Among the dubious records that India holds, and is set to strengthen in the forthcoming years, a very unhealthy one happens to be this: India is the diabetic capital of the world. In fact, 79.4 million Indians will be diabetic by 2030, according to WHO estimates!

The rural challenge

The rural face of the diabetic spectrum is even more daunting as surveys show that diabetic mellitus is found in 60 per cent of rural adults. At the same time, the number of rural doctors competent to diagnose or handle diabetes is almost negligible. This means that rural patients have to head to cities for treatment for dealing with diabetes and its many complications.

Since a substantial number of diabetics would be residing in villages, a specific diabetic management plan is required for rural areas. Diabetic patients may need a variety of health care facilities like dialysis, or transplants leading to additional complications. For diabetic foot wounds, patients may need to be hospitalised for over three months, causing financial and logistic strains both for the individual and the government. If untreated, people with diabetes could develop vascular complication, damage to eyes and kidneys, stroke, or heart attack. But if doctors in rural areas are trained to deal with diabetes, then, incidences of complications due to diabetes will also come down. And this will eventually bring down the government’s health care expense.

In the light of this, this recently launched course by the Madras Medical College assumes significance. MMC has launched a six month certificate course in managing diabetes, for the benefit of rural doctors. Such a programme would preempt the need for rural patients rushing to nearby cities for diabetes treatment.

Course structure

The course will address recent trends in treating diabetes. The course will be taught in long distance mode and will be handled by trained diabetologists. Initially, the course will be offered at MMC, Kilpauk Medical College, and Government medical colleges in Thanjavur and Madurai in Tamil Nadu. Apart from interactions over correspondence, contact classes will be held on two days every month at these colleges. Rural doctors would also be trained to control the disease in the early stages itself to control the impact of diabetes.

The Madras Medical College, established in 1835, is one of the oldest Medical Colleges in the Indian subcontinent and is now one of the premier institutions in the country with under graduate, post graduate and super specialty courses. MMC, which receives 1,500 patients every day, has a 30 bed ward exclusively for diabetology, which deals with complicated cases too. So students taking up this course will have guidance from experienced faculty.

MMC is the first college in the country to offer a diploma programme in diabetology.  The course is recognised by the Medical Council of India.
For further details, interested persons may log on to or log on to www.mmcindia.edu  or contact the Madras Medical College, Periyar EVR Salai, Park Town, Chennai-600 003. Tel.:-91-44-565163. Fax:-91-41-561536. E-mail: info@mmcindia.edu