We already knew it was happening. Now there’s data to show us how pervasive it is.
A large-scale physician and chemist census across India’s top 120 cities and towns by Mumbai-based market research and consultancy firm IMS Health has found that non-M.B.B.S doctors i.e. doctors who don’t hold a degree in medicine accounted for 16 per cent of the total doctor universe that practices allopathy or modern medicine.
These doctors are qualified in alternative systems of medicine such as Ayurveda and Homeopathy but 40 per cent or more of their prescriptions are made up of allopathic drugs such as antiobiotics and painkillers. The census covered over 3,73,000 doctors across the country.
The findings highlight, once again, the need for proactive policy-making to effectively harness and regulate this workforce to shore up the quality and availability of healthcare delivery in under-served areas.