Karnataka government‘s health and family welfare department has now formed a committee to look into the demands by Ayush doctors to be allowed to prescribe allopathy medicines. The committee headed by M Madan Gopal, principal secretary, Karnataka department of health and family welfare has submitted its proposal for an 18 month integrated short-term course in modern medicine speciality specifically on Emergency Medicine subject to the extent of syllabus and training with effective monitoring mechanism to the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS).

The committee constituted by the government of Karnataka has representatives including Medical Education secretary, director of the State directorate of Ayush, president, Karnataka Medical Association (KMA), representatives from the boards of homoeopathy and unani besides the members from RGHUS.

The RGUHS has developed the contents for the 18 month course on modern medicine speciality specifically on Emergency Medicine following the proposal put forth by the committee.“We have now proposed for this course to the panel of experts from RGUHS who will seek concurrence from Medical Council of India (MCI) to implement the same,” principal secretary Gopal told Pharmabiz in an interaction.

The course will give the Bachelor of Ayurveda Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) graduates a comprehensive preparation in practical training of emergency medicine. It is a question of principle to ensure that this  curriculum and guidance are devised with proper mechanisms, he added.

Currently, the five and half year BAMS course including internship gives the candidate scientific knowledge in accordance with ayurvedic fundamentals. The committee feels that this short-term 18 month course will give the BAMS graduates an insight of modern medical science.

The principal secretary health,denying reports that the state government was considering to permit Ayurveda doctors prescribe allopathy medicines during a medical emergency, said that if the consent was given it would only have a disastrous consequence on the patient.

Each system of medicine be it Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Unani and Siddha is based on certain fundamentals of established knowledge and practices of that particular stream of medicine. There would be medical, legal, technical, administrative and ethical issues when permission is granted for cross-prescription and practices, he said. If Ayush doctors start prescribing allopathy medicines in an emergency, it would lead to an increase in the number of medico legal cases during  fatality or disability arising out of such situations.

“Now what we forget is the importance of a patient’s life. Therefore this decision to permit Ayurveda doctors to prescribe allopathy drugs will destroy the existing systems of medicine and is negative for India. This is an unscientific and meaningless proposal pressed upon by the ayush doctors which will result in irreparable damage,” principal health secretary said. The  18 month emergency medicine course for BAMS graduates will provide a  vital exposure of modern medicine to these candidates, he added.