India to assign unique IDs to all doctors by 2024 with 'National Medical Register'

 A pilot project of the National Medical Register (NMR) will be launched in the next six months

PTI, New Delhi, 31.10.23 : All doctors in the country will have a unique identification number by the end of 2024 with the National Medical Commission working on creating a National Medical Register, a centralised repository of doctors practising in India, officials said on Tuesday.

A pilot project of the National Medical Register (NMR) will be launched in the next six months and it will most likely be ready by the end of 2024, Dr Yogendra Malik, Member Ethics and Medical Registration Board of NMC said.

The NMR will replace the Indian Medical Register (IMR) and will be made available to the public and placed on the NMC website.

It shall display the information of a doctor such as his/her UID, registration number, name, place of work, qualifications, speciality and name of the Institute/University from where the qualifications were obtained among other key details.

"The initiative of creating 'one nation one registration platform' for doctors is also aimed at eliminating duplication and red-tapism," Dr Malik said.

"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," Dr Malik said.

The UID will be generated centrally by the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the NMC and thereby grant the practitioner, registration in NMR and eligibility to practice medicine in India. "Once they are registered with the NMR, they will be able to apply and also take license to work in multiple states," Dr Malik said.

The move was announced by the NMC in its 'Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine Regulations, 2023' issued in May this year.

According to the process, the undergraduate students will be given 'masked UIDs'. Upon completion of the MBBS, their IDs will be unmasked and allotted. This UID will then be valid for life while doctors will be able to update their qualifications on the portal.