Pune: The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) will on Sept 17 begin official registration of homeopathic doctors who have completed the one-year certificate course in modern pharmacology (CCMP). It will soon also come out with a standard operating procedure (SOP) on the extent of allopathic practice that will be permitted for CCMP homeopaths. However, opposing this move, especially when the matter is sub judice, the Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) Maharashtra chapter has planned a statewide strike on Sept 18.Dr Rughwani Vinki Mohanlal, administrator, MMC, clarified that the CCMP homeopaths would not be equivalent to MBBS doctors. “After I went through the CCMP syllabus I realised that many things were taught, but most things are missing compared to an MBBS course. We have put out a notification on the registration of CCMP homeopaths and will formulate an SOP. The amendments in the Acts (the Maharashtra Homoeopathic Practitioners’ Act and the Maharashtra Medical Council Act) say homeopaths can practise what they are taught under CCMP,” he said.When asked how govt will ensure that the CCMP doctors adhere to the SOP, Rughwani said just like allopathic doctors have a medical negligence committee that looks into ethical matters, the homeopathic council will also have a similar panel. “If a patient feels that a homeopathic doctor is not abiding by their practice, they can raise a complaint.”IMA, the largest organisation of allopathic doctors, has raised concerns over the mechanism to keep a check on whether the CCMP doctors will adhere to the riders. IMA Maharashtra chapter’s president Dr Santosh Kadam said they do not understand why state govt is rushing with registering homeopathic doctors under MMC when the matter is pending in Bombay high court.“We submitted a fresh application to the court on Thursday requesting it to take up our petition filed in 2014, which questioned the amendments allowing CCMP homeopaths to be registered under MMC, for an urgent hearing. Until now, the court stated that since the registration had not begun this was not an urgent matter,” Kadam said.He said they are coordinating with all the district IMA chapters and will hold a one-day strike on Sept 18. “We have more than 1.5 lakh members — allopathic doctors — who will participate in the strike.”The CCMP syllabus includes chapters on pharmacology, side effects of drugs, dosage, emergency treatment, infectious diseases, and primary health care, and so the CCMP doctors can only prescribe allopathic medicines related to these. Balkrishna Gaikwad, vice-president, Maharashtra Council of Homeopathy, said the CCMP syllabus was prepared by MBBS doctors, and the certificates were issued by Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik. “The basic difference between CCMP doctors and MBBS doctors is that our homeopathy course has all the subjects that are part of MBBS, but pharmacology, which was later introduced in CCMP. This makes us eligible to provide the primary line of treatment using allopathy and treat emergencies using allopathic medicines. We can also do normal deliveries. We will not be allowed to do any surgeries or even perform medical termination of pregnancy, either through medicines or procedurally,” he said.Gaikwad further said the lack of MMC registration means homeopaths are not recruited for govt jobs. “Maharashtra has the highest number of homeopaths who can be used in slums and rural areas where we do not have allopathic doctors. Although no state in the country has allowed homeopaths to practise allopathy, there are some states wherein govt has permitted dedicated homeopathic OPDs in govt hospitals,” he added.
