Gujarat: Meeting to discuss ‘practice of Allopathy by those who have studied Ayurveda’ sparks row

On Monday, the IMA-GSB wrote to Gujarat Health Commissioner Harshad Kumar R Patel, drawing attention to what it called the “critical issue of unauthorised practice of modern medicine by non-allopathic practitioners and quacks.”

The IMA-GSB letter stated several instances of individuals providing Allopathic treatments without a medical education in modern medicine had surfaced and that “this trend posed a serious threat to the health of the people, leading to dangerous and sometimes life-threatening consequences for unsuspecting patients.”

The scheduled meeting, to be held under the aegis of Dhananjay Dwivedi, the Principal Secretary of Health, came as a result of a representation by one Kamlesh C Rajgor, who runs a private hospital in Ahmedabad.

The health department has sought attendance from Commissioner of Health, MD of National Health Mission , Additional Director of Medical Services, Additional Director of Medical Education and Research, President of the Gujarat Medical Council, President of the Gujarat Board of Ayurvedic and Unani System of Medicine (GBAU), President of the Council of Homeopathy System of Medicine, and Dr Rajgor, who runs Yogeshwar Multispeciality Hospital.

The agenda of the meeting, the letter states, is to discuss “whether those who have become doctors in the study of Ayurveda can study Allopathy if the need arises.” When contacted, Dr Rajgor declined to comment on the contents of his representation.

Dr Sanjay Prabhudas Jivrajani, the president of the GBAU, said: “The term ‘quackery’ is unfortunately extrapolated to include Homeopathy and Ayurvedic practitioners. We want to help correct this narrative. We also want to make sure that if doctors under our Board are crossing any limits, they must learn to remain within their mandate.” On IMA’s letter, Dr Jivrajani said that all systems of medicine are “three pillars of the Indian health system and must work together.”

Meanwhile, the letter from IMA-GSB stated, “Patients risk suffering severe complications, permanent disabilities, or even death due to misdiagnosis, improper treatments…Allowing this dangerous trend to persist could overwhelm healthcare facilities with preventable emergencies, and jeopardize public trust in the medical system.”

It urged the Gujarat government to develop an action plan to prevent this.

Dr Mehul Shah, President of the IMA-GSB and member of the Gujarat Medical Council (GMC), said, “The point we are stressing on is that people should practise only in those fields of medicine in which they are educated. There cannot be a bypass or shortcut in any professional practice.”

On the other hand, defending the medical practitioners in Ayurveda and Unani systems, Dr Jivrajani said, “In all 32 of our medical colleges, we have pharmacology in the syllabus. Our doctors are posted to PHCs and CHCs and in ambulances…Our practitioners are posted in the farthest villages. We have the rarest number of complaints in our council and there hasn’t been a single medico-legal case so far.”

The Indian Express attempted to reach out to Harshadkumar Patel, the Commissioner of Health, but he remained unavailable for comment.