IMA Maharashtra calls strike over CCMP homoeopathy registration rule

The Indian Medical Association IMA Maharashtra with its 50000plus members will hold a oneday strike on Thursday against the state governmentrsquos fresh notification on the registration of homoeopathy practitioners who have completed the Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology CCMPEarlier this year the state government directed the Maharashtra Medical Council MMC to register homoeopaths who had completed the oneyear CCMP allowing such practitioners to prescribe modern medicine to patients in some casesThe IMA is opposing CCMPqualified homeopathsrsquo registration with the MMC saying the move is a serious threat to the safety of patientsStrike leaders claim there will be disruptions in healthcare services in Mumbai and across the state saying they have been forced to the wall through the myopic agendadriven and dangerous decisionDr Rajeev Agarwal president Association of Medical ConsultantsIn an interview Dr Rajeev Agarwal president of the Association of Medical Consultants AMC which has 16000 specialists and super specialists as its members decodes the strike AMC Mumbai has offered unconditional support to IMA MaharashtraExcerpts from the interviewThe IMA has called for a strike on Thursday What kind of strike is thisThis is a oneday strike and we plan a shutdown of all medical services including emergency services across private hospitals in the city and the state At least services in small and mediumsized hospitals will be closed and so will Outpatient Departments ODPs Since the government claims infrastructure is adequate those experiencing an emergency or needing urgent care will be referred to the nearest government hospitals This is a fight for our existence and for patient safetyWhat has sparked a call for this actionWe have no problem with homoeopathy or any other lsquopathyrsquo Yet there is a problem when they are pushed together with allopathic medicine which the government is trying to do here Homoeopathy is patientcentric and patientspecific This means that if patients A and B both have fevers they may get different medicines This is what I mean by patientspecific In allopathic medicine we treat the disease and the symptom So they cannot come under this lsquopathyrsquo The specific teaching of the subject is totally different An MBBS student studies for at least 55 years while homoeopathy students attend class once a week for one year for the CCMP course We also know that some homoeopaths have been prescribing allopathic medicines which is illegal We did demonstrate some opposition to this earlier but never took to the streetsThe government claims there is a shortage of doctors in the rural areasAllopathy doctors have to do one year of rural service after completing their studies The truth is that there is no infrastructure to admit so many doctors There are no vacancies for doctors in rural places Doctors who have finished their studies are on the waiting list to complete this mandatory rural posting The basic agenda is a backdoor entry of homoeopathic practitioners into the allopathic field In fact the government is considering scrapping the oneyear compulsory MO Medical Officer ship for MBBS studentsWhat other problems do you anticipate with this lsquomixopathyrsquo as it has been termedThere will be legal problems How can a doctor belong to two councils The Maharashtra Medical Council and the Homoeopathic Council In case of any accusation of negligence each council will pass the buck Besides the National Medical Commission the overarching body has a very clear definition of allopathic doctors by that definition they do not fit in How will a patient know who is a homoeopathy doc and who is an allopath By this yardstick even nurses and pharmacists know some medicine Should they too be allowed to practise as allopathic doctors We will see hatred for doctors in the future if this is allowed A lot of medicolegal cases will come up and most importantly it will be the patients who will sufferWhat support have you got for the strikeThis matter is sub judice so what is the hurry of registering them The matter is in the high court If we do not see any results of this strike we will need to escalate the matter with a march to Azad Maidan an andolan we will see about the final decision We have been getting a lot of support from NGOs GPA and from medical teachers students and parents of allopathic students and several associations We want the public to support us too by becoming aware of the problem speaking out and raising questions and concerns on forums available to them like social media for instance50000No of doctors expected to join the agitation