India (Commonwealth Union)_ India aims to establish a distinctive identification number for all its doctors by the conclusion of 2024 through the development of a comprehensive ‘National Medical Register’ overseen by the National Medical Commission. Dr. Yogendra Malik, a member of the Ethics and Medical Registration Board of the NMC, revealed plans for the imminent launch of a pilot project for the National Medical Register (NMR) within the following six months, with a target for full implementation by the end of 2024.
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The NMR is set to supersede the existing Indian Medical Register (IMR) and will be accessible to the public via the NMC’s website. It is designed to exhibit critical details regarding doctors, including their unique identification numbers (UIDs), registration numbers, names, workplaces, qualifications, specialties, and the names of the respective institutes or universities from which their qualifications were acquired.
Dr. Malik highlighted the underlying purpose of this initiative, stressing its intent to create a unified registration platform for all doctors, aimed at eradicating duplications and bureaucratic red-tape within the system. The assurance was given that the transition from the existing IMR to the NMR will seamlessly transfer the records of nearly 14 lakh registered doctors, relieving them of the need to re-register. He said, “The initiative of creating ‘one nation, one registration platform’ for doctors is also aimed at eliminating duplication and red-tapism. Presently, nearly 14 lakh doctors are registered with the IMR. They need not worry, as the entire data will be transferred to the NMR. They won’t have to register again”.
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The distinctive UID will be centrally generated by the Ethics and Medical Registration Board of the NMC, providing practitioners with registration in the NMR, thereby granting them eligibility to practice medicine across India. Once registered in the NMR, doctors will have the flexibility to apply for and obtain licenses to practice in multiple states, enhancing their professional mobility, as explained by Dr. Malik.
This transformative step was announced within the ‘Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine Regulations, 2023,’ introduced by the NMC earlier this year. As part of the process, undergraduate students will initially receive ‘masked UIDs,’ which will then be revealed upon completion of their MBBS. This lifelong UID will permit doctors to continually update their qualifications through the online portal.
