The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued fresh guidelines restricting the live broadcast of surgeries, permitting it only in cases involving new or innovative procedures.
The move, as reported by ToI, comes amid ongoing concerns over patient safety and questions about the actual educational value of such broadcasts.
According to the NMC's directive, established surgical procedures or those considered high-risk should no longer be telecast live. Instead, the commission recommends using pre-recorded videos for training and educational purposes. The regulator argued that recorded content allows better editing, annotation, and frame-by-frame analysis, making it a safer and more effective alternative to live procedures for learners.
“Pre-recorded videos offer a superior educational experience,” the NMC noted, adding that wet lab, cadaveric, and simulation-based procedures should be promoted as risk-free learning alternatives.
Live surgeries — real-time transmissions of operations to an audience, often at medical conferences or training sessions — have long been used for educational purposes. However, critics have raised ethical and safety concerns, alleging that some surgeons and medical device companies use the format to showcase skills or promote products, potentially compromising patient welfare.
The new guidelines come in the backdrop of a recent petition filed in the Supreme Court seeking a ban on live surgeries. In response, the NMC constituted a committee to examine the issue and formulate recommendations. The latest rules have been framed based on the findings of that committee.
While the NMC stopped short of completely prohibiting live surgeries — a step many patient safety advocates had demanded — it did emphasise stricter safeguards. Notably, the guideline reiterated that patients undergoing live surgical procedures are not entitled to any financial incentives. However, it proposed offering insurance coverage to protect such patients against any adverse events during or after the procedure.
Moreover, the guidelines mandate that patients should not bear any expenses related to the live procedure. This includes the cost of implants, medication, disposables, or any complications that may arise post-surgery, which should be managed at no cost to the patient.
Despite reservations, the NMC acknowledged that live broadcasts can help disseminate knowledge to medical practitioners in remote areas, where access to advanced surgical training is limited. Proponents argue that live surgery has helped bring cutting-edge techniques beyond elite urban centres into smaller towns and hospitals — a point the NMC also recognised, even as it moved to regulate the practice more tightly.
With these revised norms, the NMC appears to be walking a middle path: responding to concerns flagged in the Supreme Court and by health professionals, while still preserving limited use of live surgery for procedural innovations that may warrant real-time learning.
(With inputs from ToI)
The move, as reported by ToI, comes amid ongoing concerns over patient safety and questions about the actual educational value of such broadcasts.
According to the NMC's directive, established surgical procedures or those considered high-risk should no longer be telecast live. Instead, the commission recommends using pre-recorded videos for training and educational purposes. The regulator argued that recorded content allows better editing, annotation, and frame-by-frame analysis, making it a safer and more effective alternative to live procedures for learners.
“Pre-recorded videos offer a superior educational experience,” the NMC noted, adding that wet lab, cadaveric, and simulation-based procedures should be promoted as risk-free learning alternatives.
Live surgeries — real-time transmissions of operations to an audience, often at medical conferences or training sessions — have long been used for educational purposes. However, critics have raised ethical and safety concerns, alleging that some surgeons and medical device companies use the format to showcase skills or promote products, potentially compromising patient welfare.
The new guidelines come in the backdrop of a recent petition filed in the Supreme Court seeking a ban on live surgeries. In response, the NMC constituted a committee to examine the issue and formulate recommendations. The latest rules have been framed based on the findings of that committee.
While the NMC stopped short of completely prohibiting live surgeries — a step many patient safety advocates had demanded — it did emphasise stricter safeguards. Notably, the guideline reiterated that patients undergoing live surgical procedures are not entitled to any financial incentives. However, it proposed offering insurance coverage to protect such patients against any adverse events during or after the procedure.
Moreover, the guidelines mandate that patients should not bear any expenses related to the live procedure. This includes the cost of implants, medication, disposables, or any complications that may arise post-surgery, which should be managed at no cost to the patient.
Despite reservations, the NMC acknowledged that live broadcasts can help disseminate knowledge to medical practitioners in remote areas, where access to advanced surgical training is limited. Proponents argue that live surgery has helped bring cutting-edge techniques beyond elite urban centres into smaller towns and hospitals — a point the NMC also recognised, even as it moved to regulate the practice more tightly.
With these revised norms, the NMC appears to be walking a middle path: responding to concerns flagged in the Supreme Court and by health professionals, while still preserving limited use of live surgery for procedural innovations that may warrant real-time learning.
(With inputs from ToI)
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