Better Preventive and Curative Health Care

[chanana.ak@nic.in]

How to standardize and align the quality of AYUSH/ indigenous medicine practice in the country to address public health priorities?

[anandaraman.velu@gmail.com]

The western medicine (Allopathy) has gained popularity because of (1) structured research and development (2) proper dissemination of information through journals, periodicals, publications (3) transparency by publishing information on results including failures

Our indigenous practices (for e.g. Ayurvedic) need
(a) more R&D investment to make it more structured
(b) create forums and infrastrucuture for dissemination of information
(c) collection of data and publication of results through case studies and clinical-results

Our indigenous practitioners, should embrace the test equipments used in allopathy, such as slit lamp viewer for the eyes, X-rays for the bones etc. It is not that they don't use it, but that has to be part and parcel of the diagnosis procedures.

Many a times the holistic approach would cure the diseases better. Indigenous medicines can be used for curing the causes, and allopathic medicines can be used for giving immediate relief. We need to educate both the practitioners and patients on this, after sufficient trials.

We need to expand the demand for holistic treatments. e.g. Physiotherapy has become now-a-days a commonly acceptable treatment for elderly and others, which was not that common about a decade ago. Similarly holistic treatments can be made common through policies such as incentivising holistic medicine practices in private as well as govt. hospitals.

New medical colleges for Unani, Ayurveda, Siddha and other indigenous medicinal practices can be opened. Alternately the existing medical colleges can be expanded to have the common first year (anatomy etc) and subsequent year onwards can be specific to the respective indigenous practices/subjects.

[sss@sdlindia.com]

• AYUSH sciences are our heritage. They should be nurtured and encouraged. AYUSH should be main streamed in National Health programs.
• Developing standards and monographs for AYUSH input materials should be speeded up under Pharmacopoeia Commission.
• Availability of quality input materials should be ensured by cultivation of rare and endangered species, establishing post-harvest, post-collection handling facilities, farmers’ cooperative mandies for marketing of medicinal plants, providing restricted (under Wild Life protection Act, CITES, FOREST Acts etc) medicinal plants to AYUSH industry through Forest Department.
• AYUH industry should be provided incentive and soft loan to upgrade their manufacturing and quality control facilities and for adopting technology.
• Establish/strengthen certification mechanism for organic cultivation and sustainable wild collection.
• Centers for excellence in research in AYUSH should be established, where research in validation of AYUSH products and therapies, fundamental principles of AYUSH sciences, validation of folk lore, epidemiological research should be undertaken. These centers should be given separate subjects topics for research so that duplication is avoided.
• Database of all post graduate thesis and dissertations should be prepared.
• Centers of excellence in UG/PG education of AYUSH should be established.
• Short term Refresher course for AYUSH practitioners in modern medicine, public health etc and for modern practitioners in AYUSH sciences should be established.
• Treatment protocols for priority diseases should be formulated to the extent feasible. AYUSH practitioners should be provided incentive to enroll as specialty health care providers of such treatment.
• There should be significant incentive for practicing in rural areas.
• Database on AYUSH clinics should be established.