Guide to Registration in NMR
The National Medical Register (NMR) has finally been notified by the NMC in the form of gazette notification titled “Registration of Medical Practitioner and License to Practice Medicine Regulations, 2023.” The notification states that the NMR will be maintained by the Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the NMC. NMC’s EMRB will generate a unique identification number to every medical practitioner. The UID number shall be suffixed with the code of State/ Union Territory which the medical practitioner has opted while applying for registration.
Every medical practitioner has to register online in the web portal of Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the NMC. The medical practitioner has to enter relevant information about themselves which include registration number, name, fathers name, date of registration, place of working (hospital name/ institute/ clinic address), medical qualification and additional medical qualification, if any. Also the medical practitioner has to enter their specialty, year of passing, name of institute/university from where qualification / additional qualification was obtained. The medical practitioner has to then opt for the state in which he is practicing or desires to practice. The details of the medical practitioner will be referred to the state medical council for scrutiny of details submitted by you. The State Medical Council after satisfying itself with the details provided by you grants the medical practitioner to practice in the state. The maximum period within which the license has to be granted is 30 days. On approval of the license by the State Medical Council the name along with other details will appear in the National Medical register and State Medical register which can be browsed by anybody including patients. The validity of the license is for 5 years from the date of issue and it has to be renewed before it gets expired.
If a medical professional who has registered with the National Medical Register obtains additional medical qualification recognized by the NMC, the medical professional has to get the additional medical qualification registered in the NMR. The medical practitioners apply before the State Medical Council to register the additional medical qualification in the NMR. After scrutiny of the application the additional qualification is registered on the same UID number of the applicant medical practitioner and a new registration certificate is issued which incorporates the additional qualification and the date of incorporating the additional qualification. A licensed medical practitioner with registered additional qualifications shall be allowed to practice in the field of specialization/ super specialization commensurate with additional knowledge and skill obtained, as applicable to the additional qualifications anywhere in India. The validity of the additional qualification will be same as the validity of the initial registration. The NMC has decided to continue with the existing system of the registration till the NMR comes into existence.
Khalil Girkar
Advocate, Mumbai High Court