Experts at a debate titled ‘Public Health? Immediate Need for Action Against Quackery’ conducted by the Indian Medical Association-Telangana on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: Siddharth Kumar Singh
Despite the common belief that quackery thrives in rural areas due to a lack of qualified doctors, 75% of fake doctors in Telangana operate in urban centres like Hyderabad, where top government and private hospitals exist. This contradiction was highlighted by experts at a debate titled ‘Public Health? Immediate Need for Action Against Quackery’ conducted by the Indian Medical Association (IMA)-Telangana on Sunday.
IMA Telangana president Dwarkanath Reddy stated that quackery has existed for decades, with individuals practising medicine without proper qualifications under the guise of Rural Medical Practitioners (RMPs) and Private Medical Practitioners (PMPs). A writ petition filed in the Telangana High Court led to an order stating that only registered doctors can practice medicine, further underscoring that certification programmes for RMPs and PMPs should not be allowed.
Despite the World Health Organisation’s (WHO)-recommended ratio of one doctor per 1,000 people, Telangana fares better with a doctor-to-population ratio of 1:800, said chairman of IMA Telangana’s Anti-Quackery unit, Ashok Reddy.
The issue of RMP and PMP certifications has been contentious. In 2009, under then-chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, a Government Order (GO) was issued to provide a structured syllabus and first-aid training for RMPs and PMPs. However, after Rao’s passing, the certification process was halted. Govinda Reddy, a urologist and member of Jana Vigyana Vedika (JVV), suggested reviving community paramedic training to properly equip non-MBBS healthcare workers for limited roles, rather than allowing them to practice medicine.
Ramesh of JVV noted that while 10,000 MBBS doctors, 5,000 specialists and 3,0000 super-specialists graduate in Telangana each year, some districts like Nalgonda and Gadwal still lack MBBS doctors in government health centres. Even within Hyderabad, doctors are not reaching urban slums, said G. Srinivas, vice-chairman of the Telangana Government Medical College.
Published – March 17, 2025 12:00 am IST
