Should physiotherapists be allowed to use the prefix 'Dr'? MBBS graduates feel the privilege need not be shared; however, the Kerala High Court feels otherwise and has dismissed pleas moved by medical professionals against the use of 'Dr' by physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
The HC ruled that the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act does not contain any provision for conferring the title of 'doctor' on qualified medical professionals.
It also declined to read down the provisions of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021, so as to confine the scope of discharge of professional services by physiotherapists and occupational therapists as a supporting group for the qualified medical professionals registered under the NMC Act.
Justice V.G. Arun reportedly said that the word 'doctor' was initially used for referring to someone who had achieved the highest level of learning and had received a licence to teach in fields like theology, law, and philosophy. The HC added that the term 'doctor' originally meant a learned person qualified to teach, but gradually, with the advancement of medical science, university-trained physicians—holders of degrees in medicine—began to be called doctors.
"Therefore, the contention that the title 'doctor' exclusively belongs to medical professionals is a misconception since even now, like in the olden times, persons with higher educational qualifications like a PhD are entitled to use the title 'doctor'," the court was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The court also said that the expression 'title' used in Section 40 of the Kerala State Medical Practitioners Act cannot be understood as statutorily entitling qualified medical professionals to prefix 'Dr' to their names.
"In the absence of such a provision, the petitioners (doctors) cannot claim an exclusive right to use the prefix 'Dr'," PTI quoted the court as saying.
