Health warning

National Medical Commission Bill needs to be tended to, and improved, not abandoned

Written by K Srinath Reddy | Updated: January 12, 2018 6:11 pm

National Medical Council Bill, NMC bill, Medical council of India, MCI, medical education, Indian express columns

While self-regulation is practised in other professions such as law, medical education is pivotally linked to the system which has to deliver a variety of health services to the people.

Should medical education be governed through self-regulation by elected representatives of the profession? Or does the government have the responsibility to ensure that the mould for making doctors matches the requirements of the health system and meets the needs of the people? Should there be a facilitated crossover from non-allopathic systems to allopathic practice, to fill the gaps created by shortage or non-availability of allopathic doctors? In a federal system, should the central government have overwhelming power to constitute and control a regulatory body that oversees all aspects of medical education, leaving little role for the states? Will national entrance and exit examinations at the undergraduate level set quality standards in medical education or disadvantage some sections of students? Will incentives given to private medical colleges, through several relaxations, reduce the huge regional disparities in medical colleges or only give a free run to commercialisation of medical education?