The HPCUS Response to Current Challenges

By William Shevin, MD, DHt, HPCUS President

After one of my patients with complex problems that defied even expert management by conventional means was dramatically helped by homeopathy, I saw a path to go beyond the management of disease to true healing.

I joined the Homeopathic Pharmacopeia Convention of the United States (HPCUS) in 1986 and have served as its president since April 2020. The legal and regulatory landscape was already changing and has continued to do so. We have all been affected.

The HPCUS has responded to these ongoing changes in two main ways: a White Paper Project and the Friends of the Pharmacopoeia program.

The White Paper Project lays out a science-based, achievable, and rational path for manufacturers to comply with appropriate Homeopathic Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). The Convention plans to finalize the current group of three papers, now out for public comment, in the third quarter of this year. The FDA’s response will of course influence our next actions. As circumstances permit, we will follow with further white papers.

In addition to expertise present within HPCUS, this project requires the assistance of highly credible, independent consultants; it is a complex and expensive project. If successful, it will make a huge and welcome difference to every manufacturer and marketer.

HPCUS also set out to fulfill two other goals. The first was to expand awareness in the larger homeopathic community of the vital role of the Convention in securing access to high-quality homeopathic medicines for both consumers and practitioners, as well as our efforts to provide attainable guidelines for the homeopathic industry.

The second was to inform the larger community of how HPCUS works to achieve that goal and to ask for the community’s support. The Friends of the Pharmacopoeia program was developed for this purpose. The Friends program offers in-depth information that is not available to the public. All consumers of homeopathic products may find this useful and might appreciate the opportunity to support our efforts. We hope for two-way communication, to create opportunities for participation, and an affordable way to mobilize support for the Convention.

Membership in the Friends program is set at $35 annually. Two generous donors have made it possible to offer this opportunity to 150 Friends who find the membership financially challenging.

For approximately the last 30 years of my medical practice, I “escrowed” $1 per patient visit and donated the accrued funds quarterly, mostly to HPCUS, but also to the National Center for Homeopathy, Homeopaths Without Borders, etc. My patients knew of this and had the option to refuse, but none did. Some increased their payment to increase their support. I hope to similarly spread the Convention’s financial support base, by reaching out to practitioners and other stakeholders.

Data from 2012 indicated that more than six million Americans used homeopathic drug products and that more than one million of those were patients of homeopathic practitioners.

Imagine 100 practitioners enrolling themselves, and successfully promoting the program to just 29 of their clients. That alone would be a very substantial contribution to support our efforts on behalf of Homeopathy. Likewise, what would be the impact if each manufacturer escrowed and donated a few pennies from the sale of each unit of homeopathic medicine, or spread the word to inquiring customers about the Friends of the Pharmacopeia program?

Please feel free to contact me at DrShevin@hpus.com if you have questions or wish to help. To learn more about the Friends program, visit hpus.com, and click on the Learn more about the Friends program button in the middle of the landing page.