Maha Medical Council told to register CCMP-qualified homeopaths, doctors cry foul
registration
Pune: The Maharashtra Medical Education and Drugs Department has recently directed the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) to start the registration of homeopaths who have completed a one-year Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP), according to a recent report by The Times of India.
The State Government's direction comes amid the ongoing court case filed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which challenged the Government's decision to allow homoeopathic doctors to register with MMC after completing the course.
This decision has been welcomed by the Maharashtra Homeopathy Council (MHC). However, IMA has strongly objected to this direction and plants to pursue this legally.
Commenting on the matter, the president of IMA Maharashtra Chapter, Dr. Santosh Kadam, said, "We've taken note of the letter and our lawyers are reviewing it. Despite the matter being sub judice, govt has issued a fresh circular to begin registration, which we believe is not right. With the case pending at the Bombay High Court, we'll approach the court to expedite the matter."
Maharashtra Homeopathy Council, on the other hand, termed this move as a victory of truth. Speaking to the Times of India, the administrator of MHC, Bahubali Shah, said, "This is a victory of truth. An organisation tried to mislead govt so that homeopathy doctors would not be registered, but the state's Attorney General opined in our favour. Now, the registration will start soon. I appeal to all doctors in Maharashtra who have completed the course to register."
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Issuing the recent circular, the Maharashtra Medical Education and Drugs Department allowed homeopaths, who have completed the one-year course in Maharashtra, to be registered under MMC. Under the Maharashtra Medical Council Act, the amendment to ensure registration was first made in 2014.
The CCMP course was started based on the Government Resolution dated 13.03.2014. The course was conducted under the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), Nashik. After successful completion, eligible homeopathic practitioners received training in allopathic (modern) medicine to serve in public healthcare services. In 2014, the Maharashtra Medical Council issued a notice in which the council was given the authority to ask all doctors who have completed the CCMP course to register with the council.
Back in 2017, the State Medical Education and Drugs Department passed a notification and allowed Homeopaths to practice modern medicine and register with MMC. However, allopathic doctors strongly opposed this move and the matter ultimately resulted in IMA challenging the amendments in the Bombay High Court in 2014. Consequently, the HC bench stayed the notification.
While the matter was awaiting a court judgment, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) had, on June 30, officially decided to allow homeopathic practitioners who completed the CCMP course to register with the council and prescribe allopathic medicines. MMC was directed to register CCM-qualified around 10,000 to 90,000 homeopathic doctors in Maharashtra, in a separate register starting July 15. However, the decision was put on hold and the Government suspended the registration process after IMA warned to initiate a statewide strike.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that following this, the Maharashtra Medical Education and Drugs Department formed a seven-member special committee to decide whether homeopathic doctors who have completed the Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) should be allowed to register with the Maharashtra Medical Council and practice modern (allopathic) medicine.
Meanwhile, the Government sought the opinion of the State advocate general on whether MMC maintaining a separate register of homeopathic practitioners could raise any clash between allopathic and homeopathic doctors or whether it would be in contempt of the court's order of 2016 in this regard.
As per the latest media report by the Times of India, in the recent circular, the state advocate general was quoted saying, "I am in agreement with the views expressed by the law and judiciary department that there is no impediment by way of any order of the court, which prohibits maintenance of the register as per the provisions of Section 2(h) of MMC Act. However, the preparation of the said register shall be subject to the final orders of the HC in the pending proceedings and no equities can be claimed on the basis of the register having been prepared or the names having been entered in the register or for any other reason."
Recently, the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel informed the Lok Sabha that registered homoeopathic practitioners in Maharashtra have been permitted by the state government to complete the one-year Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) and provide allopathic treatment only when it is necessary and to the extent of their learning under the CCMP course.
