Fake doctors account for the deaths of 11% patients in Assam!
Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The issue of fake doctors in the state has led to huge concerns as around 11% of patients die in the hands of fake doctors. Due to the lack of a proper mechanism by the state government, the identification of such fake doctors has become a big problem.
In the past few years, around 45 fake doctors have been identified across the state, and action has been taken against them. A majority of these fake doctors operate in the tea garden areas of the state. In fact, a fake doctor who had been practicing for around 40 years was apprehended in the heart of Guwahati a few months ago.
The Indian Medical Association’s Assam state president, Dr. Arunima Goswami, talking to The Sentinel, said, “Though there are no exact statistics, according to a survey, 11% of patients die at the hands of fake doctors in Assam. IMA’s state branch has been actively conducting a drive against fake doctors for some time now. Recently, we have identified several such fake doctors in the state.”
Dr. Abhijit Neog filed a PIL in the Gauhati High Court against this menace, seeking the court’s intervention to check the proliferation of fake doctors in the state. In the PIL, it was stated that the state government should establish a proper mechanism to ascertain the qualifications of persons practising modern medicine in Assam. The government should start anti-quackery units to nab fake doctors, it stated.
Sources said that there are certain patients who obtain degrees in courses such as the so-called alternative system of medicine from unrecognized institutions and thereafter illegally practise modern medicine. Dr. Neog had also suggested that a public helpline should be set up where patients can report doubtful doctors. Also, an online database of doctors practising in the state should be made accessible to the public.
Sources further said that the larger number of such fake doctors practising in tea garden areas is due to the fact that the tea garden authorities do not verify the documents of the doctors at the time of appointment. Another reason is the lesser amount of salary paid to the doctors, and they are appointed in a hurry after they apply, as not all doctors are willing to serve in such areas.
Such fake doctors mainly practise in pharmacies in small towns or open a chamber of their own to practise. Patients with less knowledge or education readily go to these doctors as they are unable to verify their credentials. In the initial stages, these doctors prescribe common medicines that are frequently prescribed by all doctors. It is when a patient becomes seriously ill from mistreatment that they are referred to hospitals.
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