Demonstrate Evidence Based Prescription Through The Use Of Repertory As A Reflection Of Unprejudiced Observer

Evidence based practice is “ the conscientious , explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual patient. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence on systematic research”.
Few areas of medical practice have felt the effects of this movement more clearly than prescribing. Until recently doctors could prescribe medicines without worrying that their choices must be judged against evidence accumulated in the world’s literature. Now , prescribers are increasingly expected to back up their decisions with evidence.
In homoeopathic prescription, such practice based on evidence is possible with the use of repertory.
Repertory is a place where the information is stored or categorized so that it can be retrieved more easily.
A homoeopathic repertory is an index of symptoms with a listing of all the remedies known to be associated with each particular symptom. The word repertory comes from a latin word repertus which means “to find”.
The main purpose the repertory is to help you find the right remedy for a given case. It is a tool. It helps us to individualize a case to find the right remedy for the right person.
The repertories are primarily based on symptoms based on symptoms obtained from provings .
Another method in which remedies and symptoms are added to the repertory is through cured cases. For example when homoeopaths consistently see a symptom cured by a particular remedy, this may be added to the repertory.
The other way of adding the remedies to the repertory is based on accidental poisonings. For example , one of the ways that the remedy HELODERMA SUSPECTUM (Venom from the lizard Gila Monster) is from the bites of animals on humans and the associated symptoms that develop after the bite. These symptoms are then recorded into the repertory.
GRADING OF SYMPTOMS IN REPERTORY
When a proving is completed, the symptoms of that particular remedy are added to the repertory on a graded basis.
• Symptoms that are very strong , clear and common are added as threes(3),usually designated by dark and bold type;
• Symptoms less common and only moderately clear and strong are added as twos (2), Usually designated by italics or plain type with underlining;
• Symptoms that are infrequent and weaker in intensity are added as ones(1), usually designated by plain type.
Hence repertory can be be used as a evidence to select a proper medicine amongst the similar remedies based on the grading of symptoms. It helps a physician to come out of his preconcieved ideas and application of favourite remedies and instead through repertory select exact similimum against their choices.
Reference
Textbook of Repertory by Dr Shashikanth Tiwari