Madhya Pradesh: To maintain an updated medical registry, the Madhya Pradesh Medical Council plans to implement a system for renewing doctors’ registrations every five years.

Although the Council currently has 63,423 doctors registered, the records are outdated due to insufficient verification over time. Consequently, the State Government and the Medical Council have limited information regarding the number of registered doctors actively practicing in the State, as well as those who have exited the State, retired, or passed away.

Two years ago, a verification initiative took place in the State, revealing that just 24,000 out of 63,000 doctors had responded. Consequently, the Council is now preparing a proposal for mandatory renewal.

Once finalized, this proposal will be submitted for approval by the cabinet. According to a recent report from ETV Bharat, the Madhya Pradesh Medical Council has not established any strict regulations for the periodic renewal of registrations since its inception. As a result, the records are outdated, with approximately 70% of registered doctors having unverified addresses.

Stressing the importance of reform, Dr. Rakesh Malviya, the Chief Convener of the Government Autonomous Doctors Federation, shared with ETV, “Regular updates are crucial for maintaining a current database of physicians. This will assist in tracking how many practitioners remain in the state, how many have relocated abroad, and how many are deceased.”

Recently, the Federation proposed to the State Government the introduction of a five-year renewal policy. Commenting on this, Dr. Malviya remarked, “Putting this into action will not just improve governance but also foster increased accountability among healthcare providers.”

The Medical Council has initiated the election process for new members after nearly ten years. In preparation for the election, the Council began confirming the addresses of registered doctors on December 5, and so far, 945 doctors have updated their information.

In the previous election, approximately 15,000 doctors took part, indicating a low level of participation among registered medical professionals. The verification process for doctors’ current addresses will be ongoing until January 6, 2025.