Govt moves to finalise checklist for medical education standards in India

New Delhi: Aiming to improve the quality of medical education and patient care, the Union Government is preparing a quality overhaul for the medical education standards in India.

Mint has reported that, according to senior officials and official documents, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is finalising a unified checklist of standards for medical college hospitals, laboratories, and critical care blocks, to harmonise patient safety and clinical training across India.

Under the new National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS), measurable indicators for departments and speciality units will be defined. Therefore, using these indicators, hospitals will be able to track outcomes more transparently and help patients make informed choices about their care.

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According to officials, the new framework was discussed at the 11th Central Quality Supervisory Committee meeting held in August. It signals a shift towards evidence-based, outcome-driven oversight of both medical training and hospital performance, as reported by Live Mint.

Further, the Daily has reported that the development of the standards for medical colleges, block public health laboratories (BPHLs) and critical care blocks (CCBs) were also discussed at the meeting.

In this regard, the official document stated, "The standards and measurable elements specific to medical college hospitals under NQAS have been finalized, and it was decided to constitute specialty-wise working groups to develop department-specific assessment checklists."

An official, aware of the development in this regard, informed Mint that already, the first meeting of the expert group, which has been set up to frame quality standards for hospitals attached to medical colleges, has taken place.

Another official informed that a draft has already been prepared specifying that the standards and measurable elements for block public health labs and the work to develop a checklist aligned with operational guidelines is in progress.

The official further added that the requirements specific to critical care blocks are also being strengthened to ensure comprehensive quality improvement. These blocks comprise key service areas, including emergency rooms, intensive care units, isolation wards, operation theatres, and labour rooms & newborn care corners.

However, the specific punitive action for non-compliance has not yet been finalised, considering the fact that the new rules are still in development. It is the National Medical Commission, the Apex Medical Education Regulatory Body in India, which holds significant punitive authority under existing laws, including the power to de-recognise medical colleges and impose monetary penalties.

The Government's decision to frame this quality checklist for the medical colleges comes amid the growing concern over uneven quality in healthcare delivery. Earlier, The Lancet estimated that substandard medical care claims about 1.6 million lives in India each year.

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that earlier this year, in its report, the prestigious medical journal The Lancet raised the issue of the corruption scandal that engulfed the medical education system in India. The report, written by the author, Dinesh C Sharma, commented on the alleged 'bureaucratic inefficiencies' of the National Medical Commission (NMC) after a corruption scandal involving several medical colleges across the country was uncovered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)