Attitudes To and Uptake of Repertory Software in Homeopathy Clinical Practice-Results of an International Survey.

Abstract

Despite the substantial size of the maturing complementary medicine (CM) industry, the technologies used by practitioners have received little research attention. In the clinical delivery of homeopathy services, repertory software can be employed to cross-reference client symptoms with numerous databases, making the process of seeking a clinical intervention quicker and more accurate. The purpose of the study is to learn about the quantitative patterns of usage, uptake and attitudes to repertory software amongst professional homeopaths. An online cross-sectional survey of 15 questions was completed by practicing professional homeopaths between August 2016 and May 2017, using non-probability snowball sampling. Questions gathered demographic information, reflections and attitudes on the use of electronic repertories in clinical homeopathy practice. In total, 59% of respondents reported using software regularly in practice and 71% found that it adds clear value in their work. Sixty-eight percent of respondents learned about repertory software during homeopathy training, and 47% were introduced to software when they began clinical practice. Lack of sufficient training is a very important barrier to the use of repertory software, indicating that more robust and accessible software training is needed for practitioners. Many respondents agreed with a statement that repertory software represents good value for money and yet 46% agreed that it is cost prohibitive for most practitioners, signaling a challenge for software companies. Few respondents reported regularly using more than three of the most common repertory features. This preliminary study presents some potentially significant uptake, usage and attitude markers that stand to shed light on the practice of homeopathy and the place of emerging technologies such as repertory software. Ultimately, more research is needed to help identify and address the challenges, risks and tensions around integration of practice-enhancing technologies in CM educational and clinical settings to best serve the diverse and changing needs of practitioners.