The rise, fall and re-emergence of homeopathy

By the end of the 19th century, there were about 110 homeopathic hospitals, 150 free clinics and more than 1000 homeopathic pharmacies. There were 22 full time homeopathic medical schools and 15,000 homeopathic physicians, who comprised 12-20% of all physicians. At that time, allopathic doctors were bloodletting patients and dosing them with mercury and sulphur. Medical treatments have changed, but they are still invasive, cause side-effects and harm.

In 1847, the American Medial Association (AMA) was formed by medical physicians, to counter organize homeopathic medicine. Homeopathy was more popular at the time because of its success.

The 1910 Flexner Report was submitted to the U.S. congress. This report evaluated the quality of all U.S. medical schools. This report strongly criticized the clinical instruction and facilities of the homeopathic schools based on evaluation criteria developed by the bias of the AMA.

The 22 homeopathic colleges of 1900 had become seven by 1918. These all ceased homeopathic instruction in the following decades, the last school to go being the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia in the 1930s. Homeopathic hospitals were phased out in the 1930s. Homeopathy didn’t re-emerge until the 1990s like many other alternative modalities.