Licence renewal for doctors after council elections

Though it is said, when the Council implemented it in 2012, that those failing to prove that their skills were up-to-date would be prevented from practising medicine. Officials from the council now say that even if someone fails to register, no action will be taken due to the lack of an Act. It may be recalled that TNMC had a plan to improve the way medicine is practised in the State by making it mandatory for doctors to renew their licences every five years. “By 2017, all doctors registered with the council - public and private - would need to prove that they attended at least 30 hours of Continuing Medical Education (CME),” said Dr J A Jayalal of the Council. 

In 2002, the Medical Council of India (MCI), had made it compulsory for doctors to get licences renewed. “Maharashtra and New Delhi have been strictly monitoring the doctors and those in Maharashtra are given the licence only for five years, making it mandatory for them to renew it,” added Dr Jayalal. “We are awaiting the introduction of an official Act from the MCI, as only then can we take any legal action. 

We have been undertaking the process since the beginning and we are aware of the number of credit hours that each doctor – of the over 70,000 in the state – has to his name. The team that will be elected soon will carry out the process of renewing the licences immediately,” he stated. Stating that MCI is not focusing on this at the moment, vice president Dr Brahmanandam said, “We have more important things to look into, like the NEET issue. Renewing licences is not the burning problem now.”