National Medical Register- Five Things you need to know about the Unique ID of doctors

New Delhi: While making the announcement for a National Medical Register, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has now made it mandatory for doctors to have a Unique Identification (UID) number to practice medicine in India.

The announcement in this regard has been made by the Commission in the recent guidelines titled "Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine Regulations, 2023".

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that four years after first hinting that there will be a common National Medical Register for all the registered medical practitioners of the country, the NMC has finally announced the formation of the same.

According to the NMC Gazette notification published in this regard, there will be a common medical register titled National Medical Register that will be maintained by the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) under the NMC. 

Along with the announcement for a National Medical Register, NMC also mentioned in the guidelines about the generation of Unique Identification (UID) number for every doctor. Following are five things that medical practitioners should know about the UID number:

Who will assign the UID to doctors? 

The Apex medical commission has mentioned in the recent guidelines that a UID number shall be generated by the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the National Medical Commission for every doctor.

Following this, the NMC Ethics Board will grant the practitioner Registration in the National Medical Register and eligibility to practice medicine in India.

How will UID be generated? 

In the recent guidelines, the Commission mentioned that the UID shall be generated centrally by the NMC Ethics and Medical Registration Board. Further, the NMC has specified that a processing fee for generation of UID (as prescribed by EMRB, NMC from time to time) shall be payable, in favour of the Secretary of NMC.

State Suffix for UID number: 

While providing the details regarding the process of grant of licence to practice medicine, NMC mentioned the doctors need to apply for licence through a web portal of the NMC Ethics Board. Following this, this application shall be forwarded to the concerned State Medical Council, which shall complete the process after charging the appropriate fee.

In this context, NMC has mentioned that the Certificate of Licence shall have a registration number, which shall be formed in a way that the UID number shall be suffixed indicating a Code of the concerned State/Union Territory.

"The certificate of licence shall contain a registration number which shall be formed in such a way that a Unique Identification Number shall be suffixed with a Code of the concerned State/Union Territory," mentioned the Guidelines.

"On approval of the application by the State Medical Council, the same shall be reflected in the National Medical Register and also in the State Medical Register," the Guidelines further mentioned.

What happens to UID in case of transfer of licence to practice? 

Referring to the situation when a medical practitioner registered with a specific State Medical Council, moves to another State to practice, NMC has mentioned that the UID number of the registration shall remain unchanged. Only change will be made in the prefixed Code of the concerned State/Union Territory as it shall be substituted with the Code of the new State/UT.

NMC Guidelines stated in this regard, "unique number of the registration shall remain the same and the prefixed Code of the concerned State/Union Territory shall be substitute with the Code of the new State/Union Territory."

Additional Qualifications: 

When a registered medical practitioner obtains additional medical qualifications, he/she needs to apply to the concerned State Medical Council for entering additional medical qualifications against his/her name in the State Register/National Register.

NMC has specified in the guidelines that on registration of additional medical qualification in the State Register, the entry regarding the same shall automatically be made against the name of the medical practitioner in the National Register and the UID shall remain the same.

Also Read: Finally, NMC Announces A Common National Medical Register for All Doctors