The document summarizes India's experience in addressing shortages of healthcare workers through disclosure of current doctor population ratios, exposure of rural areas to medical education and services, and educational initiatives. It notes that while India has over 700,000 doctors, the ratio of 60 doctors per 100,000 people is below international standards. To increase rural access, regulations were amended in 1993 and 2008 to allow expansion of medical colleges, including in rural areas. Educational programs like the IMA's "Aao Gaon Chale" initiative also aim to boost rural healthcare.

1. WMA seminar "Human resources for health",
8-9 March 2009, Dr. Ketan Desai, President-Medical Council of India
COPING WITH SHORTAGES
EXPERIENCE OF INDIA

2. How do we Address it?
 Disclosure
 Exposure
 Education

3. Disclosure
 India has a pool of 7,00,000 doctors of
Modern Medicine- 2nd Largest in the world
 Doctor population ratio is 60:1,00,000
 Below that of developed countries like USA,
UK & Australia
 If the attributed doctor population ratio is
taken at 100:1,00,000 there would still be an
additional requirement of 4,00,000 doctors

4. Disclosure
Population
Huge Urban Rural
Rural Areas
divide- 70% population
Urban Areas
lives in Rural areas
Manpower
30% Medical
manpower available in Medical
Manpower
Rural areas (Rural)
Medical
Manpower
(Urban)

5. Exposure
 Vertical and horizontal expansion of medical
colleges
1154
1200
1000 875
Estimated Population
800
(Million)
600 Medical Colleges
360
400 Ratio (No. of Medical
200 Colleges/million)
0.064 0.17 0.25
0
1947 1993 2008

6. Exposure
 The Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 was
amended in 1993 along with several
regulations on Minimum Requirements in
medical colleges to regulate the Medical
Education in the country
 Availability of unitary plot of land of 25 acres -
Resulted in opening of new medical colleges and
Tertiary healthcare facilities in Rural Areas which
did not exist before
 Helped graduates from rural surrounding to
settle there once graduated

7. Exposure
 Reduction in the requirement of beds for a
medical college without sacrificing quality of
clinical education
 Hospital buildings were permitted to rise from 3-
4 storey to 10-12 storey-which resulted in low
cost of infrastructure
 All the above measures helped in
establishment of more Medical Colleges
throughout the country

8. Exposure
Out of 131 colleges Colleges
opened in 15 years
period between 1993 Semi Urban,
to 2008, as many as 97 District, Taluka
Head
were in Semi Urban, Quarters,
District, Taluka Rural Areas
Urban
Headquarters and in
Rural areas

9. Exposure
 Further Regulations were amended by the
Council in 2008
 Unitary plots of 25 acres were difficult to be
acquired in urban areas having population more
than 25 lac and in hilly & tribal areas-this condition
was relaxed wherein college could be setup in 2
pieces of land
 Companies/Corporate were also permitted to
establish a medical college
 Reduction in Teaching faculty requirement by 20%
in Pre and Para-Clinical subjects
 Reduction in infrastructure requirement

10. Education
 Teacher student ratio relaxed to 1:2 in case of
Professor from 1:1
 Institute would add 10 beds to increase the
availability of postgraduate seats without
sacrificing the quality of bed side teaching
 The Medical Council of India has amended -
that at least 50% of the seats in postgraduate
diploma courses should only be reserved for
those who have completed a specified
minimum period of service in rural areas

11. Education
Contributions of Indian Medical
Association
“Aao Gaon Chale”
IMA College of
AKN Sinha Institute of General practitioners - which means “Let Us
Medical Education and go to the Villages”
Medical education
Research for Doctors visit villages in
program for family
Postgraduate Certificate their spare time.
courses in the form of
physicians dealing with
Implemented
distant learning all sorts of medical
successfully in 500
program emergencies in rural
villages benefiting
and backward areas.
more than 1 lac people

12. THANK YOU