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

Regards

Pralhad Jadhav

Senior Manager @ Library

Khaitan & Co

Upcoming Event | National Conference on Future Librarianship: Innovation for Excellence (NCFL 2016) during April 22-23, 2016.

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PM Modi wants overhaul of higher education regulators

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked for a new body to subsume the present higher education regulators and the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog has been told to suggest a new framework after consulting stakeholders.

A committee headed by NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya and having members from various fields of the academia has been constituted to give recommendations in three months, sources said.

A NITI Aayog functionary said replacing the existing higher education regulatory bodies -- University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), National Council for Teacher’s Education (NCTE) and Medical Council of India (MCI) -- was on the agenda of the committee’s discussions.

The existing bodies could be replaced by a National Commission for Higher Education, whose operational framework would be formulated by the NITI Aayog panel whose members include health secretary PK Mishra and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.

The four bodies control some 50,000 educational institutions among themselves, with UGC being the oldest -- set up in 1956 through a central law.

Senior functionaries in regulators such as the MCI, the AICTE and the NCTE have of late been accused of corruption and favourtism in the absence of clear and transparent guidelines, leading to the misuse of discretionary powers.

“Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is keen higher education needs to be modernised and has to be of international quality,” a senior NITI Aayog functionary said, requesting anonymity. “Politics inside university campuses is not appreciated worldwide. They are places for debate and discussion for academic excellence.”

This comes as a number of central universities -- from Hyderabad and Delhi to Rajasthan and Jharkhand -- find themselves embroiled in controversies over so-called nationalism, leading to the arrest of some students and disciplinary action against faculty members.

This is not the first time an attempt is being made to revamp higher education regulators.

The National Knowledge Commission headed by Sam Pitroda had suggested an autonomous higher education commission with experts as heads of different streams such as technical education, health, teacher training and so on.

The recommendation was opposed by the health ministry which controls the MCI and the HRD ministry which has operational control over the UGC, the AICTE and the NCTE as they were not willing to relinquish control.

In March this year, Parliament’s standing committee had asked the health ministry to set up a national medical commission through legislation. Earlier, the standing committee on education had raised questions over the efficacy of the AICTE and the UGC.

“We will examine recommendations made by the parliamentary committee and other bodies and will suggest a complete overhaul framework as present regulators cannot build a modern education system,” said one of the committee members, who was not willing to speak on the record till the committee finalised its report.

Source | Hindustan Times | 1 April 2016

Regards

Pralhad Jadhav

Senior Manager @ Library

Khaitan & Co

Upcoming Event | National Conference on Future Librarianship: Innovation for Excellence (NCFL 2016) during April 22-23, 2016.

Note | If anybody use these post for forwarding in any social media coverage or covering in the Newsletter please give due credit to those who are taking efforts for the same.

Washable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Chip

Washable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Chip

HOTEL TOWEL THIEVES, BEWARE! IT MIGHT HAVE A TRACKING CHIP

You've wiped yourself dry and then mistakenly dropped the hotel towel into your carry-on case... well, beware. Hotels across the USA have reported that have been missing 5-20 per cent of their towels in any given month.

A Miami-based company recently patented a washable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip. This mini tracking chip can be sewn into towel s, robes and bed sheets.  It will trigger an alarm if a guest tries to sneak that item out of the hotel premises.  According to The According to The New York Times, three hotels in Honolulu, Manhattan and Miami have already introduced this amazing technology.

William Serbin, executive vice president of Linen Technology Tracking, told T h e New York T h e New York Times that high cotton prices have led to costlier towels. This triggered the need for an antitheft mechanism. He says the technology also helps monitor linen demand and adjust supply accordingly.

Believe it or not, it's been working well. The Honolulu hotel has saved nearly $15,000 since implementing the tags last summer.  Their monthly towel theft numbers is now less than a quarter of what it was before. 

Source | Economic Times | 1 April 2016

Regards

Pralhad Jadhav

Senior Manager @ Library

Khaitan & Co

Upcoming Event | National Conference on Future Librarianship: Innovation for Excellence (NCFL 2016) during April 22-23, 2016.

Note | If anybody use these post for forwarding in any social media coverage or covering in the Newsletter please give due credit to those who are taking efforts for the same.