NATHEALTH welcomes NMC move permitting remote authentication of medical records
New Delhi, Oct 19 (TNT): NATHEALTH, the Healthcare Federation of India, on Monday welcomed the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) move allowing Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) to remotely review and digitally authenticate electronic medical records, saying it would improve access to specialist healthcare and strengthen digital health services across the country.
The move is expected to facilitate faster authentication of laboratory, pathology and radiology reports, diagnostic interpretations, discharge summaries and other electronic clinical documents, particularly benefiting patients in smaller towns and remote areas where specialist doctors may not be readily available.
In a statement, NATHEALTH said remote authentication could reduce delays, travel costs and the need for patients to visit larger cities for specialist reviews. It would also enable hospitals, diagnostic centres and other healthcare providers to extend specialist expertise across their networks and streamline digital clinical workflows.
The healthcare industry body said it had consistently advocated the measure and recommended it to the government as part of efforts to create an enabling regulatory environment for digital healthcare.
The NMC advisory requires doctors to review relevant clinical information and exercise independent professional judgement before authenticating medical records.
Doctors remain accountable for the records they authenticate, with patient safety and professional responsibility continuing to be central to the process.
Dr Sangita Reddy, President of NATHEALTH and Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals, described the move as a progressive step towards making healthcare faster and more accessible.
She said remote authentication would enable medical reports to be reviewed without requiring doctors to be physically present at healthcare facilities, while maintaining clinical judgement, accountability and patient safety.
Shankha Banerjee, Treasurer of NATHEALTH and CEO of Dr Lal PathLabs, said the NMC clarification addressed longstanding uncertainty over the remote authentication of diagnostic reports.
The move would help diagnostic service providers extend service hours and reach more patients, including those in areas where specialists were not always available on-site, enabling faster delivery of reports, he said.
Ameera Shah, Promoter and Executive Chairperson of Metropolis Healthcare, said remote review and authentication of medical records would help bridge geographical barriers, facilitate timely clinical decisions and improve the utilisation of medical expertise.
She welcomed the government’s efforts to improve the ease of doing business in healthcare and stressed the need to complement enabling regulations with minimum quality standards for laboratories to ensure consistency, safety and patient trust.
NATHEALTH said the benefits of digital healthcare would depend on regulations keeping pace with technological advancements. It would continue to work with the government, the NMC and other stakeholders to support effective implementation and policies aimed at making quality healthcare more accessible across the country.
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