Pakistan Medical Commission

The Pakistan Medical Commission (), PMC, previously known as Pakistan Medical & Dental Council) is a statutory regulatory authority that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within Pakistan. Its chief function is to establish uniform minimum standard of basic and higher qualifications in medicine and dentistry throughout Pakistan by controlling entry to the PMC register of medical practitioners within Pakistan and suspending or removing members when necessary. It also sets the education standards for Medical Colleges in Pakistan along with the Higher Education Commission.
History.
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council was initially established as "Pakistan Medical Council" in 1948 by adopting the "British Indian Medical Council Act 1933" on the recommendations of the 1947 Pakistan Health Conference. It was later reorganized under the "Pakistan Medical Council Act 1951" whereby each province has its own medical council. In 1957, the West Pakistan Medical Council was formed by merging the Sindh Medical Council and the Punjab Medical Council. The "Pakistan Medical Council Ordinance 1962" established the present-day Pakistan Medical and Dental Council as a statutory body in 1962 and all provincial councils were dissolved. Three amendments were passed thereafter as the "Medical and Dental Council (Amendment) Act" in 1973, 1999 and 2012.
Purpose.
The council has been mandated to regulate the practice of medicine and dentistry in Pakistan by:
Registration.
All medical and dental practitioners and students are required to register with the council to legally practice medicine and dentistry in Pakistan. The guidelines for registration are outlined under "Chapter IX, Pakistan Registration of Medical and Dental Practitioners Regulations, 2008".
Criticism.
Several corruption allegations and scandals have been associated with the council. In particular, irregularities in the registration of medical and dental colleges and allegations of wrongdoing in the accreditation of doctors have also been leveled in judicial probes of the council's affairs. A judicial commission was set up under a court order after allegations of embezzlement in the registration of private medical and dental colleges in 2013. The commission was headed by the former Lahore High Court judge Shabbar Raza Rizvi.
Representatives of various medical organizations have expressed their concerns regarding PMC that it will give autonomy to private medical colleges for fixing their fee increasing burden on students.
Other than the corruption criticism, there was a huge criticism in the student community as all the provincial medical entrance exams were cancelled and replaced by the NMDCAT.
It was however concluded, that changes brought on with the PMC act 2020 will enable a more robust regulatory framework that allows a level playing field for the student.
Dissolution and Restoration.
In October 2019, the PMDC was dissolved and replaced by the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) following President Arif Alvi signing of the "Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance 2019". The move was done in order to regulate and control the medical profession in Pakistan by establishing uniform minimum standards of medical education, training, and recognition of qualifications in medicine and dentistry. For this to occur, it was argued that PMDC had to be dissolved first in order to properly implement the new ordinance. PMDC offices were temporarily sealed to ensure the protection of essential records and assets. The new PMC would consist of the existing Medical and Dental Council, the National Medical and Dental Academic Board and the National Medical Authority, which would act as a Secretariat of the Commission.
On 11 February 2020, the Islamabad High Court nullified the Pakistan Medical Commission Ordinance and restored PMDC.
On 16 September 2020, PMDC was dissolved again by a joint session of the Senate and Parliament by passing the bill to replace PMDC by PMC to ensure standard medical education in Pakistan.