Indian doctors threaten strikes as homeopaths approved to practise medicine

Medical associations in the Indian state of Maharashtra have raised concerns over a state government order allowing homeopaths to practise allopathic medicine, including prescribing, after completing a certificate course in modern pharmacology.

On 30 June the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) published a notification1 permitting homeopathic practitioners to begin registering with the council starting 15 July.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Maharashtra has threatened a 24 hour withdrawal of services on 11 July and a mass protest march of hundreds of thousands of doctors in the state on 19 July if the order is not revoked.

“The order sets a dangerous precedent,” Santosh Kadam, president of IMA Maharashtra, told The BMJ. “After completing a one year course, held two days a week, these practitioners would be treated the same as graduates with medical degrees. This is unacceptable. They do not …