Mumbai, June 24 (IANS). The Maharashtra government has taken a big step to help the citizens of the state identify genuine and registered doctors. Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif told the Assembly on Wednesday that the Maharashtra Medical Council has launched a QR code based system called ‘Know Your Doctor’.
By scanning this QR code, citizens can instantly check whether a doctor is legally registered or not. This initiative also aims to stop fake doctors in the state.
The minister gave this information during Question Hour in response to a question related to the action taken by Vijay Deshmukh against fake doctors in Solapur district.
Giving information about the medical system of the state, the Minister said that currently about 1.40 lakh registered doctors are providing health services in Maharashtra. Additionally, around 12,824 new MBBS graduates join the state’s healthcare system every year.
The minister said that ‘fake doctors’ are those who provide medical services without the necessary registration. This includes people practicing without permission in various fields like MBBS and postgraduate medical education, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani and dentistry.
A total of 89 criminal cases have been registered against such illegal doctors in the state between 2015 and 2026. To control this problem, the government has formed monitoring committees. At the district level, committees are working under the chairmanship of the District Collector and at the Tehsil level, committees are working under the chairmanship of the Tehsildar.
The minister said that these committees will be reconstituted soon and local public representatives will also be included so that monitoring can be made more strict. Referring to the stringent legal provisions against the illegal practice, the minister said culprits could face serious punishment.
He said that under the guidelines of the National Medical Commission, there is a provision of up to one year in jail or a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh in such cases.
According to the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, a first-time offender can face a jail term of up to two years or a fine, while repeat offenders can be punished with rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years.
Further, the Minister said that the government is in favor of making necessary amendments in the PC-PNDT Act, so that those who endanger people’s lives can be given more stringent punishment.
–IANS
AMT/ABM
