CLI.FI.COL. Clinical Files Collection

HE & HI Homoeopathia Europea & Internationalis in collaboration with all the homeopathic physicians from Mexico and South America ECH European Committee for Homoeopathy UHB Unio Homeopathica Belgica LMHI Liga Medicorum Homeopathica Internationalis Bruxelles 1 November 2008 Dear colleagues and friends, after many years of work, thanks to the international co-operation of the above-mentioned organisations, finally there is a program (software) that allows to exchange our clinical experiences in Homeopathy on the international level. It is the Program Cli-Fi-Col for “Clinical Files Collections”. It is important to collect our clinical cases in a central site in order to improve our daily practice in Homeopathy. The programme allows to search for special cases treated by our colleagues and to send the most relevant cases by ourselves. You can also use this instrument as a tool for studying Homeopathy in the practice, to collect systematically the clinical cases that allow the clinical verification of the pathogenetic symptoms and consequently the improvement of our basic tools (the Repertory and Materia Medica), and for specific projects. You are all invited to participate in sharing our knowledge. You will be impressed favourably by the simplicity of its use, both on the individual level and as a regional or national association. By means of a very moderate contribution in money (100 euros a year), you will become one of the hinges in the improvement of the future homeopathic practice. Today this revolution is possible thanks to the computer science and Internet. Therefore, please read carefully the information contained in the file here enclosed. In all friendship Michel Van Wasshenoven Jacques Imberecths Why a homeopathic clinical files database By integrating comprehensive and right medical documentation from a scientific point of view, the homeopathic clinical files database CLI.FI.COL. (Clinical Files Collection) § provides the international homeopathic community the benefit of sharing the experience of homeopathic Medical Doctors from all over the world; § allows the homeopathic Medical Doctor of having at its disposal, for personal study or even to be released by the subscriber in support of his/her teaching activities, case histories recorded with the explanation of the methodological process that has conducted to the remedy prescription; § permits homeopathic schools to work together with due respect of their methodological diversities; § offers to the homeopathic Medical Doctors the prospect of discovering the differences and similarities between their different methodological approaches of treating related clinical cases; § provides relevant evidence-based clinical information for developing the homeopathic research field; § verifies and updates the homeopathic Medical Doctor’s operative tools: Materia Medica, Repertory and Philosophy; § supports the homeopathic Medical Doctors in organizing the clinical research to shed light upon aspects of the paradigm not satisfactorily discussed yet; § allows the single homeopathic Medical Doctors the use of updated and detailed clinical data, recorded in an easy-to-use format; § organizes the clinical data in a format that makes homeopathy a more reliable field of knowledge facing the conventional medicine point of view and the governments that intend to make homeopathy an official practice. Benefits The main benefits can be summarized in these points: a. clinical verification of the efficacy of homeopathic remedies. b. construction of a “Materia medica clinica viva” constantly updated and enriched with contemporary medical and “linguistic” terms c. enrichment and verification of repertorial symptoms through the proposals of new repertorial levels d. connection between repetorial symptoms and the “language of the patient” e. comparison between the “clinical” symptomatology and the “experimental” symptomatology (proving). That will allow to overcome the distinction between classical and clinical homeopathy. An arbitrary division that only benefits our opposers. Tools & functions § Centralized Database A powerful centralized database management solution designed to store millions of clinical cases. These cases shall be sent nameless directly to the database through the software client, the WinCHIP clinical file. § The software client: the WinCHIP clinical file (from 3.1.02 version) The Medical Doctor, once has recorded the case, can send it to the database, instantly, just by clicking the mouse. After any follow-up, each case shall be updated. § Internet Accessing to the database through the WinCHIP software client Internet-based service, you can perform the following functions: sending and downloading clinical cases. § Cryptographic writing The case histories will be transmitted nameless recorded, using cryptographic writing, directly from the MD surgery to the central database via any available Internet connection. Common cultural heritage Notwithstanding that the hardware & software structures have been economically supported by single associations, CLI.FI.COL recognizes the homeopathic medical doctors community as owner of every clinical case history nameless recorded in the database. An ethical and scientific affairs commission has been appointed to keep watch on the database management with the mission of assuring that this cultural heritage shall remain a common legacy of the homeopathic community. All physicians and institutions are kindly invited to cooperate with this project opened to the contribution from all the different methodological approaches prevailing in homeopathy. How does CLI.FI.COL work? v How to search case histories All the searches that can be carried out in the personal WinCHIP files can be also carried out with the “search in CLI.FI.COL. function”. The advantage of CLI.FI.COL. database is that you can easily reach the experience gained by quite different homeopathic MD that use various methodologies. By setting off the basic information at the search box and clicking the radio-button “search in CLI.FI.COL.”, you can search case histories of your interest. There are two SEARCH METHODS in CLI.FI.COL., one based on a set of criteria and the other one that allows the homeopathic Medical Doctor to calculate some rates. Ø Searches based on a set of criteria This method of searching permits the homeopathic Medical Doctor to search case histories information solved according to different methods of prescription. For instance, you can search all phosphorus cases prescription regarding the depressive pathology from the point of view of § the classical clinical methodology on Repertory basis (MSMV) § the Argentinean Homeopathic School § Masi’s methodological approach § Ortega’s miasmatic methodology § Josep Reves’s prescription method § Sankaran’s approach § Jan Scholten’s method It also provides access to the Materia Medica of the remedy prescription using one of the above specified methodologies or using criteria like age, potency, etc. While carrying out a search based on criteria, a pointing-out and gathering text elements function allows words searching. The searches can be carried out either by selecting words on the anamnesis and can be made finer by associating other elements to the search, e. g. carrying a search out related to Pulsatilla patients with a determinate pathology. You can even make finer the search by, for instance, carrying out a search on Pulsatilla patients files affected of a determinate pathology and in which the word “mother” has been recorded in the patient’s anamnesis text. Once you have identified the case history you are interested in, you can download the entire case history files in a PDF format. Ø Searches to calculate rates For statistics purpose you can compute the rate of the most significant clinical data of the homeopathic practice. Indeed, you can calculate the frequency of § age connected to some pathologies or to some remedy prescription; § diagnosis during the first examination § diagnosis related to pathologies § pathology and city of residence § kind of check-up (acute, relapses, chronic) § symptoms on the Repertory basis § most prescribed remedies related to a specific pathologic or clinical situation. v The aspects that can be connected within each one of the two searching methods (search based on a set of criteria and on the use of text words and search aimed to calculate rates) can be various. This gives the chance to the homeopathic MD of carrying out researches to collect and analyse facts and information and to try to gain new understanding on the basis of the personal needs; e.g. relating facts regarding vaccination, type of vaccine, dosage, reaction to the administration of a particular remedy, patient age, etc. v How to download case histories files Once you have identified the case history you are interested in, by using the search function based on a set of criteria, you can download the entire case history files in a PDF format just by clicking the icon. To carry a search out in the CLI.FI.COL database you have to set off the basic information at the search box. Then you have to click the radio-button “search in CLI.FI.COL.” Data visualized in-video-format can be exported in different types of formats and prints. The downloaded case histories can be utilized by the CLI.FI.COL. subscriber as support in his/her teaching activities and for personal study purpose but by no means published. For other ways of diffusion, a formal authorization is request. The CLI.FI.COL. subscriber can ask for authorization to the CLI.FI.COL. scientific committee by e-mailing at clificol@hehi.org v How to send a case history file Prior to transmitting a case history to the database, the MD has to get signed the CLI.FI.COL privacy policy consent statement on the patient part. For transmitting children’s personal data, it is necessary to get signed the CLI.FI.COL privacy policy consent statement on the parents part. When the study case concerns pets, it is necessary to get signed the CLI.FI.COL privacy policy consent statement on the owner part. The CLI.FI.COL privacy policy consent statement form is provided in electronic format in the act of buying the WinCHIP software. To transmit a case history to the CLI.FI.COL database, you have to click the icon in the WinCHIP Toolbar and the following window will open: On this window are present the following pieces of information: - Information about previous uploading At this window field, you can verify whether a previous file, regarding the patient you are interested in, has been previously transmitted to the CLI.FI.COL database or not. If the patient file has been already delivered to the CLI.FI.COL database, the related last date in which it has been updated and sent will appear; - Case study definition: compulsory information to transmit a case study to the CLI.FI.COL database At this window part appear the compulsory fields to be filled-in, previous to sending a case study file to the CLI.FI.COL database. At least one of these fields shall be filled-in compulsorily: - Case study file sent for statistics purpose: at this field you shall identify the kind of statistics which the case belongs to (e.g. “general statistics”). At the present this function is not available. - A case study regarding homeopathic philosophy: at this field you shall identify the prevalent study case feature, e.g. chronic disease case related to relapse. - A case study regarding Materia Medica: at this field you shall classify the prevalent study case feature, e.g. arsenicum album case history. - A case study regarding symptoms, syndromes or pathologies: at this field you shall indicate the pathology, e.g. Psoriasis case study. - Research monitoring case: at this field you shall indicate the clinical research you are motoring, e.g. Asthma monitoring, YX procedure. At the present this function is not available. - Compulsory fields to be filled in: - Classification the case study as human or veterinarian: at this field you shall identify whether the file regards a human or a veterinarian case. - Texts language: at this field you shall announce the language in which texts files are written, e.g. Italian. - Pick list language: at this field you shall indicates the Pick List language, e.g. Italian - Optional Clinical Observations At this window field you can enter optional remarks you want to add in order to enrich the case by clicking the icon - Clinical Observations. In case you were working on a case history previously recorded, by clicking the iconyou open the Clinical Observations window so that you can add directly other data to make richer the follow-up case study you have already recorded. Promoters - Supporters – Cultural heritage ownership The international homeopathic community has widely considered as extremely necessary the building of a clinical files database, towards which direct and integrate the experience of homeopathic Medical Doctors from all over the world. Today, using the information technologies these case histories recorded in a database would be easily reached for consultation, with the possibility of downloading entire case histories for personal study or even to be released by the subscriber in support of his/her teaching activities. The CLI.FI.COL project, started to be planned as an aspiration of the Homeopathia Europea & Internationalis Groups in the 1970’s, is now operating and permitting homeopathic schools to work together with due respect of their methodological diversities. The CLI.FI.COL (Clinical Files Collection) has been developed with the Homeopathia Europea & Internationalis and the h.m.s. (health medicine services) involvement and with the national and international groups’ contribution. It has been created by homeopathic Medical Doctors that want to share, in electronic real time, data and case studies from reliable sources all over the world. Notwithstanding that the hardware & software structures have been economically supported by the below listed associations, it is necessary to underlining that CLI.FI.COL. recognizes the homeopathic community as owners of every clinical case history recorded. For this reason CLI.FI.COL. has created a Scientific Committee to manage this legacy and ensure this right to any homeopathic reality existent. All physicians and institutions are invited to cooperate with this project opened to the contribution from all the different methodological approaches prevailing in homeopathy. The files collection anticipate the collaboration of the Argentinean, Austrian, Belgian, Brazilian, French, German, Indian, Italian, Mexican and the Spanish Homeopathic Schools. An ethical and scientific affairs commission is appointed to keep watch on the database management with the mission of assuring that this cultural heritage shall remain a common legacy of the homeopathic community. How to participate to the CLI.FI.COL. project 1. Work with a computer with Windows or Mac operative system with an Internet connection A) Windows: Windows 2000, XP or Vista B) Mac: you have to install a Parallel desktop or a VMWare - Parallel desktop: http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/?ClickID=al5lstvzylyns9nn05sz5pploat0s5wo5rll - VMWare: http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/ 2. Install WinCHIP as software Client The access to CLI.FI.COL. database is available through the WinCHIP program, a desktop software, from release 3.1.XX Professional. Through WinCHIP program, the user can either upload (send) data or download (receive) data. 3. Make a subscription to CLI.FI.COL. project To set up a subscription to CLI.FI.COL. database services, send an e-mail to clificol@hehi.org The utilisation of CLI.FI.COL on-line services involves a subscription fee of 100 € to mantaine annual database costs. The user has two possibilities: A) If you already work with WinCHIP you will receive a free update to the last 3.1.03 version as soon as you make the subscription In this case, the subscription costs 100 € and, if you make it before the 31 of March 2009, will last until the end of 2010 B) If you have never used WinCHIP you can buy it by sending an a mail to clificol@hehi.org In this way, you can buy WinCHIP and make a subscription to CLI.FI.COL. . With this “formula” you will have 50% discount on WinCHIP and on the subscription (the final ammount for WinCHIP and the subcription will be € 300) This option, if made before the 31 of March 2009, will make your subscripiton last until the end of 2010. Send an e-mail before the 31/03/2009 to: clificol@hehi.org (copy and paste in your mail these information and text; information with “*” are compulsory) writing: Dear CLI.FI.COL. Coordination Office, - I would like to make a subscription to the CLI.FI.COL project (as option A) starting from the signed data, until the end of 2010 (total cost € 100) - I would like to BUY WinCHIP program and to make a subscription to the CLI.FI.COL project (as option B) starting from the signed data, until the end of 2010, with the promotional price of 300 € (delete the option that you don’t choose) I declare that the information above mentioned are true. In the same way, I declare that my interesting cases will be uploaded to CLI.FI.COL. with the necessary approaches of accuracy and that I (the author) am the only responsible of the case. Likewise, I declare to use the CLI.FI.COL information for my personal studies or for teaching. I will never use these information for lucrative works and I will never publish them or part of them in any form without the authorization of the CLI.FI.COL. Ethical Scientist Committee. I will transfer the amount request (taxes at my expense) to this Bank: - DEXIA-Jette-Belgica Avenue Carton de Wiart, 6 B-1090 Bruxelles Account Number : 068-2029761-63 IBAN : BE40 0682 0297 6163 BIC : GKC CB EBB writing as motivation: “CLIFICOL subscription” I add my personal information: * Name/First Name: * Address: (Street, Town, Zip Code) State, Country: * Phone or Fax: * Mail: Homeopathic School or Association: I will wait some working days to receive by mail the access to CLI.FI.COL. Signature: Date: