Indian docs get US boost
New Delhi, Dec 13, 2007, The Tribune News Service,

The United States has said India’s recognition system for undergraduate medical courses is at par with theirs, an achievement that could facilitate mobility of doctors from here to the US.

The National Committee on Accreditation in the US, highest statutory body in the US responsible for foreign accreditation, has granted parity to the recognition system in India for undergraduate medical courses, Dr Vedprakash Mishra, vice-chancellor of the Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences University, said at a news conference convened to brief on the Indo-US health summit starting tomorrow.

The parity has been granted for two years. The parity does not give automatic passage to the US or any other country. But the standards of education will be treated at par with the US which will enable students’ mobility to the US, said Dr Hemant Patel, president, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI).

The parity status was given on six parameters-curriculum, teaching, method of evaluation, extension, research and impact of education processes.

The first-ever Indo-US healthcare summit is being held here on December 14-15, Robinder Sachdev, a spokesman of Indian American doctors announced today.

Over 125 Indian-origin doctors from the US will be attending the summit, marking the largest ever gathering of NRIs from the US in New Delhi. This summit is being organised in partnership with the Indian Medical Association, the Medical Council of India and the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.

The objective of the summit is to hold a dialogue and discuss specific steps about healthcare in specific states in India and strategies to mitigate the incidences of such diseases.

The Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the moving spirit behind the summit, has signed an MoU with the Ministry of Overseas of Indian Affairs to provide rural healthcare in targeted states in India. Doctors from the US will be coming and delivering voluntary services in rural areas as per the MoU.


Note: The Indo-US Healthcare Summit held on December 14-15 opened dialogue between American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the Indian Medical Association, the Medical Council of India and the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.