MUHS unveils first state-led Network of Centers of Excellence and Digital Health Foundation Course for online medical education | Pune News
The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), Nashik launched the country’s first state-led Network of Centers of Excellence (CoE) in healthcare, to be led by the University as the central hub. The initiative was launched by Hasan Mushrif, Minister of Medical Education on Friday.
The Network of CoE aims to improve medical research, education and healthcare quality in the state through a collaborative approach, Lt Gen Madhuri Kanitkar (Retd), Vice-Chancellor, MUHS told The Indian Express. This network will operate as a hub and spoke model, with the newly launched Maharashtra State Health Training and Research Institute (MSHTRI), in MUHS, as the hub and apex Centre, the VC said.
The CoE idea received a boost when the Network of Centers of Excellence Policy, 2023 was issued by the Maharashtra government, as a part of the loan program by the Asian Development Bank. The ADB team worked with the state and MUHS team to refine the concept of network of CoE. Beyond CoE, the ADB loan program of $500 million is to develop healthcare infrastructure, boost digital medical education and healthcare, talent and performance management and procurement in Maharashtra.
Among the various initiatives include a faculty development academy that will train medical professionals in modern healthcare techniques, along with technology and management. DISHA–an incubation center for medical innovation, will support medical professionals and start-ups to take their ideas through prototyping and market launch.
An AR/VR-enabled simulation lab will be set up to allow faculty and medical students to learn and experiment in a realistic yet safe environment. MSHTRI will also have a digital learning studio for online learning, and a state-of-the-art healthcare museum and a library.
In the very first year of operations, MSHTRI will support digital learning for over 10,000 medical students in the state with 20 online learning modules, incubate over 20 start-ups and train over 400 faculty at faculty development academy, 1,000 students at the simulation lab, and 400 students at the digital health center. This network and initiatives under the hub were conceptualized by MUHS in a joint effort with technical assistance from the Boston Consulting Group.
At the event held on Friday at Nashik, the Digital Health Foundation Course (DHFC), in collaboration with Koita Foundation, was also launched. DHFC will be offered as a part of the curriculum to over 450 medical colleges and more than 40,000 medical students. With the introduction of DHFC, Maharashtra became the first state in the country to introduce Digital Health as a formal course for medical students, the MUHS-VC said.
DHFC is supported by a virtual Digital Health Lab (DHL) where students can gain practical experience of the theories learned in DHFC. Tailored for students, healthcare professionals and individuals eager to expand their expertise in Digital Health applications, the course introduces topics including Hospital Management Information Systems (HMIS), Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Imaging Technologies, Healthcare Data Interoperability, Data Privacy & Security, ABDM, Wearables and Apps, AI/ML, and more. The DHFC curriculum has been curated by leading doctors and subject matter experts across India and abroad.
Dinesh Waghmare, Principal Secretary, Medical Education Department (MH), Dr. Vinod Paul, Member Niti Aayog, Prof. Dr. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Director General ICMR, Dr BN Gangadhar, Chairman (officiating) NMC, Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, the Vice-Chancellor (MUHS), Nishant Jain, Mission Leader at Asian Development Bank, and others were present on the occasion.