NMC to create centralised repository of practising doctors, all to get UID

All medical practitioners will now have to register with the National Medical Commission (NMC) besides state medical councils and get a Unique Identification Number to practice in the country.

According to a recent notification, the data will be updated in the National Medical Register which will be made available to the public and displayed on the NMC's website.

The website will display information regarding a medical practitioner such as registration number, name, date of registration, place of working (name of hospital/institute), medical qualification, including additional medical qualification, specialty and name of the institute or university where the qualification was obtained.

Any person who obtains a primary medical qualification recognised under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 and qualifies the National Exit Test held under section 15 of the Act, shall be entitled for grant of registration in NMR, it said.

Those who obtain a foreign medical qualification and qualify the National Exit Test held under section 15 of the Act, shall also be entitled for grant of registration in NMR, subject to fulfilment of conditions specified in the Foreign Medical Graduates Regulation, 2021, it said.

The UID shall be generated centrally by the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB), National Medical Commission (NMC) and grant the practitioner, registration in NMR and eligibility to practice medicine in India.

"All existing medical practitioner enrolled in the Indian Medical Register or the State Medical Register, not having the registration number as per these regulation shall update in the web portal of the Ethics and Medical Registration Board within a period of three months of publishing of these Regulation and obtain the registration number as a one time measure and the licence so generated shall be valid for a period of five years from the date of issuance," the notification said.

No fees shall be charged by the EMRB, NMC for updating licence of a medical practitioner.

Eligible persons may opt for any state to practice medicine and the application made through the web portal shall be referred to the State or States Medical Council concerned, the notification stated.

The State Medical Council shall consider the application for grant of licence to practice medicine in that state after charging fee within a period of 30 days.

The certificate of licence shall contain a registration number which shall be formed in such a way that a UID shall be suffixed with a code of the state or Union Territory concerned.

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 notification stated.