New Delhi: The ministries of health and Ayush are in talks to develop treatment module in which two therapeutic systems, Ayush and allopath, could be integrated to offer treatment for certain diseases at both government and private health centres and hospitals.
Acknowledging the bid for integration of the two therapeutic modes, Union health secretary Sudhansh Pant said, “Ayush and modern medicines need to complement each other in treatments. This is the goal of the government and we are working very rapidly towards that.”
Also Read: India mull global standards to market Ayush products, services
Another officer said that mechanism of joint treatment module would be worked out in the next few weeks, after which it would be known if patients would be given choice for the treatment options. “The prevalent protocols followed in use of modern medicines and those by the traditional system of medicines are completely different and there is no complementary approach,” said the officer.
Currently, Ayush centres are operational in prestigious health care institution like AIIMS (in all 22 new and old AIIMS) and function as separate units and patients are guided separately on treatment.
Also Read: WHO, Ayush ministry to host global summit on traditional medicines
Citing success of the combined treatment module, Pant said, “During covid, we took steps for the very first time to keep Ayush and modern medicine protocol in same document but the protocols themselves were different. We want to build integration now.”
Officials said that both the ministries required evolving the combined module as modern medicine system is administered at the Central level by the ministry of health and family welfare while traditional system of medicine is looked by ministry of Ayush.
Also Read: IMA objects to NMC’s guidelines on prescribing generic medicines
In its bid to expand operation of Ayush and enhance credibility of the traditional medicinal system, the government is developing research-based treatment systems and proposes to take Bureau of Indian Standard and ISO certifications for its medicines.
Ayush system worked effectively to treat Covid
In the middle of the havoc wreaked by second wave of the pandemic, Ayush-64 has emerged as a ray of hope for the patients of mild and moderate Covid-19 infection. The scientists of reputed research institutions of the country have found that Ayush 64, a poly herbal formulation developed by the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), ministry of Ayush is useful in the treatment of asymptomatic, mild and moderate Covid-19 infection as an adjunct to standard care. It is worthwhile to mention that initially the drug was developed for Malaria in the year 1980 and now is repurposed for Covid-19.
