Even as the country is witnessing heated debate over the proposed ‘bridge course’ to allow Ayush doctors to practice allopathy to boost rural healthcare in the country, a team of doctors from both the systems has urged the government to constitute one National Commission for Integrative Medicine (NCIM) in place of the present proposals for National Medical Commission (NMC) for allopathy and National Commission for Indian Systems of Medicine (NCISM) for Ayush.

The medical graduates who approached the government are from the Center for Integrative Medicine and Research (CIMR) at Manipal Academy of Higher Education in Karnataka. They want a permanent solution to the crucial issue faced by the rural areas and an end to the turf-war between allopathy doctors and Ayush practitioners.

Dr. Arul Amuthan, the team leader of CIMR, while interacting with Pharmabiz, said “for the success of the program of bridge course and rural healthcare, the government should constitute one NCIM in place of the present proposals for NMC for allopathy and NCISM for Ayush. The government must drop the ideas of NMC and NCISM, but should go with the concept of NCIM under which all the systems can be incorporated. All systems of healing can be put under this blanket”.

Post graduates in medical sciences doing research work at CIMR are the professionals who have recommended for integrative approach. They are having the background of allopathy and Ayush systems. According to them, only integrative approach to healthcare management is suitable to a country like India. It has more than 125 crore of people with varied culture and living conditions inhabiting in different climatic zones. No system of treatment, whether it is allopathic or Ayush or homeopathy, can fulfill the total health needs of the whole population. Correspondingly, no doctor can study all the systems in order to provide a holistic approach of disease management. So, considering the diversity of the country and the necessity of rural healthcare needs, all healthcare managers should develop this perspective for an integrative system of treatment, they wanted.

Regarding training of Ayush doctors in allopathy, they said the union health ministry’s plan to hold bridge course for Ayush practitioners should be converted as a curriculum to those who can go with both the systems. The syllabus of MBBS should comprise some essential papers of any of the streams of the Ayush, and such people should promote integrative approach to healthcare management. Candidates for the course must include from allopathy and Ayush streams. It should not be made mandatory for all modern or Ayush doctors, but only for those who can work in rural areas.

Explaining the necessity of rural healthcare, Dr. Amuthan, who is specialized in pharmacology, said, “Integrative approach is not tying-up two systems or methods of treatment. We are focusing a holistic approach while managing the disease. There are so many medicines in the traditional systems to cure many diseases, especially for infectious diseases. In the case of rural areas, not as many diseases are there as in cities or metropolis. Generally malaria, typhoid, filariasis and TB are the common disease conditions found in rural areas. To address these diseases, there is no need of modern doctors. The Ayush doctors can be trained in treating such diseases and they can be posted in villages. If urgent requirement of modern doctors emerges, in such a situation the patient can be referred to some big hospitals in the nearby towns or cities. Only those who are interested to work in rural areas must be trained in both systems, whether they are graduates in modern medicine or traditional medicines. It is the duty of the government to protect the health of the people”.

To a question he said, so many allopathy practitioners prescribe ayurveda medicines for various diseases, but they won’t document it in book. The doctors admit that so many traditional drugs have the efficacy to cure many diseases. They also want to learn traditional system of treatment as they should know which drug should be administered for each disease.