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Current Affairs Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination

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Topic: National Medical Commission

Why in News?

• The National Medical Commission (NMC) has come into force from September 25, 2020, thereby repealing the nearly 64-year-old Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.
• All its bodies such as the Medical Council of India (MCI) and Board of Governors, which superseded the MCI on September 26, 2018, have also been dissolved.

Background

• The Medical Council of India (MCI) is responsible for regulating medical education and practice.
• Over the years, there have been several issues with the functioning of the MCI with respect to its regulatory role, composition, allegations of corruption, and lack of accountability.
• For example, MCI is an elected body where its members are elected by medical practitioners themselves, i.e., the regulator is elected by the regulated.
• Experts have recommended nomination based constitution of the MCI instead of election, and separating the regulation of medical education and medical practice.
• They suggested that legislative changes should be brought in to overhaul the functioning of the MCI.
• To meet this objective, the new Act repealed the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and dissolves the current MCI.

About NMC

• The NMC will be an umbrella regulatory body with certain other bodies under it.
• The NMC will regulate medical education and practice in India. Under the Act, states will establish their respective State Medical Councils within three years. These Councils will have a role similar to the NMC, at the state level.
• Functions of the NMC include:

• laying down policies for regulating medical institutions and medical professionals;
• assessing the requirements of human resources and infrastructure in healthcare;
• ensuring compliance by the State Medical Councils with the regulations made under the Bill; and
• Framing guidelines for determination of fee for up to 50% of the seats in the private medical institutions.

• The four autonomous boards under the NMC Act — the Under-Graduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB), Post-Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB), Medical Assessment and Rating Board and the Ethics and Medical Registration Board — have also been constituted.
• The NMC comprises a chairman, 10 ex-officio members and 22 part-time members. The ex-officio members include presidents of the four autonomous boards.

Other Changes

• There were many complaints of corruption in the Medical Council, and to ensure transparency, the NMC members will have to declare their assets at the time of joining and while demitting the office also.
• The members will not be allowed to accept for a period of two years, any employment in any capacity in a private medical institution whose matter has been dealt with them either directly or indirectly.
• The Centre has advocated NMC as a progressive legislation aimed to reduce the burden on students in ensuring transparency in medical education by bringing down the costs.