We have old scriptures of renowned sages who had deep understanding and knowledge of medicines as well as many other fields. Fast forward to current era, we have journals, academic research and theses of experts and scientists in the field of medicine, history, agriculture, science, etc. The relevance of publications and studies has been a key factor in determining the future of any field.
Current scenario of clinical research in India
In year 2021, India sanctioned approximately 100 worldwide clinical studies, a highest record since 2013. In the event of a COVID crisis in 2020, India will host 87 worldwide clinical studies. In March 2019, India passed the New Drugs and Clinical Trials (NDCT) guidelines to oversee the proper clinical research policy. Facing the pandemic scenario, India showed an increase when compared with the average of a decade of 6.2% to 8. 3% of worldwide clinical testing studies in 2020. The leading therapy area was Contagious Diseases with a contribution of a 32.5% share.
Challenges in clinical research industry
Although being a major contributor in clinical trial phases, it is the need of hour to manage the issue of studies and publications. There have been industrial observations that pointed towards the issue of carrying out research. There are certain inefficiencies in the current scientific or academic research as they lag behind in solving the nation's recurring problems. Disinterest, no dedication, facilities, equipment, funding, rewards, and restrictions imposed, as well as a lack of experienced research faculty to supervise students, are key issues.
Various clinical research courses are available that try to improve skills of an aspiring student but could not achieve the results unless the student puts in efforts. A stricter initiative has been imposed to address this issue. It is mandatory for PG (MD/MS) and doctoral (DM/MCh) programs to provide observational study education for research and support the contributions for future important clinical steps. But this compulsion has become more of an “academic formality” in order to take part in entrance tests at several medical institutions. Thus, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has mandated that a minimum of one research paper would be presented and published throughout post graduate courses. This would be one of the compulsory qualifying requirements for appearing in degree examinations.
Conclusion
The path towards better performance of clinical research and tackling India’s healthcare concerns requires a critical shift in medical students’ and faculty members’ academic behavior. It could be resolved if we would establish and formulate appropriate research queries emphasizing on improving needs of patient. To summarize, for sake of more sustainable healthcare system, we must encourage and improvise the overall medical research and published content. Who knows, we could even come up with a legendary invention!