India improves national doctors database
A new, comprehensive database of registered doctors in India is available.
The National Medical Register replaces the old Indian Medical Register (IMR).
A unique feature of this online portal, a press release said, is the ability to verify a doctor’s identity by linking it to his/her Aadhaar ID.
It has features for tracking applications, suspending licenses, and issuing NMR ID cards and digital certificates. It also allows doctors to manually add details about their qualifications.
Future updates to the online portal will include direct software integration, as well as continuing medical education and credits.
The establishment of the NMR has been made mandatory by the National Medical Commission Act, 2019. All doctors who were previously registered with the IMR will have to re-register for the NMR, the MOHFW said.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
Before the NMR, there was no streamlined data on registered doctors in India. There is an estimated 1.3 million doctors in the country.
“(Until now) there has been a lack of comprehensive data that could provide a detailed and holistic picture of aspects such as the total number of doctors in the country, those who have left the country, those who have lost their license to practice, or the numbers and details of doctors who have lost their lives,” it noted Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Health and Family Welfare.
“The NMR is important because authentic data on doctors across the country is crucial. The data on doctors till now was scattered and needed to be reviewed and updated and the NMR portal will ensure that,” said Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare.
There are also plans to launch similar online registers for paramedics and other healthcare professionals, which will be shared Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda.
THE BIGGER TREND
The NMR will be part of the Healthcare Professional Registry (HPR), one of the three core blocks of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). An NMR registered doctor has the option to be added to the HPR.
For this year’s budget, the Indian government has allocated approximately $24 million for the ABDM, more than half of the funds allocated to it in last year’s budget. The program is building the country’s foundation for a digitally enabled health ecosystem.