JSS Ayurveda Hospital and Medical College are public facilities located in the city of Mysore. Originally, JSS Ayurveda hospital was established to fill in the gap of healthcare access for the rural communities of Mysore, however with the revitalization of Ayurveda, people from both rural and urban communities seek out its services. Ayurveda is a holistic medical system indigenous to India that focuses on healing a person as a whole rather than targeting symptoms and is intended to prevent future illness as it implements a change in lifestyle. I eagerly awaited this field experienced as it pertains to my topic of interest for this program, and although I had done my research on Ayurveda, I had never visited an authentic Ayurvedic facility. This opportunity was also unique in that my fellows and I were able to witness one of India’s traditional system of medicine that many foreigners travel far to seek for medical tourism. Our tour of the facility was directed by Dr. Noor Fathima, an assistant professor at JSS Ayurveda Medical College, department of Dravyaguna.

​

Beginning with the Ayurveda Medical college, I was impressed by the quality of resources available for students in the field of anatomy and physiology along with the number of laboratories dedicated to herbalism and pharmacology. As I mentioned in my previous critique, it seems that action is being set into motion to deal with the issue of inadequate testing of herbal medications in Ayurveda. I also admired the sense of genuineness Dr. Fathima expressed when leading the tour and the faith she has in Ayurveda, regardless of the skeptics. Although lack of research holds Ayurveda back from reaching global acceptance, among its people there is a cultural connection since the foundation of Ayurveda is based off Samkhya philosophy, which is one of six systems of philosophies in India (Bode, 2012).

​

When walking into the hospital the appearance of the lobby resembled more of a hotel resort lobby rather than a hospital and what puzzled me most was the fact that there was not a patient in sight. Dr. Fathima walked my fellows and I through the medication preparation room, herbal garden, treatment rooms and not until we reached the pharmacy was when I saw a few patients. This made me question articles I had previously read on government programs established to advocate for indigenous systems of medicine in India, such as the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH). If the facility is fully equipped and structurally capable of handling a large patient income, then why is the hospital empty? It cannot be solely due to the fact that there is lack of research on the effectiveness of Ayurvedic treatments, but if that is the case then the way Ayurveda is being studied should change.

​

According to Singh (2010) reasons as to why conducting adequate research on Ayurveda has proven to be difficult is because we are trying to employ measures that suit conventional medicine, whereas some aspects of Ayurveda do not fit into these parameters. And beyond parameters for clinical trials, more needs to be done to understand the principles of Ayurveda. Adaptive measures should be taken to study Ayurveda as it is. Other suggestions include using a nonlinear dynamic system (NDS) to advance Ayurvedic research. In a biomedical approach, NDS theory states that complex pattern outcomes are a sign of adaptability as an organism reacts to biopsychosocial components thus indication of good health. Rioux (2012) claims that Ayurveda should be studied under this paradigm due to its holistic approach in treatment and how multiple factor can either ameliorate or worse illness. But as stated before there is never a singular factor or solution to an issue as there are multiple factors that come into play; this is an important theme I have come to learn throughout this program.

​

In India, factors that contribute to healthcare accessibility include stigma, caste system, cultural norms and disparity but could this vacancy also be due to the fact that the public distrust government facilities and would rather pay more to be cared for at a private Ayurvedic facility. Dr. Praveen Kulkarni, MD assistant professor at JSS Medical College in Mysore, explained that in a public hospital service to a patient is free of charge whereas in private, the patient must pay out of pocket. And although public hospitals provide incentives to use their facilities and both must provide the same quality of care to the patient, people even in poor communities, still prefer private health sectors.

​

 A step that can be taken to determine what discourages people from seeking Ayurveda is to send surveys to rural and urban communities across the Indian state of Karnataka, such as what was done in a study conducted by Rudra, Kalra, Kumar & Joe (2017), which sought to determine if socioeconomic status and demographics of rural and urban communities across the Indian union factored into the use of AYUSH services. The survey can gather information on the perception and acceptance of Ayurveda along with factors that discourage or encourage people to seek Ayurveda and if the facility being private or public makes a difference. With the data gathered, then improvements can be made on established policies.

​

To sum, visiting JSS Ayurveda hospital and Medical College was a great opportunity to be able to compare it with other local allopathic hospitals, such as JSS State Hospital and Apollo hospital. It was disappointing to see the hospital so vacant however my overall experience was enriching because I was able to find points of relation with physical therapy which I would like to further explore so that I can incorporate it to my future schooling for physical therapy.