Only 75 allopathic doctors at Chhattisgarh registered in National Medical Register of NMC

 

 

 

A year after its formation, the National Medical Register (NMR), a comprehensive and dynamic database for all allopathic doctors, has seen a slow registration process. In Chhattisgarh, only 75 of over 12,000 allopathic doctors registered with the Chhattisgarh State Medical Council have received NMR registration so far. This slow pace and a lack of interest among doctors in State are affecting the scheme’s success nationwide.

 

The National Medical Commission (NMC) launched the NMR in August 2024 with the assistance of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The main objective is to strengthen the digital healthcare ecosystem. After doctors, there was a proposal to register nurses, paramedics, and other health staff on the portal, but this initiative has yet to gain widespread success. According to information shared by the NMC, in a response to a question in Parliament, the union ministry of health and family welfare stated that out of approximately 11,600 active doctors in Chhattisgarh, only 75 have successfully completed the various phases of the NMR registration process.

 

The “Registration of Medical Practitioners and License to practice Medicine Regulations, 2023,” issued by the NMC on June 8, 2023, dictates that the NMC’s Ethics and Medical Registration Board will maintain the NMR. The register will contain entries for all doctors in State registers. These regulations provide a unique identification number for every allopathic doctor, which will be centrally generated by the Ethics and Medical Registration Board.

 

This unique number will grant registration in the NMR and eligibility to practice medicine in the nation. Despite the lengthy process, a large number of allopathic doctors in Chhattisgarh have applied for NMR registration, but over 95 percent of these applications are still pending. This has led many doctors to lose interest in the process. “The process of registration in NMR is long and, as of the first week of August, over 95 percent of applications from the state are pending. Therefore, only 75 doctors in the state have received NMR registration so far,” said Dr.