Physiotherapists should not prefix themselves with 'Dr', says Centre after Indian Medical Association protest

The Centre has requested physiotherapists in India in a sudden volte face not to prefix themselves with 'Dr'.

The turn-around came after a shrill protest from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) with more than 4 lakh medical doctors as its members and other medical organisations and associations.

Interestingly, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) letter of Union Health Ministry was made public on September 9, a day following World Physiotherapy Day having been celebrated worldwide.

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, also posted a message on X appreciating the work of physiotherapists and added that they play a crucial role in raising the well-being and dignity of individuals, particularly the elderly.

Physiotherapists can now prefix their names with 'Dr' after the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) working under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released an approved curriculum on April 23.

Discussing the matter in the DGHS letter, Dr Sunita Sharma said that physiotherapists would be in a legal violation of the Indian Medical Degrees Act, 1916 by adding 'Dr' to their names.

She, however, suggested that a more appropriate and respectful title can be adopted for postgraduates and graduates of physiotherapy without causing confusion to the patients and the public.

Dr Dilip Bhanushali, IMA National President, told TNIE that it's a "big victory" since not everyone can use the prefix 'Dr'.

Dr Bhanushali, who had written to Union Health Minister JP Nadda, Secretary Health Punya Salila Srivastava, National Medical Commission (NMC), and others, highlighting the issue, explained that the prefix 'Dr' could be misleading and its use should be restricted.

In the letter to Dr Bhanushali, the DGHS mentioned that the directorate has received several representations and objections by various organisations, such as the Indian Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (IAPMR), against physiotherapists using the prefix "Dr" and the suffix "PT".

She cited that the IAPMR has stated that the issue lies in the Competency Based Curriculum for Physiotherapy Approved Syllabus 2025 issued by the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on March 23.

She listed the issues at stake in her letter and claimed that physiotherapists are not medical physicians and, therefore, should not prefix their names with the title "Dr" since it misleads patients as well as the public in general, thus may cause quackery.

"please do not permit physiotherapists to practice. They can treat only referred patients, as they are not competent enough to diagnose medical ailments-some of them worsening with inappropriate physiotherapy treatment," the letter continued.

"By doing so, it is claimed that the above proposal goes contrary to legal rulings and advisory guidelines issued by various courts and medical councils of the nation," said Dr Sharma.

She quoted some judgments of the courts in this regard, including one in 2003 of the Patna High Court which ruled that physiotherapists cannot practice modem medicine or adopt the title "Dr" unless registered in the State Medical Register. Likewise, a Tamil Nadu Medical Council Advisory has warned physiotherapists against adopting the title "Dr," referring to them as paramedics or technicians.

However in 2020, when a court ruling in Bengaluru prohibited psychotherapists from using 'Dr' as prefix, the Madras high Court reaffirmed the prohibition as defined by IMC Act.

It is relevant here to note that the Council Bill, 2007 Ethics Committee had previously ruled that the title "Doctor" can be used only by registered practitioners of Modern Medicine, Ayurveda, Homoeopathy and Unani, she further said.

No other medical category of professionals, including paramedical personnel and nursing staff, can use this title, the letter further stated.

The entire body had also been given legal advice, where it stated that any physiotherapist using the title "Doctor," when they have no accepted medical qualification, would be in violation of provisions of the Indian Medical Degrees Act, 1916. Such a violation invokes action under section 7 of the Act for contravention of sections 6 and 6A, the letter noted.

"This legal opinion was adopted by the council in its sitting on March 23, 2004. According to this, the council's committee on ethics reaffirmed that persons holding physiotherapy qualifications are not entitled to use the prefix "Dr" under any condition whatsoever," the letter added.

"It is directed that the usage of the prefix 'Dr' for physiotherapists in the Competency Based Curriculum for Physiotherapy Approved Syllabus 2025 is stopped with immediate effect," the letter added.