Bogus Doctors On The Rise In City

June 22, 2018

A doctor is a like a god to many patients, but sometimes doubts arise whether he is authentic or a bogus one.

There are so many instances of fake doctors practicing in the city and getting arrested on a regular basis.This is indeed scary because you risk your life if you get trapped with such doctors.

A profession earlier looked as a service to humanity, is fast becoming a way to extract money from people.

Dr Ravi Pratap, Consultant & Head – Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services, Ruby Hall Clinic, says, “It is practically not feasible to ask a doctor about his degrees. Fake doctors also practicing but today it is not as easy to do so because of improved vigilance from the authorities.”

“There are multiple diplomas, degrees, fellowships and certification that a doctor may hold. If a doctor has a valid MBBS degree, he/she can practice medicine and once he/she has acquired specialization/super specialization degrees, he is licensed to practice that subject.

“As a citizen, you should be careful towards just one aspect. If someone is promising any magical therapy/cure for a disease, the person is probably bogus. Be informed about the condition that you are suffering from and do not rely upon any treatment that has no clinical evidence and “appears too good to be true,” Dr Pratap adds.

Hitesh Dhamne, an MBBS student, says, “The practitioners are supposed to register themselves with the Maharashtra Medical Council of India if practicing in Maharashtra, and if one needs to practice in India he/she need to register himself with the Medical Council of India. Through this they get their own unique number to practices.”

The practitioners are supposed to print their copy and framed it in their respective clinics from which a patient can conclude whether the doctor is fake or not. However, MBBS, BAMS, BHMS and doctors with post-graduation are allowed to practice in Maharashtra. Apart from this as per my knowledge I don’t think any degree is reliable.

A complaint can also be registered if found that the doctor is running a clinic with an appropriate degree to the Medical Council of India and also an FIR can be lodged, he adds.

Smita Sakpal, Housewife, “Improved technology is always been a blessing and I can use the Internet to check on a doctor. At least I ensure that the doctor am going to is trusted and has good experience in similar cases.

“There are different apps available in the Play Store which only has certified doctors and people can always recheck on the doctor when they’re in the clinic as their certificates are displayed. if not displayed you can always recheck the prescription from a pharmacist,” she adds.

Ravi Salunke, social activist, says, “These doctors practice mainly in slum areas, as they are the easy targets. Qualified people always ensure before they visit the doctor. For slums and rural areas in Pune, the city authorities should embark on an initiative to create a database of the register doctors and circulate it withsocial activists, corporators and police stations of the respective areas.”

#All views expressed in this article are those of the individual respondents and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.