ICMR starts revising current National Essential Diagnostics List for first time

Subject: Science and Tech

Section: Health

Context:

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has begun the process of revising the current National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL), saying that considerable time has passed since the first list was released in 2019.

More about News:

The World Health Organisation (WHO) released the first edition of essential diagnostics list (EDL) in May 2018. Even though WHO’s EDL acts as a reference point for development of national EDL(NEDL), India’s diagnostics list has been customised and prepared as per landscape of India’s health care priorities.
In India, diagnostics are regulated under the regulatory provisions of the Medical Device Rules, 2017.
Diagnostics (medical devices and in vitro diagnostics) follow a regulatory framework based on the drug regulations under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945.

National Essential Diagnostic List

Level of Healthcare: NEDL has been developed for all levels of health care – village level, primary, secondary and tertiary care.
It builds upon the Free Diagnostics Service Initiative (FDI) and other diagnostics initiatives of the Health Ministry to provide an expanded basket of tests at different levels of the public health system.
FDI was launched in July 2015. Under this initiative, the National Health Mission (NHM) is supporting all states to provide essential diagnostics – laboratory and radiology at their public health facilities, free of cost.
Scope: It includes a group of general laboratory tests for routine patient care and for diagnosis of communicable and non- communicable diseases.

Indian Council of Medical Research

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, is the apex body in the country for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research.
It is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world.
As early as in 1911, the then Government of India set up the Indian Research Fund Association (IRFA) with the specific objective of sponsoring and coordinating medical research in the country.
After independence, several important changes were made in the organisation and the activities of the IRFA. It was redesignated in 1949 as the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) with considerably expanded scope of functions.
The ICMR is funded by the Government of India through the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.