The government will soon come out with an ambulance code to check the practice of vans and goods vehicles being turned into makeshift and ill-equipped ambulances that pose a risk to Patients’ lives and limbs. By the end of this month, a committee that includes doctors is expected to finalise the draft of the national ambulance code, which will specify requirements from design to equipment to personnel. (See chart) “Most ambulances in...

-The Hindu About 40 networks and civil society groups from 16 districts of Rajasthan on Saturday demanded that the flagship free medicine supply scheme at government hospitals in the State be brought under an independent legislation or included in the Rajasthan Public Services Guarantee Act, 2011, to remove bottlenecks being faced for the past eight months. Activists under the banner of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan praised the scheme for its reach and objectives,...

-The Telegraph A nationwide association of doctors has called on its members to observe a strike on June 25 to protest against several government initiatives, including a move to improve quality standards in clinics and hospitals. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) is opposing the implementation of the Clinical Establishment Act that imposes certain minimum standards for infrastructure, space, equipment, and qualified paramedical staff on clinics, nursing homes, and hospitals. Senior IMA executives said...

-The Economic Times   Pushed to the wall by an overly cautious drug regulator and an alarmist Indian government, clinical trial companies are looking at South East Asian countries to expand their business and escape the red tape of Indian authorities.  Clinical research companies (CROs), that were aspiring to become billion- dollar companies by 2010, had to rework their plans after a Parliamentary Standing Committee report questioned the allegedly unfair and unethical trials...

-The Hindu Aamir Khan's “Satyamev Jayate” has drawn sharp criticism from Indian Medical Association   Taking forward the debate on commercialisation of health, initiated by actor Aamir Khan in his television show “Satyamev Jayate” that drew sharp criticism from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), health activists have said distortions in medical practices, induced by unregulated commercialisation, have become systemic problems. In an open letter to the IMA, which has sought an apology from Mr....