Health and Tech: Integrative-medicine healthcare model is future
Idea is to offer multidisciplinary care to patients that consist of modern medicine and traditional Indian medicine
Hyderabad: In the very near future, government hospitals across the country are expected to adopt integrative-medicine healthcare model wherein the outpatient and inpatient wings will have exclusive integrated medicine wards providing patients with the best of both worlds i.e. the best that modern and traditional medicine offers.
A major and sustained push is underway to ensure government hospitals including top healthcare institutions all branches of AIIMS in the country set-up Integrative Medicine Centres. The idea is to offer multidisciplinary care to patients that consist of modern medicine and traditional Indian medicine.
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A few days ago, the union Ministry of Ayush and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) entered into MoU to promote and collaborate in the field of integrative health research. The MoU will focus on generating high-impact research to generate evidence utilizing modern scientific methods and strengthen research capacity of Ayush researchers in the country. The concept of integrative health medicine is a significant step towards having a ‘One Nation and One Health Care System’ policy, which is being mooted by Government of India.
Based on multiple media reports, the ICMR collaboration with Ministry of Ayush will also establish Ayush-ICMR Centres for Advanced Research in Integrative Health at all AIIMS including the Bibinagar facility in Hyderabad. The facility will explore the possibility to work on public health research, address diseases of national importance and look conduct high-quality clinical trials jointly on various diseases. The research will generate evidence-based data on Ayush therapies that eventually gain wider acceptance.
In the coming months, OP and IP services of Indian traditional medicines are likely to start at AIIMS, New Delhi followed by other branches of AIIMS. A mix of both modern and traditional medicine is expected to be available to patients. The focus will be to expand the functioning of existing Ayush departments in all government general hospitals.
Taking inspiration from China, where integrative healthcare system has been flourishing for years, the government hospitals in India will also establish exclusive Integrative Medicine Departments that will not only provide clinical treatment facilities but also focus in academics and research.
Criticism of Indian medicine
The Ayush stream of Indian traditional medicine including Ayurveda and Yoga has in the last few years attracted a lot of criticism from practitioners of modern medicine, who often point out that mixing of two-different treatment systems will only increase of the disease burden among patients.
The most common objection raised on Ayush treatments is the lack of evidence-based peer reviewed studies on the efficacy of the traditional Indian medicine. Allopathy practitioners frequently argue that mixing different treatment systems will only end-up exacerbating a patient’s health condition and cause a greater risk of diseases progression.
Realising such challenges, there is a concerted effort towards development and implementation of appropriate methodologies and standards of traditional medicine. With the Centre and even the State governments putting their efforts in promoting integrated medicine, in the coming years, the disease treatment methodologies and protocols in India, especially in government-run healthcare facilities, are expected to get altered.
