NMC unveils guidelines to identify fake patients in medical colleges

Medical colleges have recently been known to hire fictitious or non-serious patients on several occasions to meet the minimum requirements necessary for obtaining a license or to increase the number of MBBS seats.

For the first time, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued comprehensive guidelines on how to identify fake patients in response to this issue.

Certain medical college-affiliated hospitals admit healthy individuals as patients on a designated day each year.

This tactic is used to mislead inspection teams that visit to evaluate the facilities for approval to establish new medical colleges or expand the number of MBBS seats in existing ones.

These hospitals often succeed in their deception.

According to NMC guidelines, a high number of patients admitted on the day of the assessment or the day before may indicate fraudulent admissions.

Similarly, patients admitted with conditions that could be managed with oral medication in an outpatient department should be considered suspicious.

Additionally, the NMC advises that the absence of evidence for necessary investigations—such as blood tests or X-rays—either before or after admission is another indicator of ghost patients.

NMC rules also suggest that assessors can identify fake patients in pediatric wards if they find that most admitted children are unusually healthy, happy, and show no signs of serious health issues.

An example of this was seen when a medical college in Maharashtra sought to expand its MBBS enrollment despite every child in its pediatric ward being "hale and hearty."

The admission of multiple patients from the same family or those attending preventive health check-ups or camps may also be a warning sign of fraudulent practices.

The practice of admitting fictitious patients to meet bed occupancy requirements or other quotas has long been a problem. If assessors spot these irregularities, it will be considered a violation of NMC regulations.

In 2019, a medical college in Bhopal was found guilty of admitting fictitious patients, and the Supreme Court banned it from accepting new students for two years.