Won’t support strike by ‘quacks’: IMA

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has opposed the strike planned by around one lakh homoeopathy, ayurveda and unani doctors in the state on Tuesday demanding rights to prescribe allopathy medicines. It said it had written to the Chief Minister and the state Health Minister to take action against such 'quacks' who prescribe allopathic medicines without holding the requisite degrees.

"Homoeopathy and ayurveda doctors prescribe allopathy medicines to unsuspecting patients though they do not study pharmacology in their curriculum. Many of them use the medicines in sub-clinical dosages and prescribe unnecessarily high dosages of antibiotics," said IMA state secretary Dr Jayesh Lele. In 1996, the Bombay High Court had ruled that doctors registered with the Maharashtra Council of Homoeopathy can practise only homoeopathy and not enter any other stream of medicine. The judgment came after a Mumbai resident died following administration of allopathic drugs by a homoepathic doctor. "Prescribing wrong dosages of drugs can prove fatal. Other possible hazards include drug resistance, psychotic disorders, cardiac and renal diseases. Merely attending a crash course of a few months does not qualify a doctor to practice allopathy," Lele said.

Maharashtra Coucil of Homoeopathy president Dr Bahubali Shah said,

"No doctor registered with the Maharashtra Council of Homoeopathy can be termed a 'bogus' doctor. We appeal to the state government to make the necessary amendment so that we can also serve the needy patients."

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