India formally recognises several systems of medicine, each with its own statutory councils, qualifications and registers. NeedsDoctor lists registered practitioners across them. If the labels are unfamiliar, here is a straightforward account of what they refer to.
Allopathy (modern medicine)
Practitioners hold an MBBS, usually with further postgraduate specialisation, and are registered with the National Medical Commission or a State Medical Council. This is the system behind hospitals, emergency departments, surgery, intensive care, imaging and laboratory diagnostics.
Specialities are narrow and well defined — cardiology, dermatology, orthopaedics, paediatrics and so on — which is why searching by speciality is usually the fastest route to the right person.
Ayurveda
A traditional Indian system built around individual constitution (prakriti) and the balance of the three doshas — vata, pitta and kapha. Treatment typically combines herbal preparations, diet, daily routine and therapies such as panchakarma.
Practitioners hold a BAMS or higher and are registered with the relevant statutory council. Consultations tend to be longer and to range more widely over diet, sleep and routine than a conventional consultation does.
Homeopathy
Founded on the principle of "like cures like", using highly diluted preparations selected to match the individual rather than the disease label. Practitioners hold a BHMS or higher and are registered with the relevant council.
A first consultation is characteristically long, covering not only symptoms but temperament, sleep, preferences and how you respond to your environment — because the remedy is chosen for the person.
Choosing sensibly
Tell your practitioners about each other
If you are seeing practitioners from more than one system, each needs to know what the other has prescribed. Herbal and traditional preparations are pharmacologically active and can interact with conventional medicines — some affect blood thinning, blood sugar or liver enzymes. Silence between practitioners is where avoidable harm happens.
Do not stop prescribed treatment on your own
If you want to try a different approach, discuss it with the practitioner who prescribed your current treatment first. Stopping medication for a serious condition without medical supervision is genuinely dangerous.
Check registration
Whatever the system, a practitioner should be registered with its statutory council. Registration is verifiable — and worth verifying.
Treat confident cure claims as a warning sign
Guaranteed cures for serious or chronic disease are a red flag in every system of medicine. In India, advertising cures for certain conditions is restricted by law under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.