Continuing Medical Education in India - Why is it Not Popular?

chillibreeze writer — Soumya Shivkumar

Continuing Medical Education (CME) in India is plagued by not one but many shortcomings. These shortcomings have remained so for years together and though the will to implement CME remains, attempts have remained constrained to newspaper headlines.

While the idea of CME is alive in India, with medical associations lobbying for it, law makers have yet to make it happen. The medical fraternity points all fingers at the lax attitude of the government as it has not taken appropriate steps to enforce re-examination before re-registration.

In 2005, Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, union minister for health announced that practitioners will have to take exams every five years. Though nothing concrete came out of the decision, the prospect of appearing for written exams was not appreciated by the medical fraternity.

According to Dr. Harish Nadkarni, consultant gynecologist, the lack of a coordinating body, the absecnec of a regulatory body and the fact that this is not a mandatory requirement are some of the reasons why CME is not popular in India.

However, maybe the question to be asked is whether the CME is unpopular or is it considered an unviable option? Either ways, doctors have grown comfortable with the existing situation. According to Dr Nagraj G. Huilgol, consultant radiation oncologist, “CME does not work in India as it is not mandated by peers or the organization which governs the professionals. Also, the emphasis is on examination and not learning.”

This has been observed in practice too. The Medical Council of India established a code of ethics stating that members should complete 30 hours of CME every five years in order to re-register as doctors, but according to reports only about 20% of India's doctors follow this as it is not legally binding.

Medical Associations have been campaigning for a formal CME program for almost 10 years now. In 2001, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and MCI had recommended CME for doctors and had asked the government to prepare a curriculum for the same. MCI had also given recommendations for accreditation of the medical institutes, which will conduct the CME and organize refresher courses. The CME-based re-accreditation system for medical professionals formulated by the IMA was expected to be in force by February 2002.

According to a study called Promoting Rational Use of Medicines published in September 2002 by the World Health Organization’s Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy Department, CME opportunities are limited in the developing world because of the lack of legal or other incentives.

Indegene Life Systems, a leading global provider of knowledge-intensive services has also taken upon itself the task of providing CME to the medical fraternity. In its attempt for the same, it has entered into a partnership with John Hopkins University where it has the sole rights to market and distribute the institues CME programs.

Indegene offers CME programs across Asia and parts of Africa. As part of the agreement, Indegene will be able to organize scientific meetings and symposia in Asia on the latest developments in medical research and clinical practice addressed by the distinguished faculty of Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Hopefully, cutting edge programs developed by many more companies like Indegene may lead to self-accreditation and improved clinical practice.

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—About our writer:

Soumya says, "To live and let live and enjoy life in the present is what I believe in. I love travelling, meeting people and getting photographed. And I am a true social animal -- I just cannot sit in my balcony looking at the mountains. I have to be there on the mountain -- with a lot of friends. And since healthcare is my academic area of interest, I write on healthcare --- writing is my other interest."

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