Sunday, December 31, 2017

Bill proposal to allow AYUSH doctors to practice modern medicine

Bill proposal to allow AYUSH doctors to practice modern medicine; say its akin to legalising quackery

By Sumi Sukanya dutta  |  Express News Service  |   Published: 30th December 2017 07:01 PM  |  The New Indian Express 
Last Updated: 30th December 2017 07:02 PM  |   A+A-   |  


Image for representational purpose only.

New Delhi: Doctors across India are strongly opposing a provision in the National Medical Commission Bill, tabled in the parliament on Friday, that seeks to let homeopaths and practitioners of other alternative medicines practice modern medicine through a short term course.
The Bill, that is aimed to regulate medical education in the country by replacing corruption tainted Medical Council with India with a National Medical Commission, has introduced the concept of “Bridge Course” to promote medical pluralism by allowing AYUSH doctors to practice allopathy.
“The Commission shall hold meeting with Central Councils of Homeopathy and Indian Medicine that will reside on approving educational modules to develop bridges across the various systems of medicine and promote medical pluralism,” the bill says.
Most of the doctors’ bodies however are up in arms against the proposal saying it is akin to “giving legal sanction to quackery in the country”.
“This provision is totally unacceptable to us as it will lead to an army of half-baked doctors in the country,” said K K Aggarwal, president of the Indian Medical Association. ?”First of all, a doctor is registered with a council but in case of a bridged doctor there will always be ambiguity on the registration aspect. Also, if those doctors make mistakes and people pay with their lives because of those mistakes, who is going to be held accountable?,” Aggarwal said.
“We as an association feel that by pushing this provision, the government is giving sanction to quackery.” Aggarwal’s association represents over 3 lakh doctors in the country.
Satish Tyagi, secretary of Delhi Medical Association, too, said that the association will knock on every door possible to “get the contentious clause chucked out from the bill.”
“It (the provision) is every bit condemnable and when the bill talks about introducing a licentiate exit examination for even MBBS pass outs before they can start practicing, how can it allow degradation of medical education by permitting some to practice allopathy just by pursuing bridge courses?” he said. “These two points in the Bill are contradictory to each other.”
Not every medical professional however is protesting the move as some see it as an initiative to enhance doctor-patient ratio in the country.
“Even MBBS doctors are not allowed to work as specialists or super specialist and have a limit to what they can do so I see no problem if doctors from other streams are given basic training in modern medicine and are permitted to work at lower levels than MBBS to treat patients at primary levels,” said Bhaibhav Kumar, a doctor in Dhanbad.
“After all they also pursue five-year courses in other forms of medicine and study physiology and anatomy like MBBS doctors.”
A few studies done in the past have in fact have shown that registered medical practitioner or AYUSH doctors have helped provide medical care in remote areas as MBBS doctors prefer urban postings.
A study carried out by New Delhi based public health research institute, Public Health Foundation of India in 2014, for instance, had highlighted that in as many as 32 per cent of primary health centres in remote and tribal areas, it is the alternative medicine practitioners who carry out clinical care.
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Doctors flash quack alert

New Delhi: Several doctors have criticised a clause in a bill tabled in Parliament on Friday that will allow practitioners of ayurveda, unani, siddha and homoeopathy to prescribe modern medicines after undergoing a "bridge course".
The Union health ministry's National Medical Commission Bill, 2017, seeks to create a new regulatory structure for medicine to replace the Medical Council of India, which faces longstanding allegations of corruption and inaction on unethical practices by doctors.
But paragraph 49 in the bill, proposing strategies to "enhance the interface" between traditional and modern systems, recommends the bridge course for practitioners of homoeopathy and Indian systems of medicine to enable them to prescribe modern medicines.
Many doctors view this as a move by the Narendra Modi government to drive traditional systems of medicine into mainstream health care.
The bill prescribes that the proposed National Medical Commission meet the councils for Indian systems of medicine and homoeopathy "at least once a year" and approve undergraduate and postgraduate educational modules to build bridges across systems of medicine and promote "medical pluralism".
"The bill is intended to eliminate corruption in medicine, but the government is misusing this opportunity to legalise quackery," said Kankokaran Vadakkeveetil Babu, an ophthalmologist in Kannur, Kerala, who has long expressed concern about corruption in the MCI.
The Indian Medical Association, the country's largest body of modern medicine doctors, has described the bridge-course proposal as an opportunity for traditional healers to make a "backdoor entry" into modern medicine.
"We're opposed to such nonsense. On the one hand, the government wants a national licentiate exam for MBBS graduates to be able to practise medicine, on the other it wants to offer this bridge course to allow traditional practitioners to hand out modern medicines," said Tapan Biswas, president-elect for IMA Bengal.

NEET exam must for AYUSH

NEET exam must for AYUSHGraduates willing to procure a licence to practise will have to clear exit exam.NAGPUR TODAY e-newspaper
Nagpur: From upcoming academic session, it will be mandatory for those seeking admission in AYUSH’s (Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) undergraduate courses to clear the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). The main aim of NEET is to have capable in AYUSH.
The ministry of AYUSH plans to implement NEET for alternative medical systems at the undergraduate level from the academic session 2018-19. For its postgraduate courses, the ministry started admitting students through NEET from last year. In country there are nearly 750 colleges of AYUSH system but AYUSH does not have single exam like NEET. For all system of AYUSH, minimum 50 % marks have to be obtained by the candidates to be eligible for admission in under-graduate courses. AYUSH Ministry is thinking of having AYUSH students exam along with NEET exam of MBBS and for this separate arrangement be made.
According to a proposed legislation on the lines of the health ministry’s National Medical Commission Bill medical, graduates willing to procure a licence to practise Indian medicine systems, including Ayurveda, may soon have to clear an exit exam.
The creation of National Commission for Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy, is recommended. In a draft it has been stated that to regulate the AYUSH System a commission be set up, same as it being prepared for the Allopathy. This is a part of a draft bill which seeks to create a new regulator, National Commission for Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy, to replace the two statutory bodies governing higher education in homoeopathy and Indian systems of medicine.

Friday, December 29, 2017

Clear exit exam to get licence for practising Ayurveda: Draft bill

The AYUSH National Teachers Eligibility will be conducted for appointment of all teachers in AYUSH institutions, a senior official in the ministry of AYUSH said.

NEW DELHI:, DECEMBER 29, 2017 10:52 IST     PTI
Medical graduates willing to procure a licence to practise Indian medicine systems, including Ayurveda, may soon have to clear an exit exam, according to a proposed legislation on the lines of the health ministry’s National Medical Commission Bill.
This is a part of a draft bill which seeks to create a new regulator, National Commission for Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy, to replace the two statutory bodies governing higher education in homoeopathy and Indian systems of medicine.
The AYUSH Ministry, in consultation with NITI Aayog, has formulated the inclusion of integrative medicine in the proposed bill which will enable AYUSH practitioners to practise modern medicines and vice versa after undergoing a “bridge course”.
Proposed by the NITI Aayog-led panel, the draft bill known as National Commission for Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy, which seeks to replace Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) and Central Council of Homoeopathy (CCH), also calls for AYUSH National Teachers Eligibility Test to bring in quality teachers in the traditional systems of medicine.
The AYUSH National Teachers Eligibility will be conducted for appointment of all teachers in AYUSH institutions, a senior official in the ministry of AYUSH said.
A committee under the chairmanship of vice chairman, Niti Aayog, additional principal secretary to prime minister, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Niti Aayog and secretary, Ministry of Ayush as members examined the working of the existing regulatory bodies of Indian Systems of Medicine.
It recommended the creation of National Commission for Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy.
There are two statutory regulatory bodies namely--Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) and Central Council of Homoeopathy (CCH)--set up as per the provision of Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, and Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973, respectively, that regulate education and practice of AYUSH systems of medicine through its regulations.
Further, from upcoming academic session, it will be mandatory for those seeking admission in AYUSH’s undergraduate courses to clear the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).
“However, we are still exploring whether to merge the entrance exam with NEET or to have our own common entrance exam,” the official said.
For all system of AYUSH, minimum 50 % marks have to be obtained by the candidates to be eligible for admission in under-graduate courses.
The draft National Medical Commission Bill which seeks to replace the existing apex medical education regulator Medical Council of India (MCI) with a new body also calls for a licentiate exam which all medical graduates will have to clear to get practicing licences.

Draft bill proposes exit test for AYUSH graduates

IANS  |  New Delhi 

Friday, December 22, 2017

The embryo was frozen on October 14, 1992 and the baby girl was born on November 25, 2017.

The embryo was frozen on October 14, 1992 and the baby girl was born on November 25, 2017.

An American woman has given birth to a healthy baby girl from an embryo that was frozen a quarter century ago, in what hospital officials say may be a world record.
The baby, named Emma Wren Gibson, was born November 25, according to the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) in Knoxville, Tennessee, which revealed the birth announcement this week.
The embryo was conceived by another couple and frozen on October 14, 1992 and Tina Gibson, the woman who just gave birth to the baby was born in 1991. By some measures, this would make the embryo only about a year younger than her mother.
However, some experts expressed caution about proclaiming such a record. US companies are not required to report the age of the embryos, just the outcome of the pregnancies, Zaher Merhi, director of IVF research and development at New Hope Fertility Center in New York, told CNN.
The mother said she wasn't told by doctors until she was pregnant that the embryo had been frozen more than 24 years earlier. NEDC marketing director Mellinger said that Gibson and her husband selected the embryo based on a profile of genetic characteristics, but was not told how long the embryo had been frozen. The case marks the "longest-frozen embryo to successfully come to birth," said the NEDC, citing the research staff at the University of Tennessee Preston Medical Library as a source.
The previous record-holder was believed to be a baby boy frozen for 20 years, born to a New York woman in 2011.

Will Snakes Disappear From Earth? Lethal Fungal Disease Spreading Fast, Hits Europe

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Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Sceptical doctors oppose NMC bill

Sceptical doctors oppose NMC bill

TNN | Dec 18, 2017, 12:26 IST
Times of India
KOCHI: The new National Medical Commission (NMC) that abolishes Medical Council of India (MCI) will allow even Ayush (department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) graduates to get registration in modern medicine. This was stated in the internal note forwarded by Indian Medical Association (IMA) national president Dr KK Aggarwal to members across the country a few days after the Union cabinet approved the NMC Bill.
Section 15.II (b) of the MCI Act ensured that that the basic qualification to practise modern medicine is MBBS. But this clause has been removed in the new bill. Also a new

'Schedule-IV' has been added that authorises government or NMC to allow any graduate (read Ayush) they deem fit to practise modern medicine.

In other words, once this bill becomes an Act, even an ayurveda or unani practitioner can practise modern medicine. "We fear that this will lead to dilution of medical profession and encourage quacks. Rather than going ahead, we are actually going back and leaving loopholes that can be misused," said chairman of IMA national action committee Dr RV Ashokan.

The nod for the bill came after several complaints were filed against MCI and its top officials for using its sweeping powers to derecognise medical colleges and manipulating admissions to mint money. In 2005, Union health minister DrAnbumani Ramadoss tried unsuccessfully to bring in a legislation to dissolve MCI and set up another council under the control of the health ministry. The parliamentary standing committee rejected it.




Sunday, December 17, 2017

Govt nod to continue National Ayush Mission till March 2020

Govt nod to continue National Ayush Mission till March 2020

Representational Pic
The Cabinet today approved the continuation of centrally sponsored scheme of National Ayush Mission (NAM) till March 31, 2020 with an outlay of Rs 2,400 crore over the period.
The Mission was launched in September 2014 with the objectives of providing cost effective traditional Indian medicine services like Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH).
It involves upgradation of AYUSH hospitals and dispensaries, strengthening institutional capacity at the state level through upgrading such educational institutions, pharmacies, drug testing laboratories and supporting cultivation of medicinal plants by adopting good agricultural practices.
The NAM is addressing the gaps in health services by supporting the efforts of state/UT governments for providing AYUSH health services/education in the country, particularly in vulnerable and far-flung areas.
It also aims at improved availability of quality AYUSH drugs by increased number of quality pharmacies and drug testing laboratories coupled with stringent enforcement mechanism.
It is also working for increased awareness and acceptance of the Yoga and Naturopathy as promotive and preventive health-care systems. PTI
Govt nod to continue National Ayush Mission till March 2020

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Bengal Govt to set up AYUSH hospital in Paschim Medinipur

Bengal Govt to set up AYUSH hospital in Paschim Medinipur

Kolkata | Monday, Dec 11 2017 IST
webindia123
A 50-bedded integrated hospital dedicated to AYUSH (ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddha and homeopathy) medications is going to be set up by the West Bengal Government in Paschim Medinipur district. Ever since coming to power, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been laying emphasis on the building of infrastructure in AYUSH treatment methods. A separate department has been formed, headed by a minister, to accelerate various AYUSH projects. The Chief Minister had inaugurated a similar facility in Alipurduar a few months ago. The State Government's stress on AYUSH stems from two facts: They comprise some of the oldest and traditional forms of treatment across Bengal and AYUSH treatments are cost-effective, hence advantageous to the economically challenged. As a result, the AYUSH system of medication has a significant role in delivering healthcare to the masses. The government plans to make the hospital, to come up on a few acres, one of the finest AYUSH hospitals in the country. Doctors from both the state and outside the state will be invited to serve patients. In another major development, the State Government has decided to open separate units of AYUSH in the subsidiary healthcare units in all the districts of the state. AYUSH units have already been set up in the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Birbhum, Paschim Medinipur, Nadia, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas. According to a senior official of the AYUSH Department, adequate number of medical officers will be recruited in all the subsidiary health centres and adequate medicines will be made available in all the units so that poor patients can avail them free of cost. Ms Banerjee has brought a sea change in the overall health infrastructure of Bengal through various new initiatives and revamping some of the old ones, according to a party statement here today.UNI SJC KK

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Khanqah Samarqandia Rahamganj Darbhanga

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26 mn jobs by 2020 in AYUSH

AYUSH industry may create 26 mn jobs by 2020: Suresh Prabhu

PTI|
Updated: Dec 04, 2017, 12.57 PM IST


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The AYUSH industry is expected to grow in double digits and provide direct employment to 1 million people and indirect jobs to 25 million persons by 2020, Union minister Suresh Prabhu said today.
The government is eyeing a three-fold increase in the AYUSH sector by 2022.
AYUSH stands for traditional systems of medicine and healthcare such as Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha andHomoeopathy.
"The Indian domestic market of AYUSH is estimated to be Rs 500 crore, while exports amount to Rs 200 crore. Young Indian entrepreneurs planning a start-up could find a lot of opportunities in holistic healthcare," Prabhu said.
Addressing the conference on wellness, Arogya 2017, here, the commerce and industry minister said the government will be happy to work with all countries to create a good proposition wherein knowledge of traditional medicine can be transmitted to people, whereby a win-win situation can be developed.
He pointed out that the government has allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in AYUSH, and highlighted the need for stakeholders to pool in their resources to harness the sector's vast potential.
"With a wealth of 6,600 medicinal plants, India is the second largest exporter of AYUSH and herbal products in the world. We now have the opportunity to mainstream the Indian system of medicine and integrate the AYUSH infrastructure into Indian healthcare system," Prabhu said.
The secretary in the AYUSH ministry, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, said the ministry is committed to increasing the size of AYUSH sector three-fold in the next five years.