Medical council to crack whip on quacks, lodge police cases – ET HealthWorld


Hyderabad: The Telangana State Medical Council (TSMC) has issued a warning to medical practitioners to refrain from using unapproved degrees in their clinics.

The TSMC letter also warned of strict action against doctors using fake or unapproved degrees to advertise and practise. TSMC said thousands of quacks continue to operate in the state.

Dr V Rajalingam, chairman, TSMC, said they will soon begin filing police cases against the quacks.

A quack is any doctor claiming to be a specialist or a superspecialist in any branch of medicine without the specialty qualification in that branch and not registered with TSMC and yet practising is unethical and illegal.

“If an allopathic doctor prescribes Ayurvedic medicine or a homeopathic doctor writes an allopathic prescription, it falls under quackery. Also, if a doctor with required qualifications is not registered with TSMC, it amounts to practising illegally. The problem of quackery is extensive in our state, and we are working on ways to control it. This is the first step towards it,” said Dr Rajalingam.

TSMC is currently in possession of data and proofs of illegal practice against 500-550 practitioners and will be taking the legal route. It can take action (seize and file a police complaint) against allopathic doctors only and has to write to Ayush department to take disciplinary action against Ayurveda, unani and homeopathy doctors prescribing allopathic medicines.

“However, we do not have authority on rural practitioners, but we will be filing police cases,” an official said. Authorities in the National Medical Council (NMC) too said that they had no jurisdiction over RMPs or PMPs.

Doctors, however, are demanding stricter action from TSMC, saying that the job of RMPs and PMPs must be limited to following the prescription of qualified doctors, giving injections and IV fluids.

TSMC also issued guidelines for all doctors in the state, asking them to register with the council, displaying of basic medical degree as MBBS and not MD to avoid confusion among people.

  • Published On Jun 24, 2023 at 03:45 PM IST

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