Live Surgeries in India: New NMC Guidelines Every Surgeon Should Know

Live Surgeries in India: New NMC Guidelines Every Surgeon Should Know

On 26th July 2025, the National Medical Commission (NMC) released detailed guidelines for the conduct and broadcast of live surgical procedures — a long-overdue move in a space that has so far relied largely on self-regulation.

Here are the key highlights from the NMC guidelines:

1. Educational intent only

Live surgeries must be conducted strictly for academic purposes. They cannot be used for marketing hospitals, surgeons, medical devices or products. Surgeons must not have any financial or commercial interest in the medical devices or products being used.

2. Prefer recorded or simulated content for established procedures or high risk cases

Live demonstrations are to be avoided for established procedures, high-risk cases, or procedures which have a high chance of complications. Pre-recorded videos are strongly encouraged in such situations.

3. Mandatory informed consent

Consent must be obtained from the patient beforehand. Patients are free to decline or withdraw consent at any point.

4. No cost to the patients

Patient should not incur any charges for the surgery including implants, medications, and disposables. Any complications arising during or after the live surgery must be treated at no cost to the patient. Indemnity insurance is recommended for all such cases.

5. Surgeon eligibility clearly defined

Only Indian medical practitioners with minimum 5 years of post-specialisation experience can perform live surgeries. Foreign experts must obtain temporary NMC registration and State Medical Council permission.

6. Venue and infrastructure requirements

Live surgeries can only be performed at accredited hospitals with full OT and ICU backup, laboratory support, and necessary infrastructure to handle such cases.

7. Prior Persmission from Regulatory Body

Prior permission from the relevant regulatory body/Association/institution is mandatory. Approval from the Dean for government hospitals, State Medical Council for private hospitals is compulsory.

8. Operating Surgeon can provide a commentary during the procedure but must not interact with the audience.

Relevant step wise live commentary can be given by the operating surgeon, without any two-way communication with the audience. No questions can be posed to the operating surgeon by the audience while surgeon is performing the surgery.

9. Checking of Compliance to Regulations

An apex committee will oversee arrangements to ensure compliance with ethical guidelines, safety protocols, and educational objectives. Professional associations should self-regulate to prevent any promotional activities during live demonstrations.

10. Record Keeping

The entire live surgery video recordings (unedited version) must be preserved for at least two years.

There are still certain ambiguities in this regulations. But what do you think of these Regulations? Let me know in the comments

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