Doctors' license renewal due! CAG flags need for updating Maha Medical Council RMP register

Mumbai:1,71,282 doctors were registered as Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) in Maharashtra till 2021-22, out of which, registration of 68,665 RMPs were due for renewal up to March 2022, but not renewed till May 2022, revealed the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report. Noting the same, CAG has directed Maharastra Medical Council to adopt a systematic way of updating the register of Registered Medical Practitioners.

The CAG recommended, “Maharashtra Medical Council to adopt appropriate mechanism for updating the register of Registered Medical Practitioners (RMP) to ensure accurate information on the actual number of active RMPs in the State.”

Section 31(6) of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 stipulates that the State Register of Licensed Medical Practitioners should be maintained and regularly updated in the specified electronic format. A physical copy of the register was required to be furnished to the Ethics and Medical Registration established under the National Medical Commission (NMC) within three months of the commencement of the Act.

As per Section 22 of the Maharashtra Medical Council Act if a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) is found guilty of any misconduct, the council, after due inquiry, may direct to remove the name of the RMP from the Register.

Moreover, Rule 28 of the Maharashtra Medical Council Rules, 1967 provided that the State Council shall meet in February and September of each year. Rule 43 of the Maharashtra Medical Council provided for meetings of the Executive Committee (EC) once every two months.

Audit noticed that out of these 68,665 RMPs, the registration of 4,071 RMPs was before 1st May 1960 (the date on which Maharashtra State was created), which indicated that there was no regular updating of the State Register of RMPs. A total of 1,71,282 doctors were registered as RMPs till 2021-22.

"Out of 1.71 lakh doctors registered by Maharashtra Medical Council as Registered Medical Practitioners till 2021-22, registrations of 0.69 lakh Registered Medical Practitioners due for renewal upto March 2022 including 4,071 RMPs who were registered before 1 May 1960, were not renewed till May 2022," the CAG noted.

Moreover, despite the provision of an Executive Meeting once every two months, Scrutiny of records and information provided by the Maharashtra Medical Council for the year 2016-17 to 2021-22 revealed that except for the year 2017, the State Council conducted its meetings as prescribed. However, the Executive Committee did not conduct the required number of meetings in any of the years from 2017 to 2022.

In response, the Maharashtra Medical Council stated (December 2022) that in case an RMP does not renew registration in a specific period, then the council sends a reminder through email to the RMP for renewal of registration. The fact remained that despite emails sent to RMPs, the renewal of registration by RMPs was not satisfactory.

CAG has sought the exact details of registered medical practitioners and recommended that the Register of Registered Medical Practitioners (RMP) should be updated properly to show the active RMPs in the State.

CAG report also highlighted that the Clinical Establishment Act, 2010 has not been adopted in Maharashtra, and the private nursing homes/healthcare facilities in the State were regulated as per the provisions of the Bombay Nursing Home Registration Act,1949 having a limited scope. The non-adoption increased the risk of clinical establishments running without registration and deficiencies in providing proper healthcare by the clinical establishments.

CAG has recommended, “Government may explore the possibility of adopting the Clinical Establishment Act, 2010 so that all the clinical establishments in the State are registered and are adequately monitored to ensure that minimum standards of facilities and services are provided to the public. The government may also ensure that updated database of medical facilities is maintained.”