National Commission for Homoeopathy Medicine Bill 2019

News: Rajya Sabha has passed National Commission for Homoeopathy Medicine Bill 2019

Facts:

About National Commission for Homoeopathy Medicine Bill 2019

• It seeks to repeal the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973
• Objectives:
  • To ensure availability of adequate and high quality homoeopathic medical professionals, 
  • To ensure adoption of the latest medical research by homoeopathic medical professionals, 
  • To ensure periodic assessment of medical institutions, 
  • To ensure an effective grievance redressal mechanism.

Key Features

• It sets up the National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH). The functions of NCH will include:
  • framing policies for regulating medical institutions and homoeopathic medical professionals, 
  • assessing the requirements of healthcare related human resources and infrastructure, 
  • ensuring compliance by the State Medical Councils of Homoeopathy of the regulations made under the Bill
  • ensuring coordination among the autonomous boards set up under the Bill.
• It sets up certain autonomous boards under the supervision of the NCH.  These boards are: 
  • Homoeopathy Education Board:  It will be responsible for formulating standards, curriculum, guidelines for setting up of medical institutions, and granting recognition to medical qualifications at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels respectively, 
  • Medical Assessment and Rating Board for Homoeopathy:  It determine the process of rating and assessment of medical institutions and have the power to levy monetary penalties on institutions which fail to maintain the minimum standards  It will also grant permission for establishing a new medical institution, 
  • Board of Ethics and Medical Registration for Homoeopathy:  It will maintain a National Register of all licensed homoeopathic medical practitioners, and regulate their professional conduct.
• There will be a uniform National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission to under-graduate homoeopathy education in all medical institutions regulated by the Bill.