Original ArticleThe research output from Indian medical institutions between 2005 and 2014
Section snippets
Background
Assuring a minimal level of healthcare to the expanding population of India has become a major issue over the last decade. Although there has been an overall improvement of medical resources and healthcare since independence, the distribution of these has been very uneven, with the rich having access to a burgeoning and unregulated private sector dominated by the corporate, for-profit hospitals and the poor left to go to underfunded, overcrowded, and inefficient public institutions.1 There is a
Methods
We counted the total number of documents (including original articles, reviews, case reports, and reports of conferences and symposia) published by an individual institute over a period of 10 years (2005–2014). For those established after 2005, we evaluated the number of publications from the year of establishment to 2014. The MCI and NBE institutes were listed in separate league tables.23
We ranked them as follows:
- •
Compiled a list of top 25 institutes under the MCI (Fig. 1) and the NBE (Fig. 2)
Results
There are a total of 579 medical institutes in the government and private sectors. 316 institutes were under the MCI and 263 under the NBE. Their total research output during the period 2005–2014 was 101,034 papers, with the average number of publications per institution being 14.5 papers per year.
However, there were 332 (57.3%) institutions that did not publish a single paper during this 10-year period, which included 162 (51.2%) under the MCI and 170 (64.6%) under the NBE.
Fig. 1 shows the
Discussion
Our findings suggest that the research output of Indian medical institutes is generally poor, with 57% of them not having a single publication included in the Scopus database between 2005 and 2014, and only 25 (4.3%) institutes (out of 579 that are affiliated to the MCI and NBE) producing more than 100 papers a year. We also found that most of the southern states that have the largest number of private medical colleges produce very little in the way of research publication and finally that even
Conclusion
We have found the overall research output from the medical institutions of India to be low, with the majority of publications from only 10 selected institutions. Nearly 60% of them had not had a single publication included in the Scopus database in the last 10 years.
The reasons are mainly a lack of interest in research and publication, as well as lack of incentives.
We believe our system needs a radical overhaul similar to what happened in the USA after the publication of the Flexner Report.
Conflicts of interest
The authors have none to declare.
References (42)
Comparison of China/USA science and technology performance
J Informetr
(2008)- et al.
The emergence of China as a leading nation in science
Res Policy
(2006) - National Health Profile of India....
- Medical Education. Available at http://www.knowledgecommission.gov.in/downloads/baseline/medical.pdf [accessed...
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW). Available at...
Corruption Mars India's Healthcare System
(2003, January 1–15)Head of Medical Council of India removed for corruption
Stud BMJ
(2001)- Medical Council of India. Available at http://www.mciindia.org [accessed...
- National Board of Examinations. Available at http://www.natboard.edu.in [accessed...
- et al.
Engagement of National Board of Examinations in strengthening public health education in India: present landscape, opportunities and future directions
Indian J Public Health
(2014)