The high profile National Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (NCMH), co-chaired by the Union Finance and Health ministers, has called for setting up of an independent regulatory system to assess and monitor the quality aspects of traditional systems of medicines like Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH). The commission called for an amendment to the Indian Medical Council Act to recognise doctors in traditional medicines.

The recently finalised report of the commission wanted to constitute an independent regulation to assess and monitor quality aspects of AYUSH practice and to amend the act that defines a medical practitioner in the Indian Medical Council Act to the MBBS degree holders, disqualifying the 5 lakh degree holders of AYUSH systems registered under the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 and Central Council of Homeopathy Act of 1972 of the Government of India. Suitable changes in the IMC Act will help in expanded use of this resource it has felt.

A coordinated programme of participatory clinical research should be launched by the ICMR, CSIR to validate the best practices in traditional systems of health care. Likewise, a coordinated approach to the documentation of ecosystem specific remedies, of traditional foods and related knowledge, epidemiological studies on the linkages between traditional food practices and health status of selected communities, etc. needs to be put into motion quickly, stated the report.

The commission also felt the need for functional collaboration of ISM with modern medicine. "To begin with in a few places, pilot projects with the integrated model will be implemented. Based on this experience, the model can be upscaled to cover all the PHC's. To steer the development of integrative medicine, a central directorate of integrative medicine may be instituted," suggested the commission.

The commission also called for the development of Chinese model HIV / AIDS treatment protocols by integrating modern and traditional systems of medicine. It wanted the formulation of an integrated national approach for the management of HIV/AIDS similar to the model in China and undertaking a systematic research on specific aspects related to HIV and the role of ISM.

The promotion of ISM herbal gardens under the Gram Aushadhi Udyan Cooperative farms and Gram Aushadhi Nirman programmes in at least 10,000 villages; identification, assessment, enhancement and utilisation of the skill of village healers, establishment of a coordinating body for a single window approach to undertake clinical trials under all systems of medicine etc were some of the suggestion made by the commission.

The members of the commission included secretary, Finance; secretary, Planning Commission; secretary, Health & Family Welfare; secretary, AYUSH director general of Health Services; chief economic adviser, Ministry of Finance and representatives of World Health Organistion, World Bank, NGOs, etc.