Procter & Gamble Health Limited (formerly known as Merck Limited) has announced the launch of PANACHE- platform to support India’s Gen X doctors in their medical education journey.

India has over 65,000 medical students enrolled in 450 medical colleges, amongst whom 30,000 post graduate students will soon enter the professional world. Intended to supplement their core medical curriculum, PANACHE aims to assist students in honing crucial skills for holistic patient care viz medico–legal aspects, ethics, role of technology, emotional intelligence, decision making, good communication, teamwork, problem solving and leadership among others. More than 10,200 students have already enrolled for PANACHE nationwide.

Speaking about the initiative, Milind Thatte - Managing Director, Procter & Gamble Health Limited stated, “As India increases access to healthcare, patient expectations of care are rising. Today’s doctors require multiple competencies for good practice. P&G Health’s PANACHE goes beyond sharing medical expertise for any therapy area, to help equip the doctors of tomorrow with holistic skills that encompass all aspects of clinical practice. We are very thankful to the renowned medical expert panel, who worked with us to design the PANACHE program to ensure it covers the most relevant skills and topics, and to the Heads of Medical colleges who are partnering with us to take this program to students across the length and breadth of India.”

Underscoring the vital need for such a program in India, Dr. Neeta Shah Mehta, Honorary Neurophysician at Bhatia General Hospital, Mumbai and member of the expert-panel for PANACHE said, “Today, medical students have to develop a well-rounded personality with a sound grasp of both medical and general knowledge. Along with diagnosing and treating patients, good communication skills are essential, as is a sympathetic yet firm attitude as doctors help patients and caregivers manage both treatable and untreatable conditions. The skills and topics tested by PANACHE thus have immense practical value, and will help drive better care for patients.”

Participants from more than 250 colleges across 130 cities will go through 2 rounds of online quiz assessments culminating in a live quiz for the final round at the Annual Conference of the Association of Physicians of India (APICON) 2020.