All Doctors have to Re-Register with NMC: Here are 6 Points for the National Medical Register

New Delhi: All doctors practising modern medicine including MBBS, MD, MS, Super specialists will have to re-register themselves with the National Medical Commission (NMC) as the Apex Medical Body has now launched the much-awaited National Medical Register (NMR) portal.

The launch was done by the Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda, in the presence of the Union Minister of State (MoS) for Health & Family Welfare, Smt. Anupriya Patel and virtual presence of the Union MoS for Health & Family Welfare, Shri Prataprao Jadhav.

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. 

Here are the 6 key points related to NMR that the doctors should know:

(1) What is the National Medical Register (NMR)? 

NMR will be a comprehensive dynamic database for all allopathic 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.

(2) Mandatory Registration on NMR? 

All the MBBS doctors, who are already registered on the Indian Medical Register (IMR), have to mandatorily register again on the NMR portal of NMC, the recent release by the Government has stated.

(3) How to Register on NMR? 

In order to start the registration process, the doctors need to keep ready these following documents ready-

(a) a digital copy of the Degree (MBBS) Certificate,

(b) the Registration Certificate of the State Medical Council/Medical Council of India, where the doctor got their first time registration. 

(c) Aadhaar number is also required to commence the registration process.

The link for the registration in the NMR is https://nmr-nmc.abdm.gov.in/nmr/v3/

(4) Registration of Additional Data on NMR: 

Doctors can register additional data on the NMR portal through these following steps:

♦ Additional details like registration and qualification credentials can be manually entered and submitted through the NMR portal.

♦ Following this, the application is automatically forwarded to the respective State Medical Council for verification.

♦ Consequently, the SMC would forward the application to the relevant college or institute for further view. 

♦ After successful verification by the State Medical Council, the application will be sent to the National Medical Commission (NMC) for verification. 

♦ After the completion of the NMC verification, a unique NMR ID will be issued. 

♦ During this process, doctors can opt to join the Healthcare Provider Registry which will link them to the broader digital healthcare ecosystem.

(5) Features of the NMR Portal: 

Using the NMR portal of the Apex Medical Commission, all the stakeholders, including the 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 National Health Authority (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.

(6) Accessibility of NMR Data (What Doctor Data will be Public and What will be Private):

All the medical colleges/institutions (including the Institutes of National Importance (INIs) etc.) SMCs are interlinked on the newly launched NMR portal.

While the public release has not specified that what data will be accessible to the Public and which will remain private, it stated that only some of the data will be visible to the Public.

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.

Speaking at the event, Shri 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), Shri 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” Smt. 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, Shri 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”.