Kerala doctors find uploading of details for national register cumbersome

Many doctors in Kerala are reportedly finding it difficult to complete the uploading of their educational qualifications, details of their registration with State medical councils (SMC), and the information in their Aadhaar cards, for a national register as directed by the National Medical Commission (NMC).

According to sources, they are being told to submit an affidavit because the Aadhaar card being uploaded “is not sufficient proof” and in support of the fact that “the name of the applicant” mentioned in the registration certificate as well in the MBBS degree certificate is the same as given in the application form. They are also informed that the SMC’s name given in the application form and in the registration certificate are different. The doctors are being directed to approach the SMC again and the State council has been told to indicate its old name in brackets after the new name.

The doctors say that this is happening because of the apparent mismatch between their names in the degree certificates, SMC registration certificates and the Aadhaar cards. Also, the registration body for doctors in Kerala was earlier the Travancore-Cochin Medical Councils (TCMC). In 2021, it was renamed the Kerala State Medical Councils (KSMC) through an Act passed in the Assembly.

R.V. Asokan, national president, Indian Medical Association (IMA), told The Hindu on Sunday that there seemed to be some technical issues in the software for uploading the details. “The process is cumbersome. We will be writing to the NMC to rectify the problems,” he said.

During the time of the Medical Council of India, the NMC’s predecessor, once medical practitioners register with the SMCs, their name would be in the Indian Medical Register (IMR). Under the NMC Act, 2019, it is the job of the Ethics and Medical Registration Board of the commission to maintain a national register containing the name, address, and all recognised qualifications possessed by a licensed medical practitioner. The national register shall be maintained in electronic form too. A portal for the purpose was launched on August 23.

K.V. Babu, Kannur-based ophthalmologist and public health activist, pointed out that the IMR had details of a majority of the registered medical practitioners. “A large number of doctors in Kerala would have registered with the SMC before Aadhaar numbers came into existence. Now, the NMC is insisting on an affidavit to support the difference in their names in degree certificates, registration certificates, and Aadhaar cards. Also, the names of various medical colleges, universities, and the SMC have changed. They are directing the doctors to approach the SMC to clarify this. More than 80,000 doctors registered with the KSMC or TCMC in Kerala will have to approach the SMC again,” he said.

Published - October 27, 2024 07:29 pm IST