To weed out quacks and fake medical practitioners, the Karnataka Health Department has directed all private medical practitioners to put up colour-coded boards in front of their establishments, displaying Karnataka Private Medical Establishment (KPME) registration number, names of the institution, owner and other details.
A circular to this effect was issued on Friday.
“The boards will have to be colour-coded — blue for allopathy practitioners and green for ayurvedic practitioners. Private medical establishments failing to comply with the directions will be dealt with strictly under Section 19(5) of the KPME Amendment Act 2017,” stated the circular. Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, who posted the circular on X (formerly Twitter), said.
“Every private medical establishment registered under the KPME Act must conspicuously display the name of the owner/ manager, the KPME registration certificate, the system of medicine practised and services available, in a prominent place within their hospital premises for public information as per the Act. It has been observed that some private medical establishments have failed to display their KPME certificate or the system of medicine they practice prominently,” stated the circular issued by Health Commissioner Randeep D.
“Furthermore, it has been noted that some unauthorised establishments are engaging in the practice of unavowed systems of medicine such as traditional systems, vamshaparamparika, home remedies, cupping therapy, electromagnetic therapy, body massage, hypnotherapy and sound therapy. These systems are not classified as medical treatments under section 2(1) of the KPME Act,” stated the circular.
The display board must meet the minimum dimensions, information, and colour-code to make it useful for patients and the public to easily identify the system of medicine being practised in the private establishments.
