A simple question is lightening a national storm. Who has the right to call himself a “doctor”? Director General of Health in India, Dr. Sunita Sharma issued a instruction in a letter, when Dr. Sunita Sharma argued for a long time below the surface, just exploded in public consciousness: “The physiotherapist is not trained as medical doctors and therefore, the prefix” DR “should not be used, as it misleads patients and publicly, possibly leading to Quakery.”

The move has expressed displeasure in the physiotherapy community since then, but it was a sharp tweet from a famous liver expert that actually sets the Internet Ablass.

What’s here Cyriac Abby Philips, Theliverdoc wrote:

The tweet may not have written it openly, but it was difficult to remember the subtract. Popular hepatologist healthcare is creating a broad point about the number of professionals, claiming for the title of being a “doctor”. For many people, these sharp words of sarcasm emerged as a job. This opened the box of Pendora on a slow erosion of the Medical Authority.

Naturopaths, by lumping physio with cairopractors and traditional physicians, the tweet also suggested that the doctor’s title is slightly higher than a vanity tag, if everyone gets to use it.

Comedy landed but Dashukram did the same.

However, for those in the physiotherapy community, this much argument is rejecting both and an old. They strongly argue that the role of a physiotherapist is not prohibited only to hand over practice. Their main role is to assess complex recovery trips after surgery, trauma or chronic illness to manage, diagnosis and even complex recovery trips.

The demand to use the prefix, in this context, is not about pretending to be physicians, it is about proper professional recognition.

According to these physicians, the tag helps patients understand that the person guiding their recovery is not just experience, but is eligible to be in the situation. In a crowded healthcare system, it goes a long way.

logic

There are many other people who support the instructions, and they argue that it protects the patient’s safety and reduces confusion.

Not everyone disagrees with the government’s decision. In fact, many doctors have welcomed the move, saying that it brings very important clarity and helps in protecting the patient’s faith. Anxiety, they argue, not about the ego, it is about accuracy.

But on the other side of the debate, there are physiotherapists and their supporters, who feel that the instruction sends the wrong message. For them, it reduces years of education, clinical experience on hands, and special knowledge in a mere footnote. The implication is that they are less valid in any way, both wrong and deeply feel inappropriate-either when their work plays an important role in the patient’s recovery and long-term health results.

Alphabet

India’s healthcare system is an eager mixture of allopathy, traditional systems (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha), as well as new topics such as physiotherapy, professional therapy, and carntile care. Each of these subjects follows a separate training route which is regulated by separate councils. This in turn leads to a patchwork of standards and, uncertainly, confusion that is entitled to which title.

The Medical Council of India (now replaced by the National Medical Commission) has historically reserved the “DR” prefix for high qualifications in MBBS or Allopathic Medicine. But the Central Council for Indian Medicine also allows BAMS (Ayurveda) and BHMS (homeopathy) physicians to use the title.

In 2017, even dentists had to fight for their right to use “Dr.”, as some hospitals and insurance companies refused to accept their qualifications.

“In India, the word ‘doctor’ is loaded. It is not only a professional identity, but also a social status. That is why it continues to flare into the debate areas,” Dr. New Delhi, a public health policy researcher and medical humanist Dr., New Delhi. Devika Bhatia is argued.

Amidst this turf war, it is worth asking: Does patients also care?

Chiranjeev Rao, 71, from Bangalore, feels, “personally, I don’t care much if my physiotherapist is called ‘doctor’ or until he is good, what he does,” 71 -year -old Chiranjeev Rao from Bengaluru. He has been undergoing physio since 2021 for knee replacement. “I think if a person who is not trained in modern medicine, he was cheated and gave me bullets and called himself a doctor.”

What these nuances mean here, and this is what is struggling for India’s regulatory balance. There is a need to preserve medical standards by accepting the growing ecosystem of legal, life -saving affiliated health professionals.

global perspective

Interestingly, many countries take more inclusive approaches. In the United States, licensed physical therapists hold a DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) and are formally addressed as “DR”, although with clear communication about their role. The UK and Australia follow equal criteria.

“In global systems, attention is on the scope of transparency and practice rather than ownership of a title,” Dr. Kiran Joshi says, who practice an Indian -origin physiotherapist in Melbourne. “We are allowed to call ourselves to doctors, but we should clarify our domain- whether it is rehabilitation, dental or surgery.”

But what’s in a title?

In its heart, debate reveals a deep discomfort about developing the definitions of authority in healthcare. Social media affected people called themselves “intestinal health doctors”, self-centered biohakars followed the creed, and traditional therapists still commanded the rural trust, the word “doctor” has contested more, and we can be more diluted than ever.

However, instead of gatekeeping, perhaps India needs to modernize how it is label and explains the healthcare roles.

India’s healthcare system is undergoing a silent identity crisis, one that not only reflects the power struggle among doctors, but a public insecurity is still uncertain that who to rely.

Maybe the real question is not, who is called a doctor, but what does it take to acquire confidence in modern healthcare? Till this does not happen, the title wars will be angry. A prefix at a time.