Bhubaneswar: Following the order of Orissa High Court, the State Government has decided to crack down fake doctors or allopathic practitioners serving in different parts of the State.
This decision was taken at a high -level meeting held recently under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena here.
According to official sources, the High Court has issued orders on fake doctors on 21.12.2022, 22.06.2023 and latest on 27.02.2024 and directed the Secretary Health & Family Welfare Department to come with a comprehensive plan under which survey will be undertaken to ascertain that every allopathic doctor practicing in Odisha possesses the proper and relevant qualification.
It has also directed the Department to file an affidavit on whether any surveillance mechanism to identify the fake doctors is operating in the State? If not, whether the State is contemplating to introduce surveillance?
It was alleged and also in the past found that fake doctors with forged degrees in the workforce of the State for treating patients.
As per the decision of the meeting, a surveillance mechanism will be put in place to identify fake doctors.
Verified database regarding registration of allopathic practitioners in the State will be uploaded in the Odisha Council of Medical Registration (OCMR) website by the Registrar OCMR for public access.
This will enable the public at large to have a means for verifying the genuineness of doctors by checking their credentials with the online database, officials said.
Following the order of the Chief Secretary, the data of maximum doctors have been uploaded on the online platform. One can search a doctor’s name on the website and find his/her genuineness. If some doctor’s name is not there, the patients can lodge complaints with the concerned authority for further action at their end, they said.