Continuous medical education: PMDC suspends registration renewal criterion for doctors

ISLAMABAD: The management committee of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has temporarily suspended the precondition of completing continuous medical education (CME) hours for renewal of registration of doctors.

A press release issued by the PMDC on Saturday stated that the decision was taken considering the difficulties doctors were facing in completing CME hours.

Almost 1,500 cases of doctors who were unable to complete their CME hours were pending registration with the council.

Terming the procedure “unnecessary red-tapism”, the PMDC management committee hoped that the new move would help alleviate the undue anxiety that was generated in the medical profession, the release said.

PMDC Management Committee Chairperson Maj Gen (retd) Dr Azhar Mehmood Kayani said that pending cases would now be facilitated by the concerned sections of the PMDC, the press statement quotes.

Dr Kayani said that new and easier procedures for meeting these requirements for renewal of registration and completion of CME hours would be announced soon.

Medical practitioners have been contesting the procedure ever since it was promulgated, describing it as “haphazard, faulty and inadequate”.

Dr Mubeen Malik, a cardiologist based in Kharian, told The Express Tribune said that the decision might have worked for doctors working in cities such as Lahore, Karachi or Islamabad, but was problematic for those working in remote areas.

“In December 2014, I came to Islamabad for renewal of my registration, but I was informed that I needed to complete CME hours first,” he said.

“I do not know of any certified trainer or centre that is conducting these training sessions in my area, and as a doctor my foremost job is to tend to my patients rather than travelling to other cities to meet this criterion,” Dr Malik said.

“Similarly, as a cardiologist I have no interest in studying orthopaedics, but as per this rule we are also required to study subjects other than our area of specialisation,” he said.

Malik suggests that doctors should be provided with an online facility for CME training sessions, submission of fee, and revalidation of certificate.

Under the CME system, doctors were required to attend certain classes and trainings held by the PMDC certified trainers to earn credit hours for renewal of their licences.

The criterion was implemented in 2014, and general practitioners were required to submit 30 CME hours, while specialists are required to complete 15 CME hours every year.

A notification issued in June said that doctors could also earn CME hours by participating in conferences.

The notification said that the PMDC would suspend doctors’ licences if they fail to meet the deadline, and that no certificate without CME hours would be accepted for renewal.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2015.