Key Issue Raised
- Indian Medical Association (IMA) strongly opposes the Union Government’s plan to integrate MBBS and BAMS courses at JIPMER, Puducherry.
- The move is labeled as “unscientific,” “unfortunate,” and “catastrophic” by IMA.
Relevance : GS 2(Health ,Medicine)
Current Medical Education Structure
- MBBS (Modern Medicine) and BAMS (Ayurveda) are currently two separate 5.5-year programmes.
- Each system is based on distinct epistemologies, diagnostic models, and treatment paradigms.
IMA’s Arguments Against Integration
- Mixing modern medicine with Ayurveda is “unscientific” and leads to confusion.
- Such integration risks creating “hybrid doctors” with incomplete mastery in both systems — described as “qualified quacks”.
- It may undermine the autonomy and purity of both medical streams.
- Leads to an irreversible dilution of scientific rigor and patient care standards.
Patient Rights & Ethical Concerns
- Mixopathy (mixing medical systems) violates patients’ right to choose a healthcare system of their preference.
- Could compromise informed consent, safety, and standardization in treatment protocols.
Reference to Global Precedent: China
- China’s integration of traditional and modern medicine is cited as a failed experiment:
- Led to the decimation of traditional Chinese medicine.
- Did not yield the expected healthcare improvements.
India’s Healthcare Achievements via Modern Medicine
- Life expectancy increased from 32 years (1947) to 70.8 years (2025) largely due to vaccines, public health systems, and modern medicine.
- IMA argues this success was not driven by integrative models, but by scientific rigor in modern healthcare.
Scientific and Academic Concerns
- Integration may:
- Compromise medical education quality.
- Dilute specialization in both systems.
- Affect clinical training and evidence-based practice.
IMA’s Appeal
- Urges:
- Ayurvedic practitioners to defend their own system.
- The government to refrain from “mixopathy”.
- All stakeholders to preserve the “pristine purity” of individual medical systems.
