Parliamentary Panel Begins Hearing On AHP Bill

New Delhi, 14 March 2019: The parliamentary standing committee on health and family welfare has started hearing on the Allied and Healthcare Professions (AHP) Bill, 2018 in a bid to incorporate relevant regulatory framework for standardisation in the country’s paramedical sector. The panel is learnt to have received submissions from stakeholders including professional associations and industry bodies. 

The new 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 for these professions. The council will regulate 15 major professional categories including 53 professions such as x-ray technicians, radiologists, nutritionists and physiotherapists. 

Professional associations are betting big on the legislation that would open up global opportunities for its members. According to the government, it will benefit an estimated 900,000 allied and healthcare-related professionals and thousands of others joining the workforce every year. 

In its submission to the committee, a copy of which has been reviewed by Pharmabiz, Joint Forum of Medical Technologists of India (JFMTI), an umbrella group representing seven major allied health professions has put forward proposals to regulate the large number of allied healthcare categories in a uniform manner. 

“The proposed regulatory framework is too centralised which should require representation from all left-out stakeholders who should be incorporated in a democratic manner,” Kaptan Singh Sehrawat of JFMTI told Pharmabiz. With more than one lakh members, the group represents medical laboratory sciences, medical radiology technology, operation theatre and anesthesia technology, radiation therapy, dialysis technology, cardiovascular technology and neurology technology. 

While welcoming the constitution of a central council, the JFMTI is disappointed with “some backward movement from what was envisaged in its earlier 2007, 2009 and 2011 avatars”. To begin with, they want the government to alter the short title of the bill to Allied Healthcare Professions Council Bill or Healthcare Professions Council Bill instead of mentioning two classifications of allied and healthcare. Accordingly, the name of council should be Allied Healthcare Professions Council of India or Healthcare Professions Council of India. They also seek to avoid unnecessary inclusion of professionals’ bodies and individuals and increase representation of categories. Moreover, the representation of different streams in the Central Council should be proportionate to their numbers on the basis of workforce size. 

The bill empowers the central and state governments to make rules and issue directions to the councils or to amend the schedule. The state councils will undertake recognition of allied and healthcare institutions. An offences and penalties clause has been included to check malpractices. 

In the submission, the JLFMT also underscores the need for clarity in the bill regarding funds for various streams. “All provisions of the said Council should be at par with other existing regulatory bodies of health sector such as Pharmacy Council of India, Indian Nursing Council and Dental Council of India,” the submission reads. 

Industry experts point out that in developed countries such as the US, the UK, Canada and Australia, policy rationalisation by governments has facilitated the release of allied health professions from medical dominance. In Australia, the health system is managed not only by their doctors and nurses, but also by the 90,000 university-trained, autonomous paramedical staff. However, in India, many allied healthcare professionals remain unidentified, unregulated and under-utilised. While allied healthcare professionals in developed nations typically attend undergraduate degree programme of a minimum of 3-4 years to begin with and may attain up to PhD level qualification in their respective streams, most of Indian institutions offering such courses lack standardisation.Pharmabiz