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The eagerly awaited National Medical Register (NMR) is slated to be operational by the end of either 2024 or 2025, according to officials from the National Medical Commission (NMC). This significant development will provide a definitive answer to the commonly approximated question: “How many doctors are there in India?”
Replacing the current Indian Medical Register (IMR), the new NMR will assign a unique ID and registration number to each doctor in India, linking them to their Aadhar numbers. The NMR, accessible to the public via the NMC website, will display comprehensive information about each doctor, including their UID, registration number, name, workplace, qualifications, specialization, and the name of the Institute/University where their qualifications were obtained.
Moreover, the NMR will address various issues afflicting the medical profession, including incomplete data, duplicate registrations, and the lack of timely updates for changes such as new qualifications, changes in workplace, or unfortunate events like a doctor’s passing.
Dr. Yogender Malik, a member of the NMC Ethics and Medical Registration Board, and Head of the NMC Media Division, shared that a pilot project for the NMR will be initiated in the next six months, with a target for full implementation by the end of 2024 or in 2025.
Presently, for a doctor to practice in any Indian state, they must independently apply to the respective State Medical Council (SMC), even if they are already registered in a different medical council. This results in the issuance of a new registration number. When the NMR is enacted, doctors will be included in the registry, and based on their application, will receive a unique doctor ID. Dr. Malik clarified that the UID from the NMR will remain constant, allowing doctors to apply for licenses in various states, a process that will be conducted online.
Currently, doctors obtain different registration numbers from different State Medical Councils. However, with the NMR, all records of a doctor will be linked to their name and unique ID, viewable on the NMC’s website. This information, including UID, registration number, name, workplace, qualifications, specialization, and the Institute/University of qualification, will be publicly accessible.
Certain private information, such as contact details, will be restricted to authorized parties, like the doctor and the NMC, accessible through a secure login system.
The NMR’s online accessibility on the NMC website will allow the public to easily verify a doctor’s credentials, effectively curbing the issue of fake doctors.
Dr. Malik emphasized that this initiative to establish a unified registration platform for doctors aims to eliminate duplication and bureaucratic hurdles. He reassured that the data of the approximately 14 lakh doctors currently registered with the IMR will be seamlessly transferred to the NMR, sparing them the need for re-registration.
Earlier this year, in a Gazette notification, the NMC announced its decision to establish a National Medical Register for all registered medical practitioners. The Commission published the “Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine Regulations” on May 10, 2023.
In response to concerns among doctors about registering in the National Medical Register, the NMC confirmed that they would launch an integrated web portal for all stakeholders in the medical community, including State Medical Councils and medical colleges. The registration process will commence once the portal is activated, with doctors being promptly notified of the progress.
