The National Medical Commission (NMC) said some medical schools are admitting people who do not require any treatment to meet the requirement for beds and investigations. | Photo Credit: Hindu Archives
Medical colleges admitting “fake patients” may see their applications for new postgraduate courses or other places rejected immediately, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has warned in a recent order.
The commission said some medical schools admit people who do not require any treatment to meet the requirement of occupancy of beds and investigations. It said “false patient practice” is a serious breach and will require punishment if reported during an assessment.
The NMC approves additional medical school places through a rigorous, time-limited online process conducted by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB). Experts note that compliance with postgraduate medical education regulations and minimum standard undergraduate requirements with strict submission deadlines are key aspects.
The NMC said the discovery of bogus patients could result in the institution being prevented from starting new courses or increasing intake to existing courses for a period to be determined by the MARB. Apart from the penalties, this may affect the resumption of UG courses and existing PG courses.
The commission has set guidelines for identifying fake patients. These include patients admitted on or just before the day of assessment. Patients who have minor illnesses that can be treated on an outpatient basis with oral medications and patients admitted without x-rays, blood reports, or any inpatient treatment such as intravenous cannula, injection, catheterization will be considered “fake”. Also “fake” are admissions of multiple patients from the same family and patients admitted in large numbers through preventive health check-up camps. In children’s wards, playful children admitted without significant problems will be classified as “fake”.
The commission said the evaluation will take into account the faculty, infrastructure, clinical material/indicators and the quality of medical education of the college using physical, virtual or hybrid modes and it can be done in one day or extended.
“Assessors may interact with staff and students during the assessment. Both undergraduate and postgraduate institutions must meet the minimum undergraduate training requirements prescribed by the rules,” the NMC said, adding that incomplete applications would be rejected.
Published – 02 March 2026 20:12 IST
