The National Medical Commission (NMC) has enabled registered medical practitioners to remotely review and digitally authenticate electronic medical records, a move NATHEALTH says could boost digital health access in India, according to the source report. The healthcare industry association welcomed the decision, while the commission’s advisory keeps a doctor’s review and professional accountability central to each authenticated record.
The advisory covers laboratory, pathology and radiology reports, diagnostic interpretations, discharge summaries and other electronic clinical documents. A doctor must review the relevant clinical information and use independent professional judgment before authenticating a record, according to the source report. The doctor remains fully accountable for it.
How remote authentication could boost digital health
The change addresses a practical bottleneck described by NATHEALTH: a diagnosis or treatment decision may depend on a specialist reviewing a report or signing a clinical document. In smaller towns and remote areas, where specialists are fewer, patients may wait longer or travel to a larger city for that review.
Remote review and authentication could let qualified doctors assess records securely from another location. NATHEALTH said that may help patients receive expert opinions sooner and closer to home, with less delay, cost and anxiety. Those are the association’s expected benefits, not outcome data reported in the source.
For hospitals, diagnostic centres and other providers, the arrangement could extend specialist expertise across their networks and support digital clinical workflows. The source describes these as potential operational benefits; it does not quantify changes in access or turnaround times.
Accountability remains with the doctor
NATHEALTH said it had advocated for the change and recommended it to the government. Its president, Dr Sangita Reddy, who is also joint managing director of Apollo Hospitals, called the move “progressive and much-needed.” She said removing the need for a doctor to be physically present at a facility could make care faster and more accessible, while keeping clinical judgment, accountability and patient safety central.
Shankha Banerjee, NATHEALTH treasurer and chief executive of Dr Lal PathLabs, said there had long been uncertainty about signing reports remotely. He said the clarification resolves that uncertainty without moving responsibility away from the doctor. Banerjee also said it could help diagnostic providers extend service availability and reach patients in places where specialists are not always on site.
Ameera Shah, promoter and executive chairperson of Metropolis Healthcare, said remote review could help bridge geographic gaps as quality care expands into smaller cities and towns. She also called for minimum laboratory standards, saying consistency and safety should remain central to diagnostics. Shah described the change as one in a series of reforms and said enabling rules should be paired with robust quality standards.
The policy sits within a wider set of digital health efforts in India. Meditech Today has reported on the open digital health network and Tamil Nadu’s public health digitisation, related coverage of how digital systems are being organized and used.
Remote authentication also puts attention on how regulators oversee medical technology. A separate Meditech Today report examines AI in active clinical care, another example of regulatory questions surrounding digital health tools.
NATHEALTH said it would continue working with the government, the NMC and other stakeholders on implementation and policies intended to make quality healthcare easier to reach, which it described as a way to boost digital health. The source report does not give an implementation timetable. The advisory’s stated safeguard is clear: doctors must review relevant clinical information, exercise independent judgment and remain accountable for authenticated records.
