Restructuring the Medical Council of India

Abstract

This paper recommends that India exclude/ limit the number of National Medical Commission representatives in the Medical Advisory Council in order to divide power, promote autonomy, and prevent corruption. Creation of Regional Medical Councils across regions of India, instead of having the Medical Assessment and Rating Board hire third party assessment agencies. This will promote competition amongst the regions to improve quality and process of assessment. Review section 7.2 of Indian Medical Council Professional Conduct, Etiquette, and Ethics Regulation, 2002 and clarify minimum medical procedures that both MBBS doctors and qualified nurses are permitted to conduct. Research has to be included as a fundamental component for accreditation of postgraduate medical colleges. Direct the PGMEB to only accredit postgraduate institutions that both adopt a research-based meritocratic hierarchy for faculty and incorporate research in the assessment of students. Introduce a mandatory three-year work period for all graduating students of medical institutions. For the first year the graduates should work in provincial hospitals, and for the second and third years, they must work in community or rural hospitals. This will both address the shortage of doctors in many communities and prevent rampant ‘brain-drain’. Adopt WHO-WFMR guidelines for Basic Medical Education (BME) and Postgraduate Medical Education (PME). Set the base guideline for all standards created by the UGMEB and PGMEB to the BME and PME respectively. This will bring India in line with international standards. Create a fifth sub-board that will adopt the WHO-WFMR guideline for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). This sub-board will be responsible for the standards of individual medical professionals and medical professional affiliation. This will both bring India in line with international standards and apply constant quality checks on all medical practitioners within the country.