1. IMA Action committee to meet today at 2 PM on lNMC bill
2. Union Minister JP Nadda on Monday urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to ensure the early release of three men from Himachal Pradesh who had allegedly been kidnapped by Nigerian pirates.
3. In certain countries, 80% of medically important antibiotic use occurs in the animal sector, primarily to promote growth in healthy animals.
4. Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) is completing its seventh year of service as a National Coordination Centre (NCC) for Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) in April, 2018.
5. Fijis Ministry of Health has declared an outbreak of meningococcal disease
6. The World Health Organisation declared that the UK had "eliminated measles" for first time in 2017.
7. The mercury has already crossed 34 degrees Celsius, which is five degree above average for this time of the year, in the first two weeks of March in Delhi
8. In Delhi 20 degree difference between night-time and daytime temperatures is affecting people’s health and is the ideal time for microorganisms to breed.
9. In a study in Cell Reports, when mice were treated with antibiotics and then infected with pathogens in the flavivirus family (Zika, WestNile, dengue), they fared far worse than their untreated counterparts.
10. Smokers who say they want to kick the habit might have an easier time if they don’t use e-cigarettes, a U.S. study suggests.
11. New York City had 613 verified cases of #TB in 2017, up 10% from 556 the year before, the largest spike in 26 years.
12. While stress certainly isnt easy to manage at any age, it can become more difficult to cope as you get older
13. The anti-pollution initiatives of Delhi include 1,000 fully electric buses; further subsidies on electric vehicles; tree planting; incentives for restaurants to replace coal-fired ovens with electric or gas-powered ovens; and programmes to replace diesel generators with cleaner-fuel equivalents and street lamps with light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
14. SBI Card, the card division of State Bank of India, has introduced the new Doctor’s SBI Card on Visa Signature platform in collaboration with Indian Medical Association.
15. For patients with alcohol-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), survival rates are poorer than for patients with HCC that is not alcohol related, primarily because they are diagnosed with late-stage disease, according to results from a new study published online March 28 in Cancer.
16. Prenatal exposure to sodium valproate, or to multiple antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), is strongly linked to lower school performance in young children [William Owen Pickrell, PhD, Wales Epilepsy Research Network, Swansea University, United Kingdom]
17. UP gov announced two years Compulsory Rural Service Bond in medical courses. The bond for MBBS/BDS kept at Rs10 lakh, PG Diploma/MDS Rs 20 Lakh, MD/MS Rs 40 lakh and DM/MCh Rs 1 crore.
18. Nagpur: Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Wednesday orally warned the Medical Council of India (MCI) against any reduction in Indira Gandhi Government Medical College’s (IGGMC) 150 MBBS seats.
19. An invisible condition is a medical condition that cannot be seen. Crohns disease, coeliac disease, sickle cell anaemia, and lupus are just a few examples of invisible conditions.
20. The Cabinet Cleared NMC Amendments to be debated by member of parliaments. IMA will continue its efforts to get more in these debates.

• Final MBBS Examination to be held as a common exam across the country and would serve as an exit test called the National Exit Test (NEXT):

Having considered the common demand by the students not to subject them to an additional licentiate exam for the purpose of getting license to practice, the Cabinet has approved that the final MBBS examination would be held as a common exam throughout the country and would serve as an exit test to be called the National Exit Test (NEXT). Thus, the students would not have to appear in a separate exam after MBBS to get license to practice. NEXT would also serve as the screening test for doctors with foreign medical qualifications in order to practice in India.

• Provision of Bridge course for AYUSH practitioners to practice modern medicine removed:

The provision dealing with bridge course for AYUSH practitioners to practice modern medicine to a limited extent has also been removed. It has been left to the State Governments to take necessary measures for addressing and promoting primary health care in rural areas.

• Fee regulation for 50% seats in private medical institutions and deemed universities:

The maximum limit of 40% seats for which fee would be regulated in private medical institutions and deemed universities has been increased to 50% seats. Further, it has been clarified that the fee would also include all other charges taken by the colleges.

• Number of nominees from States and UTs in NMC increased from 3 to 6:

Responding to the demands from States to increase their representation in the NMC, thenominees of States and UTs in the NMC have been increased from 3 to 6. The NMC willcomprise of 25 members of which at least 21 will be doctors.

• Monetary penalty for a medical college non-compliant with the norms replaced with provision for different penalty options

Another major concern gathered during discussion with stakeholders was the wide range of monetary penalty, ranging from one half to ten times the annual fee recovered from a batch, to be imposed in a graded manner on a medical college non-compliant with the norms. The clause has been replaced with a provision which provides different options for warning, reasonable monetary penalty, reducing intake, stoppage of admission leading up to withdrawal of recognition.

• Stringent punishment for unqualified medical practitioners or quacks:

The government is concerned about the quality and safety of health care being made available to the citizens and the need to act strictly against unqualified practitioners or quacks. The punishment for any unauthorized practice of medicine has been made severe by including a provision for imprisonment of up to one year along with a fine extending up to Rs. 5 lakhs.