Doctors slam NITI Aayog report on MCI reforms

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 26

The Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare (ADEH), a national network of doctors committed to promoting ethical and rational healthcare, today slammed the NITI Aayog report on MCI reforms and questioned its proposals that promote profiteering in medicine. Attended by Arun Gadre, co-author of the book “Dissenting Diagnosis”; Arun Mitra, chairperson, Ethics Committee, Punjab Medical Council; Abhay Shukla, convener, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan and Usha Shrivastva, vice-president, Indian Doctors for Peace and Development, the gathering said the report “dashed hopes that corruption linked with gross commercialisation of medical education would be checked effectively”.

The NITI Aayog is championing even more accelerated privatisation and commercialisation related to medical education in India, Mitra said questioning the report’s proposal to do away with the ceiling or regulation of fees in private medical colleges for the majority of students.

“This would lead to legalisation of astronomical sums being charged by many private medical colleges in a modified form. The Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences, Bathinda, recently increased its fees from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 58.5 lakh for the MBBS course,” Mitra said.

Another aspect of the report questioned by experts was its proposal that now “profit entities”, including businesses and corporations, should be officially allowed to open and run medical colleges. “There is a market-oriented dilution in the regulatory approach related to medical education. Even medical colleges with grossly unsatisfactory standards would not be promptly closed down,” the ADEH said.