Govt Move To Develop National Data Repository Of Allied Healthcare Professionals Finds Few Takers

New Delhi, 7 Dec 2018: While the Central government is getting ready to streamline the allied healthcare professions under a newly proposed legislation, an earlier initiative to develop a comprehensive data repository of such professionals has found few takers. Nearly a year after its launch, only around 8,000 professionals have registered on the portal, which has a capacity to capture data of more than a million individuals.

The Allied and Healthcare Professional's database portal was unveiled by the health ministry in January as a provisional measure to track and reach out to all the allied and healthcare professionals in the country till a statutory body is established. More than 3,000 professionals had got themselves registered during its testing phase itself. However, in the 12 months following its official launch, it has attracted only a few thousands more, say official sources. 

The number of registrants is minuscule, as the government’s data shows that there are approximately 8-9 lakh allied and healthcare professionals in the country at present. There are 50-odd categories listed on the portal, including radiologists, nutritionists, physiotherapists and lab technologists. 

“The portal is intended to help the government estimate the numbers and streams of allied and healthcare in the country. It remains an unfinished job as enrollment does not constitute a professional licence. A unique reference number is provided upon successful enrollment, which might be used in the future for regulatory or standardising activities. But as of now, the registration is not mandatory,” a senior health ministry official said on condition of anonymity. 

The Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill of 2018, cleared by the Union cabinet last month, proposes a central statutory body to regulate and standardise education and services. The bill provides for setting up of an Allied and Healthcare Council of India and corresponding state-level councils which will play the role of a standard-setter and facilitator. 

In the current system, most allied and healthcare professionals remain unidentified and unregulated. The database is aimed at identifying professionals in the field and weed out fraudsters. It is also crucial to expedite processes such as licensing of professionals, which is crucial to patient safety. However, the lukewarm response it receives from the professional community has disappointed policymakers. 

“I was part of the discussions with the government on this issue. This is a voluntary process for everyone without any riders,” Kaptan Singh Sehrawat, chief spokesperson of Joint Forum of Medical Technologists of India, told Pharmabiz. The group represents more than one lakh medical technologists and around 25 lab associations.

The AHP bill is expected to be tabled in parliament in the winter session, which will start in the second week of December.Pharmabiz