British Medical Journal calls for radical revamp of MCI
It failed to create a transparent system for accrediting medical colleges, says editorial
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) in
its latest issue has called for a ‘radical prescription’ to reform the Medical
Council of India (MCI) in order to eliminate corruption and lack of ethics in
healthcare.
Referring to several observations in the
parliamentary standing committee report submitted in the Rajya Sabha in March,
the BMJ says in its editorial to be released on Thursday that the
parliamentary panel lays bare the MCI’s failure to oversee quality and
integrity in health services in the country.
The parliamentary standing committee in its
report criticised the MCI for being a “biased” organisation, acting “against
larger public health goals.” It described the Council as an “exclusive club” of
medical doctors from corporate hospitals and private practice.
Kickbacks & capitation fee
The committee called for extensive reforms in
the MCI and removal of roadblocks to the Common Medical Entrance Test for
admission to MBBS and PG courses. It stated that admission should be granted on
“merit” and “not the ability to pay a capitation fee.”
The editorial comes against the backdrop of a
campaign against corruption in the health sector, launched by BMJ in 2014, that
sparked global debate. The journal published articles on kickbacks for
referrals from doctors, revenue targets at corporate hospitals, and capitation
fees in private medical colleges in India.
In the latest BMJ editorial, Dr. Samiran
Nundy, Dean of Sir Ganga Ram Institute for Postgraduate Medical Education and
Research states that the MCI has “failed to create a rigorous transparent
system for accrediting medical colleges, leading to geographical
mal-distribution and creation of ‘ghost faculties’ in private medical
colleges.”
The editorial has been co-authored by Sanjay
Nagral, consultant surgeon at Jaslok Hospital and Anita Jain, BMJ’s research
editor.
The authors of the BMJ editorial laud the
parliamentary committee report stating that it “is a landmark in identifying
factors that have led to the current scenario and apportions equal
responsibility to the Health Ministry for letting things come to this....”
The MCI was established under the Indian
Medical Council Act 1933 and given responsibility for maintaining standards of
medical education, providing ethical oversight, maintaining the medical
register, and, through amendments in 1993, sanctioning medical colleges.
Dr. Nundy said the Centre, “will have to
muster strong political support to act on the committee’s recommendations as
this will inevitably involve hurting well entrenched and powerful interests.”
“For those of us in the medical profession in
India who have been despairing of the state of affairs, this report is a long
awaited panacea,” they write. “And for the citizens of India strained by the
dual burden of expensive and unethical healthcare, the report could be a
powerful tool in their struggle to make the healthcare system deliver their
needs,” the BMJ editorial says.
Source | The Hindu | 1 April 2016
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