By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, AUG 26, 2024: UNION Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Jagat Prakash Nadda inaugurated the National Medical Register (NMR) Portal of the National Medical Commission (NMC) for registration of all the MBBS doctors who are eligible for registration in India, in presence of Union Minister of State (MoS) for Health & Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel and virtual presence of Union MoS for Health & Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav, here on Saturday.

The National Medical Register (NMR) is mandated under Section 31 of the NMC Act, 2019 which states that the Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of NMC shall maintain a National Register in electronic form containing the name, address, and all recognized qualifications possessed by a licensed medical practitioner. NMR will be a comprehensive and dynamic database for all allopathic (MBBS) registered doctors in India. The uniqueness of the NMR is that it is linked with the Aadhaar ID of the doctors which ensures the individual's authenticity.

Speaking at the event, Nadda commended the NMC and National Health Authority (NHA) "for their hard work and coming out with the National Health Register which will be a comprehensive and dynamic database for all allopathic (MBBS) registered doctors in India."  He stated that "the Prime Minister's vision is to make India digitally sound and that can happen if the health ecosystem is also digitally sturdy. The National Health Register is a much-awaited step in this direction that will strengthen the digital healthcare ecosystem and will ensure quality healthcare to the people of India". He further added that the National Medical Register will be upgraded and augmented with continuous improvements in the registration process on the portal.

Highlighting the role of the State Medical Councils (SMCs), Nadda stated that "the State Medical Councils are major stakeholders in the development and maintaining of National Medical Register and facilitating the registration process." He urged the SMCs "for their active participation and to fasten the registration process" as their "efforts of authentication and speed of authentication will be a key factor in the success of NMR". He further added that "we are also moving in the direction of launching a similar register for the paramedics and other healthcare professionals."

Terming the launch of the NMR "a momentous occasion" Anupriya Patel, Union MoS Health & Family Welfare, stated that "the need for the National Medical Register has been felt for very long. The NMR is important as authentic data on doctors across the country is crucial. The data on doctors to date has been in a scattered form that needs revision, and updation, and the NMR portal will ensure that. The easy registration process will ensure the maintenance of authentic data. This authenticity of information holds a lot of value because India wants to create a huge digital health ecosystem and creating the digital registry of doctors will be an important pillar for that."

Highlighting the importance of the NMR, Prataprao Jadhav, Union MoS Health & Family Welfare stated that the NMR portal will ensure dynamic, authentic, and consolidated data on the doctors in the country. The speedy and easy registration process on the portal will facilitate the timely updation of the data. This will lead to transparency and quality of the medical professionals and will ensure the trust of the people in the healthcare system, as they will get verified information in a transparent manner. The government is working under the vision of the Prime Minister of "Reform, Perform, and Transform", and the launch of NMR is a step in the direction of fulfilling the government's commitment to providing quality healthcare to the people".

Speaking at the event, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra stated that "Till date, there was lack of comprehensive data that could provide a detailed and holistic picture of aspects like total numbers of doctors in the country, those that have left the country, those who have lost their license to practice, or the numbers and details of doctors that have lost their lives. The launch of the NMR will ensure the provision of data of its more than 13 lakh doctors". Chandra further stated that "the NMR will be a part of the Healthcare Professional Registry under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and will contain all the details of the medical professionals."

Dr. B.N. Gangadhar, Chairman, National Medical Commission, L.S. Changsan, Additional Secretary and CEO (NHA), Dr. B. Srinivas, DDG (ME) & Secretary, Medical Commission, V. Hekali Zhimomi, Additional Secretary, MoHFW, Pushpendra Rajput, Joint Secretary, MoHFW, Kiran Gopal Vaska, Joint Secretary, ID & MD (ABDM), National Health Authority, Dr. Vijay Oza, President, PMEB, National Medical Commission, Dr. B. Srinivas, DDG (ME) & Secretary, National Medical Commission, Dr. Vijaya Lakshmi Nag, Member, EMRB, National Medical Commission, and other senior officials from the Ministry were also present at the event. The event was also joined virtually by the representatives of State Medical Councils.

Background: NMR will be a comprehensive dynamic database for all allopathic (MBBS) registered doctors in India. The uniqueness of the NMR is that it is linked with the Aadhaar ID of the doctors which ensures the individual's authenticity. The whole process of registration in NMR is a very simple online process and all the medical colleges/institutions (including the Institutes of National Importance (INIs) etc.). SMCs are interlinked on the portal. Some data will be visible to the public and others will only be visible to the Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB) in the National Medical Commission (NMC), State Medical Councils (SMCs), the National Board of Examinations (NBE) and Medical Institutions (including INIs, etc.) and Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) as per the requirements.

Additional details like registration and qualification credentials can be manually entered and submitted through the portal. Following this, the application is automatically forwarded to the respective State Medical Council for verification. The SMC would then forward the application to the relevant college or institute for further review. Upon successful verification by the State Medical Council, the application is sent to the National Medical Commission. After the NMC verification, a unique NMR ID would be issued. During this process, doctors can opt to join the Healthcare Provider Registry which will link them to the broader digital healthcare ecosystem.

Through this portal, all stakeholders, including SMCs and educational institutions can log in and verify applications from a single platform. The NMR portal offers a variety of features, including the ability to add additional qualifications, track applications, suspend licenses, and issue NMR ID cards and digital doctor certificates. The NHA will further provide support for the development of the NMR, including the future release of an enhanced version of the portal. This will include direct integration with the next software, continuing medical education, and credit points.

All the MBBS doctors who are already registered on the Indian Medical Register (IMR) have to register again on the NMR of the NMC. To start the registration, the doctor needs to keep ready a digital copy of the Degree (MBBS) Certificate, the Registration Certificate of the State Medical Council/Medical Council of India, where the doctor got first-time registration. The doctor must also have the Aadhaar number ready to start the process. The link for the registration in NMR is   https://nmr-nmc.abdm.gov.in/nmr/v3/