The Rural Medical Practitioner of India

Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine

This paper looks at the treatment seeking behaviour of rural households and presents factors that discourage them from using public health facilities. It also brings out how Allopathic medical graduates as well as institutionally qualified AYUSH doctors predominantly offer services in cities and townships which results in lakhs of village households having to depend on unqualified medical practitioners as the first line of medical treatment; also how this situation will continue unless the approach to providing medical treatment is modified. Continued dependence on unqualified practitioners is fraught with dangers of incorrect diagnosis, irrational drug use, resulting in the spread of multi-drug resistance. The reality that surrounds Allopathic practice by AYUSH doctors has also been described along with the educational underpinnings of accepting this approach. We opine that existing state policies that legitimise Allopathic practice by non-Allopathic practitioners do not help the r...

2014

India has a plurality of health care systems as well as different systems of medicine. India is drawing the world’s attention. Unqualified medical practitioners (URMPs) treat people in rural, semi-urban and urban areas of India, which is seen only here and protected legally. There is no existence of this type of unqualified practitioners in other countries of the world. The study was undertaken to educate the URMPs in science of medicine use and rational use of medicine. The interventional study was started on 2000. For the study, workshops were conducted by medical graduates of modern medicine. Duration of the workshops was 1-5 days. A module/syllabus was prepared which was discussed in the workshops. Forty workshops were conducted in 15 districts of West Bengal in 13 years. Two thousand six hundred sixteen (2616) URMPs from 1450 villages were participated in the workshops. The educational activity has created awareness among the URMPs regarding rational therapeutics, URMPs associa...

Journal of International Medical Research, 2017

Uncertified rural practitioners (URPs) without formal medical qualification occupy an indispensable yet dangerous position in the rural health care system in India. The low cost, close proximity, and higher health hazards in rural areas along with the inability of established health-care setups to fulfill existing demands have favored the flourishing trade of URPs. Irrational and dangerous drug prescriptions, unauthorized interventions, improper waste disposal, and several cases of malpractice by URPs are serious threats to the exposed population. However, because of the practical compulsion and real-world necessity of their existence, URPs should be scientifically trained and sensitized to regulate, qualify, and integrate them as a part of the existing health care system in India.

This analysis challenges a tendency in public health and the social sciences to associate India's medical pluralism with a distinction between biomedicine, as a homogeneous entity, and its non-biomedical 'others'. We argue that this overdrawn dichotomy obscures the important part played by 'informal' biomedical practice, an issue with salience well beyond India. Based on a qualitative study in rural Andhra Pradesh, South India, we focus on a figure little discussed in the academic literature – the Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) – who occupies a niche in the medical marketplace as an informal exponent of biomedical treatment. We explore the significance of these practitioners by tracking diagnosis and treatment of one increasingly prominent medical 'condition', namely diabetes. The RMP, who despite the title is rarely registered, sheds light on the supposed formal-informal sector divide in India's healthcare system, and its permeability in practice. We develop our analysis by contrasting two distinctive conceptualisations of 'informality' in relation to the state in India – one Sarah Pinto's, the other Ananya Roy's.

This paper looks at the treatment seeking behaviour of rural households and presents factors that discourage them from using public health facilities. It also brings out how Allopathic medical graduates as well as institutionally qualified AYUSH doctors predominantly offer services in cities and townships which results in lakhs of village households having to depend on unqualified medical practitioners as the first line of medical treatment; also how this situation will continue unless the approach to providing medical treatment is modified. Continued dependence on unqualified practitioners is fraught with dangers of incorrect diagnosis, irrational drug use, resulting in the spread of multi-drug resistance. The reality that surrounds Allopathic practice by AYUSH doctors has also been described along with the educational underpinnings of accepting this approach.

BMC Health Services Research, 2014

Background: In 2005, the Indian government launched the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to improve the quality of and access to rural public health care. Despite these efforts, recent evidence shows that the rural poor continue to primarily consult private non-degree allopathic practitioners (NDAPs) for acute illness episodes. To examine this phenomenon, we explore the rural poor's perception and utilization of the rural health care system and the role and accessibility of NDAPs therein. Methods: Our study is based on qualitative data from focus group discussions conducted in three rural districts in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, two high-focus states of the NRHM in northern India, in 2009/2010. Our study population consists of female micro-credit self-help group members and their male household heads. We apply a directed content analysis and use a theoretical framework to differentiate between physical, financial and cultural access to care. Results: Our study population distinguishes between "home treatment" (informal self-care), "local treatment" (formally unqualified care) and "outside treatment" (formally qualified care). Because of their proximity, flexible payment options and familiarity with patients' belief systems, among other things, local NDAPs are physically, financially and culturally accessible. They are usually the first contact points for patients before turning to qualified practitioners, and treat minor illnesses, provide first relief, refer patients to other providers and administer formally prescribed treatments. Conclusion: Our findings are similar for all three study sites and reinforce recent findings from southern and eastern India. The poor's understanding and utilization of the rural health system deviates from governmental ideas. Because of their embeddedness in the community, private NDAPs are the most accessible medical providers and first contact points for acute illness episodes. Thus, they de-facto fulfill the role envisaged by the Indian government for accredited social health activists introduced as part of the NRHM. We conclude that instead of trying to replace NDAPs with public initiatives, the Indian government should regulate, qualify and integrate them as part of the existing public health care system. This way, we argue, India can improve the rural poor's access to formally qualified practitioners.

The Indian journal of medical research, 2011

Against the backdrop of insufficient public supply of primary care and reports of informal providers, the present study sought to collect descriptive evidence on 1 st contact curative health care seeking choices among rural communities in two States of India -Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Orissa.

International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology, 2019

Background: An unqualified medical practitioner without any formal registration and practicing allopathic medicine in rural areas in India can be called Rural Medical Practitioner (RMP). RMPs enjoy a great deal of practice in rural areas by taking advantage of lacunae in the public health system. Government of India is currently popularising generic medicines, but still certain doubts exist even among doctors and how far the RMPs are aware of generic medicines is a big issue. They influence a lot of uneducated people, so the knowledge, attitude and practices they follow have a large impact on society.Methods: A cross sectional, prospective study was undertaken to assess the knowledge, attitude and the practices of 152 RMPs on generic medicines for a period of three months. A 23-item questionnaire was well designed, pre-validated and distributed to RMPs in and around Guntur district. The results were analysed using descriptive statistics.Results: 92% of the participants were aware of...

Health as a matter of right is recognized throughout the world for its intrinsic value. India as a signatory to the Alma Ata Declaration is committed to provide 'Health for All' irrespective of any discrimination on the grounds of rich or poor and urban or rural. The National Health Policies are formed on the basis of this principle. But inequality of opportunities, the gross mismatch between the stated objectives and the resources available and the inability of the state to bring quality health care within the rich of all has increased the vulnerability of the people particularly the rural segment and led to the emergence of a new tier of physicians, running a parallel heath care system and playing a formidable role in the rural health care market as rural health providers. This group of self -styled practitioners called quacks, despite in expertise is doing a good business in the villages taking advantage of the lacunae in the public health care system. As testimony to their legitimacy, they manage certificates from unauthorized and unrecognized institutions. Against this backdrop the present write up attempts to highlight the mode of operation of quacks in the villages in West Bengal and also to explore the nature of functioning of institutions that create quacks

GIS SCIENCE JOURNAL ISSN NO : 1869-9391, 2024

The utilization of Indian System of Medicine (ISM) in rural healthcare settings holds significant promise for addressing the healthcare needs of underserved populations. This comprehensive review aims to examine the current landscape of ISM utilization in rural areas, highlighting its strengths, challenges, and potential avenues for improvement. Drawing upon a wide range of scholarly literature, government reports, and field studies, this review discusses the historical evolution of