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Supreme Court on Tuesday held that qualified AYUSH doctors are allowed to prescribe government approved tablets or mixtures as immunity boosters for treatment of COVID-19 but cannot prescribe or advertise them as a cure for Covid-19. 

A three-Judge bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan through its judgement has upheld validity of the guidelines dated March 6^th 2020 issued by the Ministry of AYUSH, asking the AYUSH doctors to comply with those directions. 

The Apex Court’s judgement has come in a plea filed against the order of the Kerala High Court through which it had clarified and directed that if any qualified doctor practicing AYUSH medicine, makes any advertisement or prescribes any drugs or medicine, as a cure for Covid-19 disease, except those specifically mentioned in the government’s advisory, then it would be open for the state authorities to take appropriate action under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2015, and other relevant orders of both the Central and State Governments. The High Court’s order in the special writ petition filed by Dr AKB Sadbhavana Mission School of Homeo Pharmacy involved direction that the AYUSH medical practitioners would prescribe only those tablets or mixtures which have been specifically directed in this behalf by the Central Government through its guidelines. While clarifying that the said prescription is to be given only as an immunity booster and not as cure for Covid-19, the court had also directed the AYUSH medical practitioners not to violate the government order dated March 6, 2020 and asked the medical and police department to monitor the action of AYUSH practitioners. The petitioners challenged the judgement of the High Court on the grounds that it is contrary to the advisory issued by the government of India time to time.

The Central government through its affidavit had informed the Apex Court that it has permitted homoeopathic medical practitioners to prescribe the drugs, as an add-on drug to the conventional treatment for patients who have been tested Covid positive, patients who are undergoing conventional treatment. The Ministry had clarified that prescription of the medication prescribed by the Ministry of AYUSH to Covid positive patients as an add-on treatment is permitted, and, therefore, any contention to the contrary stating that homoeopathic medical practitioner cannot prescribe any treatment to Covid-19 positive patients, even as an add-on to conventional treatment is liable to be rejected. The medicines should, however, not be administered or advertised as a cure but as preventive measure/immunity booster or as an add-on to the conventional treatment.

The Ministry of AYUSH had submitted that it decided to augment and strengthen the Covid medical response of the country by using the traditional Healthcare system of the country, which included Ayurvedic practices, Homoeopathy practices as well as Unani practices, considering the current unprecedented and unforeseen precarious situation, the health system preparedness of the country and the anticipated patient-doctor ratio of the country,

According to the Ministry of AYUSH, the drugs can be prescribed by a homoeopathic medical practitioner for 

• Preventive and prophylactic use;

• For symptom management of Covid-19 like illnesses;

• Add on Interventions to the conventional care.

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