MTaI Flags MMC Move Letting Homoeopaths Use Modern Medicines

The Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI) has strong objections to a recent notification issued by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) that allows homoeopathy practitioners to administer allopathic drugs after attending a six-month course in pharmacology.

Pavan Choudary, Director General and MTaI Chairman, warned that though the transition is to increase access to healthcare, it will undermine the quality and safety of medical treatment.

"Homoeopathy and allopathy have different philosophies and modes of training," stated Choudary. "A six-month Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP), as educative as it is, cannot stand comparison with the generalist, long-term medical training that allopathic physicians receive."

He insisted that allopathic training goes way beyond the field of pharmacology to include wide clinical exposure, diagnostic patterns, and skill in surgery. "The great responsibility involved in becoming a medical doctor demands severe and intense training," he stated further.

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MTaI cautioned that such measures would weaken the efforts of MBBS professionals and open up loopholes which would be exploited, particularly in the rural and Tier 2/3 under-served areas, leading to misdiagnoses and poor patient safety.

A few days back, allopathic doctors in Maharashtra have threatened to go on strike on July 11 over the state's plan to allow homeopathic practitioners to register with the Maharashtra Medical Council 

"If the vision is an enhanced role for homoeopathic doctors in mainstream medicine, then the course of homoeopathy itself has to be reformed—not reduced," said Choudary.

He stated that in a nation where public faith and medical tourism depend on the quality of service, policy choices must be thoroughly weighed against the risk of having detrimental longer-term effects on India's healthcare sector.