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J Family Med Prim Care
J Family Med Prim Care
JFMPC
J Family Med Prim Care
Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
2249-4863
2278-7135
Wolters Kluwer - Medknow India

JFMPC-13-3475
10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_461_24
Letter to Editor
Acknowledging the role of family physicians in India
Palal Deepu
Akhil R
Department of Community Medicine, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Address for correspondence: Dr. Akhil R, Department of Community Medicine, Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra - 411 018, India. E-mail: akhilrevikumar@gmail.com
8 2024
26 7 2024
13 8 34753476
20 3 2024
23 3 2024
Copyright: © 2024 Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
2024
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
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pmcRecently, we encountered an excellent editorial titled “The ‘Vaidya’—The Ancient Indian Family Physician: The Origin of Family Medicine Specialty in India—A Call for Action by the National Medical Commission (NMC)” in your esteemed journal.[1] The author thoroughly explains the plight of family physicians and the family medicine specialty in the current Indian scenario. The historical relevance of family physicians and their role in the current healthcare hierarchy in urban and rural settings are undeniable yet underappreciated.

One of the important messages the author stated caught our attention: the paradoxical situation where Indian medical education undermines the rich tradition of family physicians. The core competencies of the specialty are in line with the needs of the Indian population, especially in rural and semiurban areas where there is a deficiency of specialists.

“Prevention is better than cure” is a well-known fact. Family medicine postgraduates are specialized in providing medical care from birth until death, to put it simply. They specialize in preventive, promotive, and curative aspects of diseases as well. Hence, in this era where lifestyle diseases are on the rise even in rural areas, interventions and services by family physicians can be used to provide early intervention and periodic follow-ups, preventing progression to complications and reducing the workload for specialists.

According to articles by the World Health Organization (WHO), the role of family physicians or primary care physicians is foundational toward the goal of universal health coverage.[2] Similarly, in the Indian setting, it is found that family medicine can act as a potential stakeholder in strengthening primary care, improving health outcomes, reducing the cost of healthcare, and enhancing patient satisfaction.[34]

Recent curriculum changes implemented by the National Medical Commission (NMC) included a family adoption program for MBBS graduates from the first year to the final year, which could be considered a step toward bringing back the glorious history of family physicians in India.[5]

Finally, we hope that the discussion started by the author reaches the experts in the field and ignites discussions for changes in the medical education system in India.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.
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1 Kumar R The ‘Vaidya’ –The Ancient Indian Family Physician: The origin of family medicine specialty in India –A call for action by the National Medical Commission (NMC) J Family Med Prim Care 2024 13 397 400 38605753
2 World Health Organization. Primary Health Care. World Health Organization 2022 Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/primary-health-care#tab=tab_1 [Last accessed on 2024 Mar 03]
3 Gupta A Prasad R Abraham S Nedungalaparambil NM Landes M Steele Gray C Pioneering family physicians and the mechanisms for strengthening primary health care in India—A qualitative descriptive study PLOS Glob Public Health 2023 3 e0001972 37289670
4 Sparkes SP Atun R B?rnighausen T The impact of the Family Medicine Model on patient satisfaction in Turkey: Panel analysis with province fixed effects PLoS One 2019 14 e0210563 30699131
5 Undergraduate Medical Education Board, National Medical Commission Guidelines Available from: https://www.nmc.org.in/MCIRest/open/getDocument?path=/Documents/Public/Portal/LatestNews/Implementation.pdf [Last accessed on 2024 Mar 20]
