Quackery Crackdown: Telangana doctors urge Govt to implement colour-coded display boards for private medical establishments

Hyderabad: To weed out quacks and fake medical practitioners in Telangana, doctors have urged the government to follow and implement colour code display boards for private medical establishments which the Karnataka government announced a few days ago.

According to the new guidelines issued by the Karnataka government, now all private medical establishments (PMEs) registered under the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (KPME) Act must prominently display a colour-coded board containing their name, registration number, and the name of the owner or manager. The colour displayed on the board will indicate the type of medicine practised and the range of services offered at the facility.

PMEs following the allopathic medical system must fix a board with a sky blue background colour, while those offering Ayurveda must have a light green board. The board must be 7 feet wide and 3 feet tall minimum, with all the information printed on it in black.

Also read: Action Against Quackery: NMC Sets Up 6-Member Committee To Draft Procedural Guidelines

Hence, Telangana doctors have stressed the importance of implementing these measures as it will help people identify certified medical practitioners as unqualified medical practitioners or quacks pose a great risk to society and its people. Further, it will also help the inspection committees in their fight against fraudulent practitioners and will provide opportunities for recent MBBS graduates to pursue a career in medicine.

Speaking to TNIE, Dr Srinivas Gundagani, Vicechairman of Telangana Medical Council, "Such a move is essential to curb quackery in the state. We are discussing similar colour codes and will be giving a representation to the government soon”.

“This is all the more essential in rural settings where people are easily deceived by fake doctors who put patients at grave risk. Colour codes will help patients identify the qualified doctors,” he added.

Dr Pratibha Lakshmi, associate professor at Gandhi Medical College and a member of the Telangana Medical Council told the Daily, “As of now there are approximately 50,000 quacks in the state and as many as 15,000 in Hyderabad itself. If the government implements such a colour code system, controlling quackery will be easier.

Moreover, we will have thousands of medical graduates from government medical colleges in the state, who will also get an opportunity of employment, if we shut down the fake doctors.”

The circular issued by the Karnataka health department mentioned, "Every private medical establishment registered under the KPME Act must conspicuously display (a)the name of the owners/managers, (b)the KPME registration certificate (c) the system of medicine practised and services available, in a prominent place/s within their hospital premises for public information pursuant to rule 5 of the KPME Act."

"It has been observed that some private medical establishments fail to display their KPME certificate or the system of medicine they practice prominently. Furthermore, it has been noted that some unauthorized establishments are engaging in the practice of unavowed systems of medicine such as traditional systems, vamshaparamparika, home remedies, cupping therapy, electromagnetic therapy. body massage, Hypnotherapy and sound therapy. These systems are not classified as medical treatments under section 2(1) of the KPME Act," it reads.

"Therefore, all District Health and Family Welfare Officers are instructed to direct all private medical establishments to install a separate board in front of their establishment. The board must meet the minimum dimensions, information, and background color stipulated in the annexure to make it useful for patients and the public to easily identify the system of medicine being practiced in the private establishments. Reference is drawn to the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment (KPME) Rule 5(1): conditions of registration:

(1) The registration granted under these rules to every private medical establishment shall be subject to the following conditions: -

(xiv) Comply with such other directives issued by the Government or the District Registering Authority

Furthermore, in the event that any private medical establishment fails to comply with the aforementioned instruction, the DH&FWOs are directed to initiate statutory action against such establishment in accordance with section 19(5) of the KPME Amendment Act 2017.

All the Authorized officers (Taluk Health Officers and Inspection Officers of Bengaluru Urban) of KPME are directed to submit a compliance report to District Health and Family Welfare officers. Additionally, DH&FWOs are instructed to submit the consolidated statistical compliance report on the installation of board by private medical establishments to this Commissionerate by email (dd2medical@gmail.com) by 31" july 2024 without fail."

The KPME registration number must be 120 cm wide and 20 cm tall, while the name of the establishment should be at least 180 cm wide and 20 cm tall and the name of the owner should be 120 cm wide and 15 cm tall. All of these details must be according to the KMPE registration certificate.

Also read- Crackdown On Quacks: Illegal Clinics Busted In Telangana