PMC Ordinance 2019 introduced to bring reforms in medical sector: Dr Zafar

The government on Wednesday stated that Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance 2019 has been introduced to bring about reforms in the medical sector and modernize it, saying that previous regulatory body could not keep pace with the latest developments taking place in the medical profession.

Speaking at a news conference, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza stated that huge developments have taken place in medical profession in the 20th centaury and PMDC could not keep pace. So keeping in view the developments, a need was felt to improve the medical profession and education in line with the requirements of present time. He said there is no doubt that since 1962, when Pakistan medical and dental council had been established, efforts have been made to reform PMDC and a new law was introduced in 2012 to bring about amendments in the 1962 law.

An ordinance, he said, was also introduced by the present government in 2019, which could not survive. Mirza further stated when PMDC law was introduced in 1962, there were only a few medical colleges in Pakistan and all of them were in public sector. Now there are over 168 medical colleges and over 100 medical colleges are functioning in the private sector, he added.

Mirza contended that last fifteen years have particularly played a very important role for setting up medical colleges in the country and a large number of medical colleges were opened with some of them are very good and some need considerable improvement, he added. The PMDC, the regulatory body, was unable to cater for the requirements of present time and there were also complaints about incompetence, inefficiency and corruption in the regulatory body, Mirza said.

He said that to reform the system, the present government has introduced PMC Ordinance 2019 and Pakistan Medical Tribunal Ordinance 2019. These two ordinances introduced recently would enable the government to perform in a better way in medical profession, medical education standards, medical profession licensing, examinations and implementation of all this.

Mirza said institutional reform is one of the agendas of the present government, and a need was felt to introduce a new legal framework in Pakistan to make the medical education, institutions as well as examination and licensing in accordance to the requirements of present time. The government introduced Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance 2019 based on three parts; (i) PMDC; (ii) National Medical and Dental Academic Board; (iii) and National Medical Authority.

The special assistant on health stated that the PMC would perform three kinds of functions; (i) policy making would be done by the PMDC for number of medical colleges, examination colleges and licensing; (ii) medical academic board's basic function would be to set standard of medical education and take needed step for medical professional licensing and to work for examination to be taken for issuing licenses; (iii) and Pakistan Medical Authority would ensure implementation of all these policies.

He said a couple of days ago, a summary has been sent to the Prime Minister for establishing PMDC because the ministry said that without any delay a council should be established and it could commence its functions. While explaining major differences between previous and existing system, he said that medical and dental entrance examination test would be held same day across the country. As a large number of medical colleges are in the private sector, it is also responsibility of the government to make sure medical standards in the country because absence of standards could have serious implications.

So the government has decided to introduce national licensing certificate by taking an examination after completing the education and house job and it would he held twice a year and all the doctors who would practice in the country would have to take exam for license certificate. The government wants to ensure that doctors dealing with the health sector meet the set standard to provide quality treatment to the people.

He said that this licensing system would become operational after March 2020. "We have introduced ordinance of PMC and soon this ordinance would be introduced in the form of bill in the Parliament," he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019