A Right to Prescribe Battle in Maharashtra

It was 12 years ago that the Maharashtra government first came out with a policy that permitted homeopathy practitioners to prescribe modern medicines. It wasn’t a blanket allowance. They would have to complete a one-year course. Plus, it would only be restricted to basic ailments. A decision that far back has today led to a strike that has shut down OPDs of hospitals in the state.

Homeopathy, numerous studies have shown, has almost nothing to back it for medical effectiveness. Its medicines are little more than sugar pills. And yet, even with this acknowledgement, there was a logic to why the state first came out with the policy. And that is a pressing shortage of doctors in rural areas. Homeopathic education did after all run five years and teach anatomy and ancillary subjects that accompany the study of medicine. And if homeopaths were present in areas where doctors were absent, then the government's rationale was that no harm could come from using them. They had to study for a year and couldn’t prescribe anything for serious issues. Versions of this already exist in other states with Ayurveda. There is also a provision for nurses to prescribe medicines after getting a certification. Extending it to homeopaths in the state seemed in keeping with the risk-reward equation.

Doctors have been outraged ever since the policy was instituted in 2014. The argument was: what was the point of modern medicine if quackery was going to infringe on it? There is also the fear of their own occupational opportunities coming under threat. They toiled at MBBS for five years. Enormous energy and fees are spent in becoming a doctor and it takes years even after getting the degree for a good livelihood to follow. Homeopaths were being given a shortcut into their domain.

But the policy wasn't implemented and went into cold storage until the state government again took it up last year. It insisted that the Maharashtra Medical Council start registering homeopaths who had cleared the course. Since then both homeopaths and doctors have taken to the streets. Recently the first homeopath got her registration but she can’t prescribe yet because guidelines are not ready. Doctors are clear that they won't allow it, and hence the strike.

A danger from this move is it gives homeopathy legitimacy as a scientific branch of medicine. Even if those practitioners are limited in what they can prescribe, the public might apportion the same degree of trust to them that modern medicine creates. On the other hand, the shortage of doctors is a real issue in remote regions but then these certificates are also for homeopaths practising even in cities where there is no shortage. On August 6, the Bombay High Court took suo motu notice of the strike and asked it to be called off. Even if it happens, it will still only be a temporary bandage to a festering issue.