The Center is offering Digital Doctor Certificates under the Know Your Doctor (KYD) service in an effort to deal with the rising issue of unqualified practitioners and guarantee patients receive care from verified medical professionals. The goal of this program, which is a component of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), is to make verified doctors easily accessible to patients.
According to officials, the registration process for these certificates involves verification of the doctor’s profile information by state government-appointed verifiers or state medical councils. Once verified, the doctor receives a certificate featuring a QR code similar to the CoWin vaccination certificate. This QR code is designed to help patients confirm the legitimacy of their healthcare provider.
"Registration happens only when the profile information is verified either by the state government-appointed verifiers or by state medical councils, and thereafter the certificate is issued," an official told to Livemint.
Doctors are expected to display the QR code prominently in their clinics, enabling patients to scan it and verify the doctor's qualifications. This measure is intended to address the issue of quackery by allowing patients to easily check the credentials of their healthcare providers.
Additionally, the program creates a national database of medical specialists. The official added, "During COVID-19, it became very difficult for the government to identify doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. Now, we have a dedicated repository of medical professionals in the country, which will also help the government to analyze the number of doctors, nurses, and paramedics, and we can utilize this manpower as and when required.”
As of now, around 139,000 doctors have been verified and received their certificates. In contrast, over 200,000 nurses enrolled under the national health digital mission are still awaiting certification. Public sector employees make up about 76.56% of the medical professionals listed on the government registry.
A workshop detailing the initiative for councils of all systems of medicine and national verifiers is scheduled for May 30 by the National Health Authority. "We will motivate medical councils on the process of onboarding medical professionals, speedy verification process, and certification issuance," an official said.
The Healthcare Professional Registry (HPR) is also expanding to include other medical fields. The National Health Authority is currently onboarding dentists, allied healthcare professionals, and pharmacists into the national healthcare professional registry. This development is expected to enhance the quality and reliability of healthcare services in India by ensuring that only verified professionals are providing medical care.
(Input from various media sources)
(Rehash/ Susmita Bhandary/MSM)
