New Medical Council, New Architectural Structure
With the government appointed panel, headed by the NITI Agog Chairman, recommending the abolishment of the current MCI and its subsequent replacement with the National Medical Commission, fresh new policy changes are coming into light.
Addressing the basic lacunaes in the previous IMC Act as well as lack of transparency in functioning of MCI, the National Medical Commission Bill 2016 has suggested that the apex medical regulator be broken down into independent bodies that would enhance efficiencies as well as transparency int he current system
Given the overwhelming sentiment in favour of a new institutional set up for regulation of medical education, the following architecture has been proposed:
The National Medical Commission (NMC) will be the policy-making body for medical education and shall comprise a Chairperson, nine ex-officio Members and ten part-time members. The Chairperson and 4 ex-officio members, who shall also be Presidents of the four autonomous Boards to be created under the overall umbrella of the NMC, shall be appointed by the Central Government through an open and transparent selection process. The Secretary heading the Secretariat of the Commission (see below) shall also be an ex-officio Member. The balance ex-officio members shall be nominated by the Central Government and represent the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Rural Development and Department of Pharmaceuticals. Of the 10 part-time members, five will be appointed by the Central Government through open and transparent selection process and would be drawn from diverse backgrounds such as Law, Management, Economics, Consumer or Patient rights Advocacy, Science and Technology. The remaining five part-time members shall be selected from amongst the members of the Medical Advisory Council representing States on a rotational basis.
The National Medical Commission, though being an apex body will function through its 4 constituent boards namely
Each Board is to be headed by a separate President and assigned the responsibility of discharging one of the four major functions, namely, regulation of undergraduate medical education, regulation of post-graduate education, accreditation and assessment of institutions and regulation of the practice of the profession. Within the Regulations and Policies framed by the NMC, each Board will be empowered to take decision on all matters pertaining to its subject of jurisdiction. It is envisaged that NMC would coordinate the activities of the four Boards. The Commission shall also have an appellate jurisdiction over these Boards. Within the bounds of the regulations and policies set by the Commission, the Boards shall have full administrative and financial decision-making powers.
The Preliminary Report and the draft NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION BILL, 2016 is placed for seeking public opinion. Please send comments/suggestions/feedback on the draft bill latest by 31 st August, 2016 through e-mail only at dirhealth-niti@gov.in.
Addressing the basic lacunaes in the previous IMC Act as well as lack of transparency in functioning of MCI, the National Medical Commission Bill 2016 has suggested that the apex medical regulator be broken down into independent bodies that would enhance efficiencies as well as transparency int he current system
Given the overwhelming sentiment in favour of a new institutional set up for regulation of medical education, the following architecture has been proposed:
Creation of National Medical Commission
The National Medical Commission (NMC) will be the policy-making body for medical education and shall comprise a Chairperson, nine ex-officio Members and ten part-time members. The Chairperson and 4 ex-officio members, who shall also be Presidents of the four autonomous Boards to be created under the overall umbrella of the NMC, shall be appointed by the Central Government through an open and transparent selection process. The Secretary heading the Secretariat of the Commission (see below) shall also be an ex-officio Member. The balance ex-officio members shall be nominated by the Central Government and represent the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Rural Development and Department of Pharmaceuticals. Of the 10 part-time members, five will be appointed by the Central Government through open and transparent selection process and would be drawn from diverse backgrounds such as Law, Management, Economics, Consumer or Patient rights Advocacy, Science and Technology. The remaining five part-time members shall be selected from amongst the members of the Medical Advisory Council representing States on a rotational basis.
The National Medical Commission, though being an apex body will function through its 4 constituent boards namely
- Under graduate Medical Education Board ( UGMEB)- To oversee the medical education in the country at the undergraduate level
- Post Graduate Medical Education Board ( PGMEB) - To oversee the medical education in the country at the postgraduate level
- Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) - For assessment and rating of medical educational institutions as standards laid down by UGMEB or PGMEB, as the case may be
- Board of Medical Registration (BMR)- For the regulations of medical professionals.B MR shall maintain a live electronic, publicly available, National Register of all licensed medical practitioners to be known as the National Register. The register shall contain the name, address, date of birth, Aadhaar ID of and all qualifications recognized by UGMEB and PGMEB possessed by the licensed practitioner
Each Board is to be headed by a separate President and assigned the responsibility of discharging one of the four major functions, namely, regulation of undergraduate medical education, regulation of post-graduate education, accreditation and assessment of institutions and regulation of the practice of the profession. Within the Regulations and Policies framed by the NMC, each Board will be empowered to take decision on all matters pertaining to its subject of jurisdiction. It is envisaged that NMC would coordinate the activities of the four Boards. The Commission shall also have an appellate jurisdiction over these Boards. Within the bounds of the regulations and policies set by the Commission, the Boards shall have full administrative and financial decision-making powers.
Medical Advisory Council
A Medical Advisory Council (MAC) having representation from the States and Union Territories is recommended (UTs) to articulate the national agenda for medical education. This would ensure representation of the States and UTs, which are co-equal stakeholders in providing quality medical education while at the same time also restricting the size of National Medical Commission to a 10 manageable number. Absent MAC, we would either lose representation of states and UTs in the process, which is highly undesirable, or will need to give them membership in the National Medical Commission, which would make the latter unwieldy. Creation of MAC, thus, provides a good compromise between losing representation by the states and UTs and straddling the National Medial Commission with some of the current problems of the MCI.
The Preliminary Report and the draft NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION BILL, 2016 is placed for seeking public opinion. Please send comments/suggestions/feedback on the draft bill latest by 31 st August, 2016 through e-mail only at dirhealth-niti@gov.in.
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