This article is in TAMIL language.

http://dinamani.com/edition/story.aspx?&SectionName=India&artid=183540&SectionID=130&MainSectionID=130&SEO=&Title=

The union health minister Mr.Gulam Nabi Azad has announced that GOI will be introducing a 3.5 years MBBS cours shortly and it will reduce the time from the current 5 years course.

This will be strictly through the Government school, college system The students will then appointed into government jobs.

This is good that it will stop brain drain from India and will help the downtrodden masses.

Let the rich go through the regular system, move to UK to do the FRCS, go back to India and set up multicrore Super Specialty Hospitals and fleece the rich while the poor can have access to basic care atleast

Mahatma's vision is coming true through Happy Singh.

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Sunny Leone a true Canadian DESI now back in India !.

The idea behind the 42 month medicine course might be laudable - there are questions that come to my mind:

When you talk about becoming a doctor in such a short span, what are the disadvantages? Does the curriculum still include everything that a course of 5 or 6 years? Or will the shortened course lead to half baked, unprofessional and half educated \"doctors\"?. Are we going to create a large number of semi-professionals? These are questions that everyone needs to ponder over, and information that the ministry of health needs to convey to the general public.


At the risk of being branded \"unpatriotic\", yada, yada yada, I must say this - and this again is NOT a \"who-is-better-India-or-Canada\" topic. As a disclaimer, I must also mention that we are many miles away from a perfect health-care system here. So, let us not convert this into a slanging match.

So where was I? Yes I believe that unless there is a high enough bar (as far as standards go), and there is accountability for the medical profession, and affordability, we can not ensure health-care for all, in India. To top that, the nexus between the drug controller in each state, the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession, the over-drugging of the nation and easy availability of prescription drugs (sometimes even without a prescription)are issues that need to be sorted out first. It will mean nothing if we have 42 month courses for doctors, when these issues remain unresolved.

Then again, there is the issue of how accountable the medical profession is, to the patient, and the judiciary. I have rarely come across a doctor who has had his or her license taken away, fined or reprimanded by the judiciary, for malpractice. The consumer protection Act has not helped those who become victims of negligence, or wanton callousness by doctors in India.

Until there is transparency, and accountability in the system the common man will continue to suffer for want of good health-care. As for the rich they will continue to go to the corporate hospitals- for that is where one can get great health-care at a price, most can not afford.