Free Ayurveda medicines for patients at AIIMS-Patna

The Ayurveda outdoor patient department (OPD) of Patna’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will now provide free medicines to its patients, said the institute officials on Friday

The Ayurveda outdoor patient department (OPD) of Patna’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will now provide free medicines to its patients, said the institute officials on Friday.

The Ayurveda OPD of AIIMS-Patna will now provide free medicines to its patients. (HT FILE)

The facility has been introduced to boost patient footfall under the government’s AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) programme, said the officials quoted above.

The Ayurveda department, which was introduced at AIIMS-Patna in 2016, has seen fewer patients as compared to the homeopathy department, established on October 31, 2015. The homeopathy department already provides free medicines to its patients.

As many as 135 Ayurveda medicines, including ‘churna’ (plant-based powder extract), ‘vati’ (tablet), ‘ashav’ and ‘arisht’ (different forms of syrup), ‘bhasma’ (metal-based powder extract of gold, copper, etc. after burning them over fire), ‘avleha’ (formulations in form of paste), ointment and oil, are now available for patients at the institute’s formulary, said Dr Ajeet Kumar, medical officer, Ayurveda, AIIMS-Patna.

“The medicines available cater to ailments related to joint pain, digestion-related disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, hyperacidity and constipation; skin diseases, including eczema; and post-Covid-19 complications suc as persistent cough and weakness,” said Dr Kumar.

“As of now, we have the approval to purchase Ayurveda medicines up to ₹2.50 lakh per month, at an average 10 patients per day. Later, we plan to buy some expensive ‘bhasma’ for chronic kidney related disorders, after assessing the requirement of patients,” he added.

There are three sanctioned posts of medical officers at the Ayurveda department, of which two have been filled up on a regular basis in February this year. Officials said that around 260 patients have benefitted from Ayurveda from the day of its functioning on February 15 this year, after regular appointments of medical officers.

Homeopathy has received a comparatively better response, said Dr D Balachandran, senior medical officer, homeopathy, and head of the AYUSH department at AIIMS-Patna. “As many as 15,320 people have benefitted from homeopathy at our institute ever since its OPD services commenced in 2015. Of them, 2,076 availed our homeopathy facilities this year,” said Dr Balachandran.

The homeopathy pharmacy has 206 medicines of varying potencies.

Meanwhile, Dr Hemali Heidi Sinha, dean (examination) and professor and head of obstetrics and gynaecology at AIIMS-Patna, expressed her desire to commence an orientation program for MBBS students regarding role of Ayurveda in healthcare and also to work in tandem with modern medicine to treat patients with chronic illness, where the scope of modern medicine was limited.

The AIIMS-Patna has 71 departments, including 31-odd functional clinical departments and those under AYUSH on one campus, which makes it a composite multi-speciality health hub in the state.

Earlier, AIIMS-Patna director, Dr PK Singh, inaugurated the free-drug facility at the AYUSH building of the institute.