Introduction

We have often heard about Homeopathy and Pharmacy and envisioned them as two completely diverse disciplines. It will be quite surprising to realise that these streams not only have a similar foundation but also have a separate field dedicated to their concoction. The bandwidth of Homeopathy and Pharmacy is so vast that they have overlapped and given birth to Homeopathy Pharmacy or Homeopathic Pharmacy.

Homeopathy, popularly known as “alternative medicine”, heals a disease by dispensing a substance to healthy people that perfectly mimics the actions and symptoms of the targeted disease. This theory is then practically administered to sick people to cure them of their diseases. Some even claim Homeopathy to be a pseudoscientific system based on the principle “similia similibus curentur'' or “like cures like”. These medicines are considered to be safer with fewer or no side effects.

 Pharmacy, on the other hand, is a clinical health science that has been bridging the gap between medical science and chemistry for ages. It extensively deals with drug distribution, handling, drug disposition and control. It instructs people to use drugs safely and effectively. When the doctrines of these two disciplines are applied together, it leads to the dawn of Homeopathy Pharmacy.

What is Homeopathy Pharmacy?

Since this course has not acquired much popularity, the student population is not conscious of the ideals of this course. If we keep the technical jargon aside, suffice it is to say that Homeopathy Pharmacy is the art of collecting, compounding, combining, preparing, preserving and standardizing drugs and medicines with the science of Homeopathic principle as its backbone. The dispensing, prescribing or suggesting remedies to various ailments are also based on the Homeopathic principle, usually following the trend that Homeopathy practitioners follow. “Pharmacopoeia”, originating from two Greek words “Pharmacon” meaning drug and “poieo” meaning ‘to make’, mainly comprises the theoretical part of Homeopathy Pharmacy.

Duration of Homeopathy Pharmacy:

This yet-to-be-admired course is 3 years long if we are talking about MD or PhD, 2 years long in case of diploma, 1 yearlong if it is a certificate course and 3-4 years long if it is B.Sc.

Scope of Homeopathy Pharmacy in India:

A very common query about the scope of this discipline arises in the minds of the students whenever they are asked to pursue Homeopathy Pharmacy. The appearance of this query in the minds of the students makes perfect sense because, as told earlier, this discipline is not much ventured into. Hence, students may feel anxious about the present and future scope of this stream in India as well as abroad. To address such queries, there is an encapsulation of the scope of Homeopathy Pharmacy given below-

1. Speaking statistically-

• The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India has assessed the domestic homeopathy market size to be worth a whopping amount of Rs 2,758 Crores in 2010.
• The homeopathic market is estimated to be worth Rs 26,300 Crores globally with France being the largest contributor. Even the Homeopathic market in the UK has seen inflation.

In terms of career options-

• After pursuing Homeopathy Pharmacy, graduates can work as homeopathic pharmacists, medical representatives, and drug officers,
• They can also join government jobs depending on vacancies in the government hospitals and dispensaries.
• In the private field, a Homeopathic Pharmacist can join private hospitals or work for health organizations.
• For business-minded people too, Homeopathic Pharmacy has something in store for them. Homeopathic pharmacy graduates can start their own homeopathy pharmacy store, retail or wholesale Homeopathy Pharmacy business or can work as Pharmacists in other pharmacy stores.
• For students who want to continue in academia, options like pursuing a PhD in Homeopathy Pharmacy courses or other related fields is viable. Extensive research is being conducted in medicine and its allied fields. Hence, a PhD degree will open doors to plenty of opportunities in the world of research.

Eligibility for pursuing Homeopathy Pharmacy:

1. For diploma Courses:- Merit-based admission. Candidates must have at least 50% aggregate in the 12th in the Science stream with Biology as a subject.

2. For Postgraduate Course:- Entrance-based admission. Candidates are required to clear the AIAPGET exam held by their respective states. They must have completed BHMS/BAMS with 50% aggregate from a recognised university besides having professional experience and a certificate from the Homeopathic Board.

3. For the Doctorate course:- The admission is based on written tests conducted by different institutes which are followed by a personal interview. The candidates must have completed their Postgraduate from a recognised university.

Principal Subjects Taught During The Course:

• General Concepts and Orientation
• Raw Materials- drugs ad Vehicles
• Homeopathic Pharmaceutics
• Pharmacodynamics
• Quality Control
• Legislations

Homeopathy is a broad area of study. The subjects listed above have many sub-topics which are meticulously taught by the teachers during the respective courses. The curriculum is extensive and involves in-depth course material.

Most popular job profiles after completion of the degree-

Job Profiles	Average Starting Salary Per Annum
Pharmacist	Rs 2,60,00
Retail Pharmacist	Rs 2,50,000
Drug Inspector	Rs 6,60,000
Medical Representatives	Rs 3,00,000

Top Colleges to Pursue Homeopathy Pharmacy From

College Names	Annual Fees
Dakshin Kesari Muni Mishrilalji Homeopathic Medical College, Aurangabad	Rs 75,000
Father Muller Homeopathic Medical College, Mangalore	Rs 81,700
GD Memorial Homeopathic College and Hospital, Patna	Rs 52,500
Sonajirao Kshirsagar Homeopathic Medical College, Maharashtra	Rs 1,36,500
Foster Development’s Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Aurangabad	Rs 1,12,000
Guru Mishri Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Maharashtra	Rs 80,000
Bharati Vidyapeeth Homeopathic Medical College, Pune	Rs 1,60,000
RKDF Homeopathic Medical College and Research Center, Bhopal	Rs 65,400
Vinayaka Mission’s Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Hyderabad	Rs 2,62,000
Bakson Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Greater Noida	Rs 2,00,000

Companies famous for recruiting Homeopathy Pharmacists:

Homeopathy is a very popular stream of education that continues to emerge as an opportune vocation. There is no dearth of jobs available after studying Homeopathy especially in India. Let us look at some of the renowned companies that offer jobs to Homeopathy graduates.

• Dr Raj Homoeo Pharmacy
• Haslab   Bhola
• SBL World-Class Homeopathy   
• Schwabe-India 
• RS Bhargava
• Lord’s    Allen’s Laboratories Pvt Ltd         
• Fourrts
• Healwell              
• BBP       
• Medilife

Conclusion:

Statistics state that about 100 million Indians depend solely on Homeopathic medicines for the treatment of their ailments. Homeopathic medicine has also achieved a breakthrough in the treatment of the deadliest disease, cancer. Using natural ingredients, herbal plants, minerals, etc in the preparation of the medicine renders them free from deadly side effects. Today’s educated population prefers efficient drugs with the least possible side effects. Homeopathy Pharmacy has an upper hand here. The discipline teaches the students to administer medicines that target the disease itself instead of targeting the symptoms thus giving better results. Moreover, India is a developing country with the maximum number of people barely making ends meet. In such a scenario, something as cheap yet effective as Homeopathy medicine is bound to attain favour which in turn will make Homeopathy Pharmacy an advancing and coveted discipline.