What is National Medical Register (NMR)

What is the National Medical Register?

• The National Medical Register is a public, electronic register of licensed medical practitioners.
• It contains the name, address, recognised medical qualifications and other prescribed particulars of registered medical practitioners entitled to practise medicine in India.
• The register also provides information such as registration status, date of registration and qualifications, while each practitioner is assigned a unique NMR ID.

Legal Basis

• The NMR is mandated under Section 31 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019.
• Under this provision, the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) is responsible for maintaining the National Register.

National Register and State Register

• Every State Medical Council is required to maintain and regularly update its State Register in the prescribed electronic format.
• The EMRB ensures electronic synchronisation between the National Register and State Registers. Therefore, a change in one register is automatically reflected in the other.

National Medical Register (NMR) and Indian Medical Register(IMR): Know the Difference

• The Indian Medical Register (IMR) was maintained under the framework of the earlier Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.
• Under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, the National Medical Register provides the new statutory framework for maintaining a national register of licensed medical practitioners. The 2023 regulations describe the IMR as the register maintained before the coming into force of the NMR.

Conclusion

The National Medical Register represents a shift from fragmented registration towards a centralised, transparent and digitally synchronised system for medical practitioners.