Why is it dangerous for AYUSH practitioners to prescribe modern medicine?

On October 25th, 2017, a pair of quacks running a hospital were held on charges of medical negligence after a woman died in their facility. Later, on November 15th, 2017, a 16 year old girl died following an injection administered by alleged quack in HD Kote Taluka in Karnataka. As of now, this practice of quackery, where non-medically trained practitioners, practicing modern medicine- is illegitimate and a punishable offence. However, with the introduction of the National Medical Commission Bill (NMC, 2017), practitioners from Homeopathy and Indian medical systems such as Ayurveda, Siddha, Yoga and Unani (AYUSH practitioners) could gain such legitimacy via new policies proposed through the NMC. 2017 NMC bill has a provision for a bridge course to enable AYUSH practitioners to practise modern allopathic medicine in a limited way specifically in rural areas, where there are reduced number of medical practitioners. This article explores how this provision in the 2017 NMC bill not only puts a large majority of rural India at health risk but also provides an opportunity to AYUSH practitioners to become a modern medicine practitioner using a ‘short cut’.

AltNews studied the NMC, 2017 bill to access the implications of the clause 49 that actualised a crossover between modern medicine practices and practices such as homeopathy and Ayurveda conducted by an “AYUSH Practitioner”.

The clause 49 provides for joint sittings of the Commission, Central Councils of Homeopathy and Indian Medicine to enhance interface between their respective systems of medicine. Such meeting shall be held at least once a year. The joint sitting may reside on approving educational modules to develop bridges across the various systems of medicine and promote medical pluralism. – NMC, 2017

In particular clause 49 (4) suggests …a joint sitting… to decide on approving specific bridge course that may be introduced for the practitioners of Homeopathy and of Indian systems of Medicine to enable them to prescribe such modern medicines at such level as may be prescribed.

Under the National Rural Health Commission (NRHM), AYUSH practitioners provide services for essential family planning counselling, post-partum, paediatric and obstetric services such as Skilled Birth Attendants (SBA).

However, if clause 49 of the NMC bill were to be ratified by the Parliament, such “AYUSH Practitioners” will be able to prescribe modern medicine of the allopathic category by studying a short bridging course following their homeopathy or an Indian medical degree. Despite the fact that the specific details of this bridge course haven’t been provided in the current bill, discussion on the development of such a course have been on the table since 2007 as per a press release by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and; later, envisaged in a 2015 meeting convened by the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India.

National Senior Vice President IMA Dr Rajendra Airan, raised concerns over this bill that is seeking to replace MCI (Medical Council of India) with a new body to ostensibly benefit the medical profession. While Dr Airan suggests it is making way for diminished state regulation of private medical colleges, decreased representation of all 29 states and of universities and medical education in the NMC, allowing foreign graduates to practice in India without sufficient screening tests while introducing a licentiate exam for domestic medical graduates, reduced democracy in NMC memberships with the inclusion of bureaucrats and non-medical government administrators as non-elected members.

More importantly, as an immediate health concern, Dr. Airan also considered crosspathy as a problematic clause in the bill.

Alt News spoke with a number of modern medical doctors in India, specialising in the areas most responsible for mortality and serious illnesses such as endocrinology, cardiovascular diseases and infectious ailments to get their opinions on the provision of crosspathy.