Why in News ?

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has replaced the Medical Council of India (BoG-MCI). It aimed at bringing in reforms in medical education. 

Why Medical Council of Inida Dissolved ?

• MCI is an elected body where its members are elected by medical practitioners themselves, i.e., the regulator is elected by the regulated.
  • Separating the regulation of medical education and medical practice due to to its
    • Regulatory role
    • Composition
    • Allegations of corruption
    • Lack of accountability
• National Medical Commission Bill introduced to dissolve MCI in 2019. 

National Medical Commission

• National Medical Commission (NMC) as an umbrella regulatory body with certain other bodies under it.
• Functions of the NMC include
  • Laying down policies for regulating medical institutions and medical professionals
  • Assessing the requirements of human resources and infrastructure in healthcare
  • Ensuring compliance by the State Medical Councils with the regulations made under the Bill
  • Framing guidelines for determination of fee for up to 50% of the seats in the private medical institutions.
• The NMC will have four separate autonomous boards
  • Under-graduate medical education : Responsible for formulating standards, curriculum, guidelines for medical education.
  • Post-graduate medical education : Responsibility same as above.
  • Medical assessment and Rating : power to levy monetary penalties on institutions which fail to maintain the minimum standards.
  • Ethics and medical registration : Maintain a National Register of all the licensed medical practitioners.
• Members will be nominated consist of 25 members including
  • Director Generals of the Directorate General of Health Services and the Indian Council of Medical Research
  • Director of any of the AIIMS
  • Five members (part-time) to be elected by the registered medical practitioners
  • Six members appointed on rotational basis from amongst the nominees of the states in the Medical Advisory Council.
  • Among 25 at least 15 are medical practitioners
• States will establish their respective State Medical Councils and will have a role similar to the NMC, at the state level.

How the new commission address various issues ?

• State Medical Council deals with complaints relating to professional or ethical misconduct against a registered medical practitioner.
  • Medical practitioner is aggrieved of a decision of the State Medical Council he can appeal to the Ethics and Medical Registration Board.
• The doctor to population ratio in India was 1:1655 compared to the World Health Organisation standard of 1:1000.
  • The Bill provides for the NMC to grant limited license to certain mid-level practitioners called community health providers, connected with the modern medical profession to practice medicine.
  • These practitioners may only prescribe medicine under the supervision of a registered medical practitioner.

Source : The Hindu

Topic

GS II : Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Current Affairs Compilation : 26 September 2020