FIRST STEP IN A LONG JOURNEY
Important points to be noted in this article are as follows :
Why has this cropped up ?
Recently , the govt has brought up the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017.
Health crisis faced by India
Article 47 of the Constitution makes it clear that the state is duty-bound to improve public health, but India continues to face a health crisis, with an absolute shortage of and an inequitable presence of doctors and over-burdened hospitals.
• SHORTAGE OF DOCTORS : Although India has 10 lakh medical doctors, it needs 3,00,000 more in order to meet the World Health Organisation standard of the ideal doctor-population ratio.
• POOR AFFECTED: Those most affected by the shortage are poor and rural patients who are then forced to consult quacks.
• QUACKS : More than 80% of providers of “modern medicine” in rural areas do not have a medical qualification.
• EXTREME SHORTAGE IN RURAL INDIA : Rural India, which accounts for 69% of the population, faces another issue — only 21% of the country’s doctors serve them.
• QUALITY OF HEALTHCARE : It is ironic that, while India is a hub for medical tourism, it is a common sight in government hospitals to have patients sleep in corridors waiting for their outpatient department appointments.
The Bill Tries To Address These Problems
• RATING OF COLLEGES : The Bill puts in place a mechanism to assess and rate medical colleges regularly, with a high monetary penalty for failure to comply with standards. Three such failures will result in the de-recognition of a college.
• REGULATING FEES :There is also an enabling provision for the government to regulate the fees of up to 40% seats in private medical colleges.
• RELAXATION OF CRITERIA :The Bill goes a step further with a relaxation of the criteria for approving a college in specific cases. Currently, there is a blanket standard for establishing a medical college in India, which disregards the contextual realities in some areas such as difficult terrain or a low population density. For instance, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland do not have a single medical college.
• PRIMARY CARE : Strengthening primary centres can ensure that the pyramid rests on its base again. For this, India’s 7,70,000 AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) practitioners can be tapped. The Bill has facilitated this by providing for a bridge course for AYUSH/non-allopathic doctors. This course will ensure that non-allopathic doctors are trained to prescribe modern medicines in a limited way.
• PREVENTING CROSS-PATHY : An added measure in the Bill prevents “cross-pathy” or the unqualified cross-over of health-care providers from one system to another. The Bill provides for two separate national registers – allopathic doctors, and AYUSH doctors who complete the bridge course, respectively.
• STRUCTURAL CHANGES: The Bill seeks to make structural changes in a stagnant and increasingly exploitative health-care system.
Conclusion
While there no magic bullet to revamp health care, the bill should be looked at as a step in the right direction.
Relevance : GS 2
