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Review
. 2022 Apr 29;14(4):e24596.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.24596. eCollection 2022 Apr.

Need of the Hour: Family Medicine in India

Gokul Paidi  1 , Anju Beesetty  2 , Abdelilah Lahmar  3 , Lisa Kop  4 , Ranbir Sandhu  5
Affiliations
Review

Need of the Hour: Family Medicine in India

Gokul Paidi et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Family medicine practitioners can manage a wide range of health problems, either directly or through referral to other specialists, thereby optimizing the cost-effectiveness of the healthcare system. For most health problems, family medicine practitioners serve as an entry point for individualized healthcare. Providing comprehensive care for most specialties for all ages is the hallmark of family medicine. It is recognized as a distinct specialty in many developed countries, and training is provided through organized residency programs. Family medicine has been incorporated in the foundation course of Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and is planned to be adopted in all medical institutes in India; however, the MBBS syllabus includes no mention of it. In medical schools in India, fully functioning family medicine departments should be established on an urgent scale. It is necessary to take the required measures to introduce the subject into the undergraduate MBBS program and to generalize it across India. It is recommended that the number of medical schools offering postgraduate residency training in family medicine be increased to meet current community health needs.

Keywords: diplomate; family medicine; integrated approach; mbbs; mbbs syllabus; medical education in india; primary care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The figure shows the chronological history of family medicine in India
MCI: Medical Council of India; NMC: National Medical Commission Image credits: Abdelilah Lahmar
Figure 2
Figure 2. Current challenges in healthcare system
Image Credits: Gokul Paidi
Figure 3
Figure 3. The difference between the patient-centered approach and the disease-centered approach
Image credits: Abdelilah Lahmar
Figure 4
Figure 4. Family medicine practitioner: role and responsibilities
Image credits: Gokul Paidi
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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