All doctors to get unique IDs, NMC starts registration on its portal | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has started the registration process of all MBBS doctors eligible to practice in India on a recently launched portal, as part of which all medical practitioners will have a unique ID. The National Medical Register (NMR) is a dynamic database and will be a central repository of all registered physicians, where their authenticity is verified by Aadhaar IDs.
“The NMR is ready for registration of Registered Medical Professionals (RMPs) with immediate effect,” said Dr B Srinivas, Secretary, NMC.
All MBBS doctors registered in the Indian Medical Register (IMR) will have to re-register in the NMR, the NMC said in a public notice recently. It also added that all medical colleges/institutions and state medical councils (SMCs) have been connected through the portal.
Some data is publicly visible, while others are only visible to the Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the NMC, SMC, National Board of Examinations (NBE) and medical institutions and RMPs, as per requirements, the notice said.
To start the registration process, doctors will need their Aadhaar ID, a digital copy of their MBBS degree and the registration certificate from the State Medical Council/Medical Council of India where the doctor first registered.
Additional data, such as registration and qualification data, can be entered and submitted manually through the portal.
After this, the application is automatically forwarded to the relevant SMC for verification. The SMC then forwards the application to the relevant college or institute for further assessment. After successful verification, the application is sent to the NMC.
After verification by NMC, a unique NMR ID would be issued. During this process, physicians can choose to join the Register of healthcare providers connecting them to the broader digital healthcare ecosystem, the statement said.
This portal allows all stakeholders including SMCs and educational institutions to log in and verify requests from a single platform.
The NMR portal offers a range of features, including the ability to add additional qualifications, track applications, suspend licenses, and issue NMR ID cards and digital doctor’s notes, the portal said.
Currently, registration using the MBBS degree is only possible through the portal. Additional qualifications will be added soon, the NMC said.
“Till now, there was a lack of comprehensive data that could provide a detailed and holistic picture of aspects such as the total number of doctors in the country, those who have left the country, those who have lost their license to practice, or the numbers and details of doctors who have lost their lives. The launch of the NMR will ensure provision of data of the over 13 lakh doctors,” an official had said earlier.
The National Medical Register (NMR) portal was launched on August 23 by Health Minister JP Nadda.
“The National Health Register is a much-awaited step in this direction. It will strengthen the digital healthcare ecosystem and provide quality healthcare to the people of India,” Nadda said.
The NMC is required by Section 31 of the NMC Act, 2019 to require the Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the NMC to maintain in electronic form a national register containing the name, address and all recognised qualifications of a licensed medical practitioner.