According to Gujarat IMA, the "Mixopathy" proposal is a "serious threat" to public health
Gujarat: In a letter addressed to several elected representatives, the IMA said, 'We urge you to uphold the sanctity and harmony among multiple medical systems and refrain from supporting the concept of mixopathy or shortcuts in medical education and practice.' The letter said that mixopathy, mixing multiple medical systems into a single practice, poses a serious risk to the health of our citizens.
On Tuesday, the Gujarat branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said 'mixopathy' poses a 'serious threat' to the health of citizens, and requested lawmakers to consider the long-term implications of such decisions on the health of the people of Gujarat.
'Mixopathy' means the mixing of multiple medical systems like allopathy or modern medicine with homeopathy and Ayurveda for the treatment of patients. The move comes days after the state health department called a meeting of senior government officials as well as representatives of Gujarat Medical Council, Gujarat Ayurveda and Unani System of Medicine Board and Gujarat Homeopathy System of Medicine Council, etc. to discuss the issue of allowing doctors trained in Ayurveda to practice allopathy.
In a letter issued on December 27 and shared by IMA Gujarat, the health department chaired by Principal Secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi was to call a meeting on January 3, 2025. However, the idea has been opposed by IMA.
This letter by the IMA Gujarat said such an approach completely undermines the integrity and expertise of each medical pathy, compromising patient care and thus setting the stage for a potential public health crisis. The IMA thus has appealed to the government to follow safe and evidence-based medicine practices as allowing or promoting mixopathy 'may lead to dangerous consequences, including misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment, and serious, adverse events, it said'.
The letter, signed by IMA Gujarat president Dr Mehul Shah and other office bearers, requested several elected representatives to 'consider the long-term implications of such decisions on the health of the people of Gujarat.' It said, 'We urge you to advocate for strengthening the educational and professional standards of each medical discipline and establishing harmony among all systems, rather than weakening them through amalgamation.'
IMA Gujarat officials said that 'this critical issue needs to be deeply reflected upon and collaboratively explore solutions that will ensure that the health and safety of the citizens of Gujarat is not compromised.' In a letter to Harshad Patel, Commissioner of Health, Medical Services and Medical Education, Gujarat IMA called the practice of 'mixology' 'unlawful'. It said, 'If not stopped immediately, it will lead to widespread health disasters.
