A new comprehensive database of registered medical doctors in India has gone live. 

The National Medical Register replaces the old Indian Medical Register (IMR).

A unique feature of this online portal, according to a media release, is its ability to authenticate a doctor's identity by linking with their 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 credit points.

The creation of the NMR has been mandated by the National Medical Commission Act of 2019. All previously registered doctors to the IMR will have to register again for the NMR, the MOHFW said.

WHY IT MATTERS

Before the NMR, there was no streamlined data on registered medical doctors in India. There is an estimated 1.3 million medical doctors in the country.

"[To] date, there was [a] lack of comprehensive data that could provide a detailed and holistic picture of aspects like total numbers of doctors in the country, those that have left the country, those who have lost their license to practice, or the numbers and details of doctors that have lost their lives," noted Apurva Chandra, Union secretary of Health and Family Welfare.

"The NMR is important as authentic data on doctors across the country is crucial. The data on doctors to date has been in a scattered form that needs revision, and updation, and the NMR portal will ensure that," said Anupriya Patel, minister of state for Health and Family Welfare.

Similar online registers for paramedics and other healthcare professionals are also eyed to be launched, shared Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda.

THE LARGER TREND 

The NMR will be part of the Healthcare Professional Registry (HPR), one of the three core blocks of the 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 set aside about $24 million for the ABDM, which is over 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.