Renewal of MMC Registration!

Maharashtra Medical Council has issued a notice recently by which all registered medicos with MMC are required to apply for renewal of their registration with DD of of Rs 500.
For details please visit website of MMC,Mumbai mmcmumbai.com

Medical Tourism

What's called medical tourism – patients going to a different country for either urgent or elective medical procedures – is fast becoming a worldwide, multibillion-dollar industry.

The reasons patients travel for treatment vary. Many medical tourists from the United States are seeking treatment at a quarter or sometimes even a 10th of the cost at home. From Canada, it is often people who are frustrated by long waiting times. From Great Britain, the patient can't wait for treatment by the National Health Service but also can't afford to see a physician in private practice. For others, becoming a medical tourist is a chance to combine a tropical vacation with elective or plastic surgery.

Medical tourism is actually thousands of years old. In ancient Greece, pilgrims and patients came from all over the Mediterranean to the sanctuary of the healing god, Asklepios, at Epidaurus. In Roman Britain, patients took the waters at a shrine at Bath, a practice that continued for 2,000 years. From the 18th century wealthy Europeans travelled to spas from Germany to the Nile. In the 21st century, relatively low-cost jet travel has taken the industry beyond the wealthy and desperate.

Countries that actively promote medical tourism include Cuba, Costa Rica, Hungary, India, Israel, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia and Thailand. Belgium, Poland and Singapore are now entering the field. South Africa specializes in medical safaris-visit the country for a safari, with a stopover for plastic surgery, a nose job and a chance to see lions and elephants.
India is considered the leading country promoting medical tourism-and now it is moving into a new area of "medical outsourcing," where subcontractors provide services to the overburdened medical care systems in western countries.

India's National Health Policy declares that treatment of foreign patients is legally an "export" and deemed "eligible for all fiscal incentives extended to export earnings." Government and private sector studies in India estimate that medical tourism could bring between $1 billion and $2 billion US into the country by 2012. The reports estimate that medical tourism to India is growing by 30 per cent a year.

India's top-rated education system is not only churning out computer programmers and engineers, but an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 doctors and nurses each year.

The downsides of medical tourism

Experts have identified a number of problems with medical tourism

Government and basic medical insurance, and sometimes extended medical insurance, often does not pay for the medical procedure, meaning the patient has to pay cash.
There is little follow-up care. The patient usually is in hospital for only a few days, and then goes on the vacation portion of the trip or returns home. Complications, side-effects and post-operative care are then the responsibility of the medical care system in the patients' home country.
Most of the countries that offer medical tourism have weak malpractice laws, so the patient has little recourse to local courts or medical boards if something goes wrong.
There are growing accusations that profitable, private-sector medical tourism is drawing medical resources and personnel away from the local population, although some medical organizations that market to outside tourists are taking steps to improve local service.(Source)

Dr Jabbar Patel

Dr Jabbar Patel is a renowned theatre and film director of India.

Born in 1942 in Pandharpur in Maharashtra his most acclaimed film is Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar released in 1999. He completed his MBBS from B.J.Medical College,Pune.
A paediatrician by profession, Jabbar Patel founded the best-known Marathi experimental theatre group, 'Theatre Academy'. Their works include the landmark stage production of Vijay Tendulkar's play Ghashiram Kotwal (1972) and also the adaptation of Brecht's Threepenny Opera (Teen Paishacha Tamasha, 1974) to the stage in Marathi. His films, often scripted by Vijay Tendulkar rely on topical political references and theatrical acting styles.

Dates of Entrance Examinations for admission to MD/MS/Diploma/MDS courses

As per guidelines issued by the Medical Council of India, New Delhi and Dental Council of India, New Delhi, the dates for Entrance Examination for admission to Medical and Dental Postgraduate courses i.e. MD/MS/Diploma/MDS courses will be as follows.
MD/MS/Diploma Medical Postgraduate courses
(PGM-CET) - 2007
Sunday, 21st January, 2007
10.00 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.

MDS Dental Postgraduate courses (PGD-CET) - 2007
Sunday, 21st January, 2007
10.00 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.

All the best folks.

Dr Mohan Agashe

Dr. Mohan Agashe, a Psychiatrist who opted to work in a government hospital rather than to go in for the much more lucrative world of private practice, so as to have equal time to devote to his first love, 'acting'.
Agashe has been acknowledged as one of the finest actors on the stage and screen, in the seventies and eighties. Beginning with an acting tour-de-force as the machiavellian Nana Phadnavis in Vijay Tendulkar's internationally acclaimed play Ghashiram Kotwal, Agashe went on to great heights in a succession of plays and award winning films by masters like Satyajit Ray, Mira Nair, Shyam Benegal, Gautam Ghose and Jabbar Patel. But his greatest contribution to the Indian Theatre in general and Marathi Theatre in particular has been his pioneering work in introducing concept of Grips Theatre Berlin in India in 1986 which today has become a self sustained movement. As an honorary Director of "Theatre" Academy - Grips Project" he produced in collaboration with Grips Theatre, Berlin and Max Mueller Bhavan excellent yet meaningful realistic plays which opened a new chapter in Indian theatre for Children and Youth besides conducting several workshop all over India on Grips methodology with the help of Goethe Institute branches in India. He was awarded 'The Goethe Medal' - Official Decoration of German Government, by the President of The Goethe Institut in March 2004.


He also introduced contemporary Indian Theatre to Europe and North America as an actor-manager of Theatre Academy's overseas tours to present Vijay Tendulkar's folk musical play ‘Ghashiram Kotwal’ invited to International Theatre Festivals of Berlin (Festwochen 1980), Lille (1980) Belgrade (BITEF 1989) Quebec (1986) and Baltimore (Theatre of Nations 1986) besides guest performances in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Budapest, Moscow, and many cities of North America


He was Theatre Consultant in 1987 to Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and in charge of the Theatre Program for the Festival of India in former USSR.


Recipient of Prestigious ‘Bundesverdienskreuz’ (The Cross of Order of Merit) from the President of Federal Republic of Germany in 2002 and Sangeet Natak Academy Award for Theatre (Highest National Honour in Arts in 1996, he was conferred ‘Padma Shri’ by President of India in 1990.


Besides he has been recipient of International Theatre Institute (German Branch) hospitation programme in Berlin in 1984, Homi Bhabha Fellowship in 1985, Nadikar Theatre Contribution award in 1991. And Northbrook Society's ABCS (Association of British Council Scholars) Scholarship (1993)


On medical side, he initiated a project to strengthen the mental health education and service in 1988, which resulted in Maharashtra Government adopting a new Mental Health Policy. As a Mental Health Advisor to Government of Maharashtra, he established Maharashtra Institute of Mental Health (State level Training and Research Institute) at Pune in 1991 of which he is the founder Director-Professor. He helped Maharashtra Government to reorganize the Mental Health Services in the State.


He initiated psychosocial rehabilitation of victims of Latur earthquake of 1993 and was the Principal Investigator of a Research Project undertaken by ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) Centre for Advanced Research to study the Health Consequences of Earthquake disaster in 1994. Currently he is the Principal Investigator of an Indo-US joint Research Project on "Cultural Disorders of Fatigue and Weakness". He was the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the Annual National conference of Indian Psychiatric Society held at Armed Forces Medical College, Pune in January 2001.


In 1997 Dr. Agashe was invited to occupy the chair of Director of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, where he continued till April 2002.



In the moment he is


Honorary President of Maharahshtra Cultural Centre

Honorary Director D.A.T.E. (Developing Awareness Thru’ Entertainment)

Advisor to Government of Maharashtra on Mental Health-Policy and Program




In the past, he has been


Director-Professor Maharashtra Institute of Mental Health, Pune and Ex-officio Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, B.J. Medical College and Sassoon General Hospitals, Pune (1991-March 1997 and July 2002- July 2005)
Director, Film and Television Institute of India, Pune (April 1997-April 2002)

Honorary President of Theatre Academy, Pune (1985-1991)

Non-official Director on the Board of National Film Development Corporation (NFDC 1985-1987)

Theatre Consultant to Indian Council for Cultural Relations (1987)

Dr Abhay Bang and Dr Rani Bang

A husband-and-wife team of doctors in India is making a difference in helping reduce country’s infant and maternal mortality ratios. Dr. Abhay Bang and Dr. Rani Bang lead the Society of Education, Action and Research in Community Health (SEARCH) in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.Their Home-Based Neonatal Care Program, which trains village women to diagnose and treat newborns, reduced incidents of infant mortality over a one-year period from 120 to 30 in 39 villages in their district. During the same period, postpartum maternal morbidity in the intervention area was reduced by more than 50 percent. This program is now being replicated at seven sites in Maharashtra.In a country like India, where state-of-the-art medical care at modern hospitals is not accessible to millions of villagers, this program holds great hope.Recently Time magzine honoured them as 'Global Heroes of Health'.Government of Maharashtra awarded them "Maharashtra Bhushan'
Their work will definitely inspire generations of medicos to come.