Doctor licence, registration rules made more stringent

Doctors will have to undergo a stricter verification process to secure their medical licences and registrations, according to new rules issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC). The medical education regulator has published the “Registration of Medical Practitioners and licence to Practice Medicine Regulations, 2023”, wherein it has made it mandatory for all medical professionals to register under National Medical Register (NMR) to earn a licence for practice.

The NMR is maintained by the commission’s Ethics and Medical Registration Board. The register will contain details such as name, registration number, year of passing, university, medical qualification, place of working and speciality, among others of doctors. Once the details are verified, only then a medical licence will be granted, according to a notification issued by NMC.

The objective of this entire exercise is to verify the authenticity of doctors in India. The commission will also regulate the process of opening new medical colleges in the country.

The medical register will be put in the public domain so that anyone can access details of a doctor, which will bring more transparency in the healthcare system. According to the Indian Medical Council, there are about 1 million quacks in India, who present themselves as registered doctors though they are unverified and underskilled for treating patients.

“These Regulations will be called “Registration of Medical Practitioners and licence to Practice Medicine Regulations, 2023” under which any person who obtains a primary medical qualification recognized 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,” said a government official.

Also, any person who obtains a foreign medical qualification and qualifies 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, he said.

The licence to practice medicine issued to a registered medical practitioner shall be valid for a period of five years after which the medical practitioner shall have to renew the licensing by making an application to the State Medical Council before three months of the expiration of the validity of licence and streamlined the process of transfer of license from one state to another state.

With regards to the opening of new medical colleges, the medical education regulator has streamlined the process of establishment of new medical colleges. It is latest regulations— “Establishment of Medical institutions, Assessment & Rating Regulations, 2023”, now all new medical colleges have to seek permission from Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) to start an institution.

Furthermore, MARB can conduct random inspections at the institution anytime. NMC has also clarified that no medical colleges can increase the seats of any of the ongoing courses without prior permission from the authority.