Only 996 of 13.9L allopathic doctors in NMR

Almost a year after the National Medical Register was launched as "a comprehensive and dynamic database for all allopathic doctors", only 996 of the 13.9 lakh allopathic doctors registered with state medical councils have got NMR registration. In response to an RTI query, National Medical Commission (NMC) stated that of the 11,200 applications for registration received, 91% have not been approved as of Aug 8.

Launched with much fanfare by Union health minister on Aug 23, 2024, the NMR portal of NMC for registration of all MBBS doctors eligible to practise in India has failed to take off. NMR was hailed as a move to "strengthen the digital healthcare ecosystem", after which similar registers were to be launched for paramedics and other healthcare professionals. Yet, with the register for doctors - who constitute the smallest professional group in the health system - not materialising, it remains to be seen whether the registers for an estimated 35 lakh nurses and for paramedics, who would be more than double the number of nurses, will happen any time soon.

In response to a question in Parliament, the health ministry said that 13.9 lakh MBBS doctors are registered with state councils, of which it is assumed that about 80% (over 11 lakh) are available.

NMC had issued the Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine Regulations, 2023, on June 8, 2023. According to the regulation, NMC's Ethics & Medical Registration Board shall maintain the NMR, which shall contain entries of all doctors in all state registers maintained by state medical councils. The regulations envisage a unique identification number for every doctor, centrally generated by EMRB, which will "grant registration in NMR and eligibility to practice medicine in India".

All existing medical practitioners enrolled in the Indian Medical Register or the State Medical Register not having registration number as per the regulation were mandated to update their registration in the web portal of EMRB within three months of publication of the regulation.

However, applications have petered out as approvals for 90% of those who applied are still pending. From 6,000 applications in the first three months after launch, applications have dwindled to less than 800 in past four months.

The renewal of registration every five years is supposed to happen through state councils and the status of registration in the state registry "shall automatically reflected (sic) in the National Register". However, state registries are yet to be linked to NMR.

"Even when state councils confirm the membership of a doctor, NMC is rejecting it, as in my case," said Dr KV Babu, an ophthalmologist and RTI activist. "Why not accept those verified by state councils and make it simple?"