'Know Your Doctor': Maharashtra Medical Council to launch app to combat fraudulent practitioners

Mumbai: In a significant step to combat the growing menace of quacks in the state, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) is developing a new mobile application known as “Know Your Doctor,” for patients to become aware if they are receiving treatment from any unqualified medical practitioner.

The council members alleged that the app will empower patients by giving them easy access to crucial information about their medical practitioners in Maharashtra. They claimed that the app will help patients verify the credentials of any registered medical practitioners in the state.

The initiative has been taken given the ongoing emerging reports regarding fake doctors practising medicine for an extended period and deceiving patients with improper treatments which had detrimental effects on the health of some individuals.

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It has been asserted that the council will use the app to acknowledge registered practitioners and provide guidance to patients to prevent them from seeking treatment from unregistered or unqualified individuals.

Speaking to HT, Dr Vinky Rughwani, the newly appointed administrator of MMC said, “There have been several news reports on bogus doctors, and it is a major challenge. The app will help patients verify if the doctor they are visiting is qualified, their degrees, and their MMC registration number.”

“It will be a unique app in the country, and no council has attempted this before. With the widespread use of smartphones, even in rural areas, we aim to empower patients with information on their doctors. We are in the process of streamlining the standard operating procedure for registered doctors,” he added.

Furthermore, Dr Rughwani stressed the council's commitment to not only accelerating the development of the application but also giving priority to addressing 692 unresolved complaints, including cases of medical negligence.

“Most of the cases are of medical negligence. We have decided to get help from medical experts from the respective fields. For example, if the complaint is related to gynaecology, we will take the gynaecologist’s help to review the complaint and hearing. We plan to hold a hearing every week to finish the backlog,” he added.

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