal medicine, which uses measurable amounts of plant material.","Regulators in several countries allow sale under special rules without proof of efficacy."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"claims","name":"Claims","description":"What homeopathy asserts.","layers":[{"id":"principles","name":"Principles","description":"Like cures like and potentisation.","findings":[{"id":"doctrine","name":"Doctrine","description":"The principles as stated by practitioners.","questions":[{"text":"Which principle does this remedy rely on?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Who formulated it and when?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"dilution","name":"Dilution","description":"Scales and potencies.","findings":[{"id":"dilution-level","name":"Dilution level","description":"Scale and steps: C is 1:100 per step, D or X is 1:10 per step.","questions":[{"text":"What dilution is stated on the product?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Is any original substance likely to remain?","kind":"measurement"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence","name":"Evidence","description":"What research shows.","layers":[{"id":"systematic-reviews","name":"Systematic reviews","description":"Reviews and their conclusions.","findings":[{"id":"review-findings","name":"Review findings","description":"Conclusions of named reviews, such as NHMRC 2015 and the Australian Natural Therapies Review 2024.","questions":[{"text":"What did the major systematic reviews conclude?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How strong was the evidence?","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"mechanism","name":"Mechanism","description":"Plausibility.","findings":[{"id":"plausibility","name":"Plausibility","description":"Physics and chemistry of dilution.","questions":[{"text":"Is the claimed mechanism consistent with chemistry and physics?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"What has been proposed and tested?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"regulation","name":"Regulation","description":"How it is regulated.","layers":[{"id":"product-rules","name":"Product rules","description":"Registration and labelling.","findings":[{"id":"registration","name":"Registration","description":"Rules for homeopathic products.","questions":[{"text":"How are homeopathic products registered here?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"May labels claim efficacy?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"health-systems","name":"Health systems","description":"Funding and practice rules.","findings":[{"id":"public-funding","name":"Public funding","description":"Whether health systems pay for it.","questions":[{"text":"Does the public health system fund it here?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Who may practise it?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"safety","name":"Safety","description":"Risks to people and animals.","layers":[{"id":"indirect-harm","name":"Indirect harm","description":"Delayed or refused treatment.","findings":[{"id":"missed-treatment","name":"Missed treatment","description":"Cases and warnings.","questions":[{"text":"Is effective treatment being delayed?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which warnings have authorities issued?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"product-quality","name":"Product quality","description":"Contamination and labelling.","findings":[{"id":"quality-problems","name":"Quality problems","description":"Recalls and warnings.","questions":[{"text":"Have products been recalled for quality problems?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which regulator issued the warning?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["explain claims and the scientific evidence","describe regulation"],"mustNot":["recommend homeopathy as treatment for any condition","advise replacing medical treatment or vaccination with it","present it as scientifically proven"],"requiresHuman":["any treatment decision, which belongs with a qualified health professional"]},"ethics":{"considerations":["informed choice based on honest evidence","harm from delayed treatment"],"affectedParties":["patients and parents","animals treated with veterinary homeopathy"]},"owners":{"steward":"nobody; a practice, regulated where products are sold","roles":[],"masterSystems":["medicines regulators' product registers"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q188504","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"alternative medicine","type":"related","note":"a practice outside evidence-based medicine"},{"target":"herbal medicine","type":"related","note":"a different practice"},{"target":"systematic review","type":"related","note":"evidence on efficacy"},{"target":"medicines regulation","type":"related","note":"special registration rules"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.homeopathy","Wikidata: Q81058 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81058)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Labels with dilution markings such as 6C, 30C or D12","Sold as homeopathic remedies","Products are usually small sugar pills, drops or creams labelled with a substance name and a dilution such as 30C."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the principles homeopathy claims","summarise the scientific evidence and its sources","state how homeopathic products are regulated in a jurisdiction","explain dilution scales such as C and D"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Delay or refusal of effective treatment","Use instead of vaccination","Low-dilution products that contain measurable active ingredients and can cause adverse effects or interactions","Products contaminated or not as dilute as labelled"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["EU Directive 2001/83/EC, Article 14 simplified registration for qualifying homeopathic products without specific therapeutic indications","US Food and Drug Administration: no homeopathic product is FDA-approved; its 2022 guidance sets enforcement priorities","Health Canada rules on evidence for homeopathic medicines"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Claimed by practitioners to treat illness; major evidence reviews found mostly little or no benefit beyond placebo, with low-certainty positive findings for a few outcomes in the 2024 Australian evaluation.","individualised (classical) homeopathy","non-individualised products, including combination remedies","veterinary homeopathy","homeoprophylaxis"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Q81058","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81058","note":"identity of the registry item, labels and sitelinks"},{"title":"Homeopathy","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy","note":"general description of the subject"},{"title":"Homeopathy","url":"https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy","note":"principles, evidence and safety"},{"title":"Natural Therapies Review 2024 - Homeopathy evidence evaluation","url":"https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-03/natural-therapies-review-2024-homeopathy-evidence-evaluation.pdf","note":"the 2024 evidence evaluation"},{"title":"Directive 2001/83/EC","url":"https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32001L0083","note":"simplified registration in the EU"},{"title":"Homeopathic Products","url":"https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information-drug-class/homeopathic-products","note":"US status of homeopathic products"},{"title":"Evidence for homeopathic medicines","url":"https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/natural-non-prescription/legislation-guidelines/guidance-documents/evidence-homeopathic-medicines.html","note":"Canadian evidence rules"}],"openQuestions":["The registry merges a historical topic (homeopathy in National Socialism) here; should it be separate?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q81058/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q81058/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-10-21T18:55:19Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-21T19:10:54+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 6 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"A practice: physical properties belong to individual products."},"score":1.0}}