Centre to set up new NMC board

After the Undergraduate Medical Education Board (which establishes standards for undergraduate courses), the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board (which establishes standards for post-graduate courses), the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (which evaluates and rates medical education institutions), and the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (which regulates the conduct of physicians and registers them), this will be the fifth autonomous board under the NMC.

Additionally, the draft bill suggests adding language to the parent act that would place the Delhi high court in charge of handling any legal actions brought by medical schools or other institutions against the commission. This is significant because Kerala was the first state to challenge the NMC’s fee regulation order, and the state’s highest court ultimately ruled in favor of the institution, declaring that the order would not be applicable there. According to the NMC order, fees for 50% of the seats would be reduced to the levels of the state’s government medical colleges, and fees for the remaining 50% would be determined using a predetermined set of criteria.

The draft also provides that in cases of medical malpractice, patients and their families may appeal decisions of the state medical council to the National Medical Commission or the Ethics and Medical Registration board.