PALAKKAD: Quack ayurvedic practitioners in the state will not have an easy time hereafter. A call centre identifying genuine ayurvedic centres and doctors will start functioning near Shoranur soon.It is being set up jointly by the 110-year-old Keraleeya Ayurveda Samajam, Shoranur, and Tata Business Support Services at the Poomully Neelakantan Namboodiripad Memorial Ayurveda College run by the Sringeri Madom, Karnataka, and the Keraleeya Ayurveda Samajam at Cheruthuruthy. The call centre will list out the ayurvedic professionals at specific locations, time-tested traditional physicians in this field, mode of treatment and units producing genuine medicines in the state apart from suggesting medicines for common ailments.“It is a helpline for promoting ayurveda,’’ says Arjun Bhaskaran, associate vice-president of Tata Business Support Services.M Muralidharan, secretary of the Keraleeya Ayurveda Samajam, who is also the secretary of the PNNM Ayurveda College, says that initially, the call centre will function for 12 hours and gradually be extended round the clock. A committee will be formed consisting of retired professors from government and private ayurvedic medical colleges and a screening of all panchayats and taluks in Kerala will be undertaken to list out genuine ayurveda practitioners. They would be included in the directory being prepared, he says.The call centre is mainly aimed at the propagation of ayurvedic medicines all over the world and to prevent quacks from bringing disrepute to the profession. For example, in the case of mental health, doctors at the Kottackal Arya Vaidyasala were experts and they would be referred, he says.It is also proposed to undertake digitisation of the traditional ayurveda texts and engage in more research activities through this tie-up with the Tata Group, Muralidharan says.Hitherto insurance companies had found it difficult to provide cover for patients undergoing ayurvedic treatment since they were unable to distinguish between the genuine and the fake. By undertaking such a joint venture with the Samajam, the insurance arm of the Tatas, Tata AIG, also could come up with suitable products and ensure full cover for the treatment, says Bhaskaran.Tata Business Support Services has a similar call centre for AIDS in Tamil Nadu which was set up four years ago. They attend to 700 to 800 calls per day. It is also proposed to set up a call centre for tuberculosis in five states shortly, Bhaskaran adds.Tata Business Support Services Ltd is one of the largest third-party customer service providers in India and one of the leading integrated end-to-end outsourcing service providers serving a global clientele.
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