The Indian medical system has been
facing flak over a variety of reasons for last few years including policy
paralysis, corruption and what not.

Taking cognizance, the Union Cabinet
has approved the National Medical Commission Bill, 2017 (Bill) – this legislation
will replace the existing Medical Council Act, 1956 and is expected to bring
about rare reforms in the Indian medical system. The most crucial objective for
this legislation is to restructure and re-establish the Indian medical system –
the administration of Medical Council of India (MCI) has got utterly paralyzed
as it was controlled by doctors and officials who got the proven history of
corruption and bribery.

Due to the administration by such
doctors and officials, the MCI failed spectacularly to discharge its basic
duties which resulted in worsening the health care standards in the country and
failure to sustain the proper execution of basic norms of governance or fear of
regulation.

Government has introduced the Bill
with the intent of substituting the MCI with a Medical Commission – the
government will have direct control over the medical authority. However, this
Bill is opposed by Indian Medical Association on the ground that administration
of medical authority by non-medicos is no solution to exterminate the evils
prevailing for cleansing the Indian medical system.

Some key changes to be brought about
in the system are as follows:

·       Introduction
of exit exam for MBBS graduates – one will get the license for practice after
clearing the exam only, as of now no limit is specified on number of attempts
to take the test.

·       Putting
an end to the practice of conducting inspections of colleges and periodic
renewals. Instead medical care standards and quality of education of the
colleges will be evaluated based on the academic excellence of its students in
MBBS exit exam.

·       Grant
of authority to colleges to increase seats or introduction of post-graduate
courses without the permission of regulatory authority provided such colleges
meet the minimum standards as prescribed.

·       Medical
commission will be constituted with government-nominated chairman and members
as selected by a search committee under the Cabinet Secretary.

·       Composition
of four autonomous boards delegated with:

ü Conducting undergraduate and
postgraduate education.

ü Assessment and accreditation of
medical institutions.

ü Registration of practitioners under
the National Medical Commission (NMC).

Government’s intent to cleanse the
medical system with drastic reforms in the medical laws is a welcome measure.
However, government needs to be aware of granting certain autonomous rights to
the colleges and evaluation of medical college standards purely based on the
outcome of MBBS exit exam – these measures can prove to be disastrous and
counterproductive at times.

The government seeks to achieve a
balance between the interests of medical professionals and general public
health – for this examination of the objections raised and suggestions received
from all the stakeholders have been taken into account. The overall objective
is to improve health care standards of Indians and produce qualified
doctors. 

Research and inputs by Paruchuri
Bawanth Mohan

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About the author :

Bhumesh Verma is a lawyer with over 2 decades of experience in advising domestic and international clients on corporate transactions (M&A, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Startups, corporate advisory, etc.) and features in “The A-List – India’s Top 100 Lawyers” by India Business Law Journal. He keeps writing frequently on FDI, M&A and other corporate matters and is a guest faculty as well. He can be reached at [email protected].