New Delhi: Physiotherapists in India cannot use the ‘Dr’ prefix as they are not medical doctors. The Union health ministry issued a directive to this effect on September 9, through a letter to Indian Medical Association, per a news report by The New Indian Express. This is directly contrary to the permission given in April this year, through the curriculum for physiotherapists – published by the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare – to use the prefix ‘Dr’.On September 9, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), which comes under the Union health ministry, issued a letter to the national president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) saying physiotherapists will not be permitted to use the prefix.Per the TNIE report, Dr. Sunita Sharma, the Directorate General of Health Services, said in the letter that physiotherapists using the ‘Dr’ prefix would be in legal violation of the Indian Medical Degrees Act, 1916.She however also suggested that “a more appropriate and respectful title” may be considered for graduates and postgraduates of physiotherapy, so as to ensure that neither patients nor the public face ambiguity or confusion. “Physiotherapists should not be permitted primary care practice and should only treat referred patients, as they are not trained to diagnose medical conditions-some of which may worsen with inappropriate physiotherapy intervention,” TNIE quoted the letter as saying.Per Sharma’s letter, the Ethics Committee of the Council Bill, 2007, had decided that the title “Doctor” may only be used only by registered practitioners of modern medicine, Ayurveda, homoeopathy and Unani. No other category of medical professionals, including nurses and paramedical staff, is permitted to use the title, Sharma said.The report also stated that the change in the ministry’s decision regarding the prefix ‘Dr’ came after protests from the IMA. Over 4 lakh medical practitioners are members of the IMA, as are several medical bodies and organisations.The report quoted the national president of the IMA, Dr. Dilip Bhanushali, as saying that this was a “big victory”. Bhanushali had allegedly written a letter to Union health minister J.P. Nadda, Secretary of Health Punya Salila Srivastava, and others including the National Medical Commission raising concerns about physiotherapists using ‘Dr’ in their prefix and arguing that this could be misleading for the public and its use should therefore be restricted.