Online System for Doctors Registration as RTO-certified Medical Experts likely by January

The system, developed by the National Informatics Center (NIC) would enable the doctors to complete the registration process without having to visit the RTO offices with their certificates for verification, reports TOI.

In order to renew a driving license, currently, it is mandatory to have a self-declaration of medical fitness, which needs to be approved by a RTO certified medical expert, and the certificate needs to be uploaded by the applicant.

However, previously, the doctors needed to visit the RTO offices with their certificates for verification. The major obstacle in this process was the unwillingness on the part of the doctors to visit the RTO establishment along with their medical credentials as the doctors used to view it as a 'time-consuming' process.

This resulted in a situation where the authorities had to postpone the initiative of the RTO-certified process thrice because even though their target was to register 72,000 doctors (200 in each district) across Maharashtra, only 177 doctors had registered under the plan.

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While commenting on the matter, a transport department official told TOI, "Doctors are not ready to visit the RTO offices with their certificates for verification. We have had detailed discussion with NIC and they are in the last leg to develop a fully online system for the doctors to complete the verification process. Once the system goes online, we expect the enrolment process to be in motion from January."

"With the help of the online system, the doctors can simply upload their certificates online and send them to us. We will verify and approve the documents before sending the applicants their special login id and password of the Sarathi portal. This will save the time of the doctors and that of the RTO officials," the official added.

Now, with the new online enrollment system, people who want to renew their driving licenses may reach out to the RTO-registered doctors, who would upload their medical certificates on the Sarathi portal, to keep the fakes at bay.

However, sources in the medical fraternity have expressed their doubt regarding the new system and a Pune-based doctor told the daily, "As per the plan, doctors have to login into the Sarathi portal and upload the applicant's medical certificate. This regulation needs to change as no doctor has the time to go through this process. Unless this system is changed, the plan will not succeed."

On the other hand, an official had earlier told the daily, "If doctors upload the medical certificate, the system will recognise that it was uploaded from the login ID of a verified doctor."

RTO had earlier suggested that if the doctors were unwilling to come to the offices, they would send their inspectors to the doctors.

While commenting on the new online system, Sanjiv Bhor, deputy RTO in Pune had earlier told TOI, "The process of making the registration process online is in the pipeline. However, doctors should come to the RTO office to collect their logins for the Sarathi portal. They should bring their certificates that will be verified by the IMA or any recognized medical body. If doctors are hesitant, we would send our inspectors to their location for the same."