Lesson learning from Covid19 for Health Sector Reforms
This pandemic has taught us that we should give due importance to Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine.
This is the time to realise the importance of strengthening of primary and much more the Secondary level institutions.
Current pandemic has raised some of the questions to me:
Are our doctors prepared for universal health care?
Do we need to rely more on self-regulation?
Are we maximising our resources effectively and need based?
Do we need simulation or the digital learning as optimally or over used during this pandemic?
Do we really need more clinicians with upgraded skills?
Should we go now for doctor patient ratio of 1:1000?
Its time to think about the distribution of medical colleges 64% of the medical colleges are in the southern and western region whereas 65% population reside in north and east of the country.
UG/PG seats ratio is 2:1 and only 50% seats are in clinical subjects. Undergraduate total 499 colleges and 70012 seats and PG total seats34926 and DNBE 7273 and AIIMS and autonomous institutions10
IMA College of general practioners provide diploma in family medicine. We tried to promote this course under RUHS when I was the Dean of the college. now it should be reconsidered by all health universities Its time to promote MD family medicine or the DNB family medicine.
This pandemic force us to revisit WHO mandate of the organised medical care provisions to individuals or community though Primary, Secondary and Tertiary care. Even the most developed countries have faced the acute shortage of skilled manpower and infrastructure.
We should increase the scope of National board of examination. Last year there were only 8394 seats across the country.
Today there are less faculty, infrastructure but more patients in public sector and just reverse in the private sector i.e. less no of patients against more infrastructure and manpower.
This is very typical for our country makes all time mandatory to have a strong and practical PPP policy for health systems. At the same time, we should not forget that private medical education has already overtaken govt. institutions.
In the present pandemic we have realised that the HEALTH is the most important aspect of our existence which can’t be ignored, and the strong health care delivery system is the need of the hour.
In my opinion curriculum of medical education to be updated at the undergraduate level Communication skills, ethics, clinical ward rounds, differential diagnosis, evidence-based practice and competence development of the medical graduates should be incorporated. These aspects we learned from our professors in SMS Medical college during our PG training. We should integrate all learning resources; all health care institutions be integrated with medical education and create opportunities for young aspirants. We are still lacking in faculty and visiting faculty system. Services of the Clinical experts from the private sector be utilised.
During this pandemic we have truly realised that UG/PG ratio should be 1:1,need additional 85000PG doctors by 2025,emergency and family medicine, training resources, skill upgradation programs, increased faculty and visiting faculty pool, some research and innovations institutions, Indian manufacturing units for drugs and supplies are to be prioritised at the state as well as central level.
Dr P.C.Ranka,M D (Medicine),
Former Principal Specialist
GoR
This pandemic has taught us that we should give due importance to Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine.
This is the time to realise the importance of strengthening of primary and much more the Secondary level institutions.
Current pandemic has raised some of the questions to me:
Are our doctors prepared for universal health care?
Do we need to rely more on self-regulation?
Are we maximising our resources effectively and need based?
Do we need simulation or the digital learning as optimally or over used during this pandemic?
Do we really need more clinicians with upgraded skills?
Should we go now for doctor patient ratio of 1:1000?
Its time to think about the distribution of medical colleges 64% of the medical colleges are in the southern and western region whereas 65% population reside in north and east of the country.
UG/PG seats ratio is 2:1 and only 50% seats are in clinical subjects. Undergraduate total 499 colleges and 70012 seats and PG total seats34926 and DNBE 7273 and AIIMS and autonomous institutions10
IMA College of general practioners provide diploma in family medicine. We tried to promote this course under RUHS when I was the Dean of the college. now it should be reconsidered by all health universities Its time to promote MD family medicine or the DNB family medicine.
This pandemic force us to revisit WHO mandate of the organised medical care provisions to individuals or community though Primary, Secondary and Tertiary care. Even the most developed countries have faced the acute shortage of skilled manpower and infrastructure.
We should increase the scope of National board of examination. Last year there were only 8394 seats across the country.
Today there are less faculty, infrastructure but more patients in public sector and just reverse in the private sector i.e. less no of patients against more infrastructure and manpower.
This is very typical for our country makes all time mandatory to have a strong and practical PPP policy for health systems. At the same time, we should not forget that private medical education has already overtaken govt. institutions.
In the present pandemic we have realised that the HEALTH is the most important aspect of our existence which can’t be ignored, and the strong health care delivery system is the need of the hour.
In my opinion curriculum of medical education to be updated at the undergraduate level Communication skills, ethics, clinical ward rounds, differential diagnosis, evidence-based practice and competence development of the medical graduates should be incorporated. These aspects we learned from our professors in SMS Medical college during our PG training. We should integrate all learning resources; all health care institutions be integrated with medical education and create opportunities for young aspirants. We are still lacking in faculty and visiting faculty system. Services of the Clinical experts from the private sector be utilised.
During this pandemic we have truly realised that UG/PG ratio should be 1:1,need additional 85000PG doctors by 2025,emergency and family medicine, training resources, skill upgradation programs, increased faculty and visiting faculty pool, some research and innovations institutions, Indian manufacturing units for drugs and supplies are to be prioritised at the state as well as central level.
Dr P.C.Ranka,M D (Medicine),
Former Principal Specialist
GoR
