The Centre will allow overseas Indian doctors to practise in India without undergoing screening tests, Union Health Secretary P.K. Pradhan has said.
Addressing the CEO Forum at the Global Healthcare Summit, he said the Government is ready with the Bill to amend the Medical Council of India (MCI) Act and allow the overseas Indians to practise in their homeland as demanded by the expatriate professionals for long.
“We expect to bring the Bill during the Budget session of the Parliament,” he said.
The high-profile Forum, attended by top brasses from the industry and senior officials from the Centre and the State, also decided to work out modalities to broaden the PPP by tapping into the strengths of both the sides.
It was the first time such a face-to-face meeting between the regulatory authorities and the industry captains in the history of the global summit.
Soliciting ideas and partnerships from the private sector, Pradhan said the Government is planning to improve the secondary care by upgrading the district hospitals.
“There is a huge scope for partnership with the private sector in the areas like diagnostic services and labs. We will encourage district hospitals to run medical college campuses to augment the capacity in PG education and private players can help in this area,” he said.
Jagadish Prasad, Director General of Health Services urged the private sector hospitals to reserve 10 percent of services free of cost to the poor people under the corporate responsibility so as to make the healthcare accessible.
The Government would like to cooperate with the private sector in the areas like telemedicine, besides preventive measures such as screening, community medicine, upgrading secondary and tertiary care, he added.
T.K.A.Nair, Advisor to the Prime Minister wanted both the Government and the private sector players to prepare a roadmap to ensure make accessible affordable drugs and healthcare to the people. He offered to work as link and further frame a mechanism to take the initiative further.