Lekha G –
The Kerala High Court held that a qualified homeopathic physician can prescribe and dispense preventive and prophylactic homeopathy medicines for Covid-19 patients.
The verdict came on a writ petition filed by Dr. Jayaprasad Karunakaran asserting that the Kerala State Health Department threatened to take action against him under the Disaster Management Act if he treated Covid patients, violative of Article 19 (1) (g).
P Vijayakumar, Assistant Solicitor General of India, submitted that the AYUSH Ministry had issued recommendations advising utilization of homeopathy for preventive and prophylactic purposes, symptom management of Covid-19 like illness and add-on intervention to conventional care.
The Court held that homeopathic physicians are permitted to prescribe add-on medicines authorized by the Guidelines with the approval of the concerned authorities and the consent of the patient/guardian. It also held the advertisement by a homeopathic physician is prohibited in view of Regulation 6 of the Homoeopathic Practitioners Regulations, 1982.
The Court had cited the AYUSH Ministry guidelines and Supreme Court rulings on symptom management and prevention of Covid-19 by homeopathic physicians.