Homeopathic Medical Practitioners May Prescribe Notified Drugs As Add-On Drug To Conventional Treatment For Covid-19: Centre Tells SC

The clarification has come in response to an appeal preferred by Dr AKB Sadbhavana Mission School of Homeo Pharmacy against an order of the Kerala High Court, prohibiting AYUSH Doctors from prescribing tablets/ mixtures as cure for COVID-19.

AYUSH Doctors Shall Not Prescribe Any Medicine As Cure For Covid-19: Kerala HC Directs Medical/Police Departments To Monitor

In its order, the High Court had recorded AYUSH Ministry's submission that such medicines are used to prevent "causative factors", and it thus directed that AYUSH Doctors may prescribe only those tablets or mixtures which are specifically notified in this behalf by the Central Government and the said prescription "shall be given only as an immunity booster".

The institution had approached the Supreme Court contending that the AYUSH medicine practitioners had been precluded from providing treatment for the deadly virus.

In its counter affidavit filed last week, the Central Government informed the Top Court that "prescription of medication prescribed by the Ministry of AYUSH to Covid positive patients as an add-on treatment is permitted, and therefore, any contention to the contrary stating that homeopathic medical practitioner cannot prescribe any treatment to Covid 19 positive patients, even as an add-on to conventional treatment is liable to be rejected."

The Government submitted that the aforesaid Guidelines for Registered Practitioners of respective system of AYUSH including Homoeopathy have been prepared by Director Generals of Research Councils and Directors of National Institutes with their team of experts and after vetting by the Interdisciplinary AYUSH Research and Development Task Force of Ministry of AYUSH.

The Ministry of AYUSH prescribed the intervention and preventive management steps under the homeopathic practices at the following three stages

• Preventive and prophylactic
• Symptom management of COVID- 19 like illnesses
• Add on Interventions to the conventional care

It submitted, "the focus of the said guidelines was to lay down a medically accepted and time tested intervention which would boost the immunity of the body, which was critical in the human response to infectious disease."

It clarified that the only embargo on such practitioners is that the said medicines should not be administered or advertised as a cure but should be administered as preventive measure/immunity booster or as an add-on to the conventional treatment.

"The said guidelines were issued with a holistic approach of AYUSH systems of medicine focusing on prevention through lifestyle modification, dietary management, prophylactic interventions for improving the immunity and simple remedies based on presentations of the symptoms," the Centre added.