Regulatory system to promote the culture of quality at Indian medical schools: Are we doing enough?

Abstract

The replacement of the Medical Council of India (MCI) with the National Medical Commission (NMC) was an important change in regulatory oversight to bring about transparency in regulatory procedures for improving quality of medical education and meeting the needs of healthcare in India. Similarly, due to globalization of medicine including migration of health workforce and desire to raise standards of medical education and healthcare, efforts have progressed well towards transnational regulation and establishment of an overarching body, which recognizes regulatory agencies for their adherence to good practices. We describe the global collaborative efforts to improve the quality of medical education by the promotion of accreditation through the recognition programme of the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME), the publication of the expert consensus standards across the continuum of medical education and the Guidelines for Accreditation of Basic Medical Education. We also highlight that many medical schools across the world have adopted the WFME standards and many regulatory and accrediting agencies have achieved recognition status. Based on appraisal of the NMC Act and notification on minimum standard requirements (MSRs) for medical colleges, we point out the gaps between the intent stated in the preamble of the NMC Act and the notification on MSRs. We recommend a way forward to develop a regulatory model and approaches that match NMC’s stated intent and meet the requirement for medical schools in India to gain international recognition.