The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued a final warning to medical colleges across India, including 15 institutions in Gujarat, for failing to fully implement the Health Management Information System (HMIS) under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
In an Office Memorandum issued on July 17, the Commission directed the colleges to immediately address pending technical and infrastructure shortcomings, warning that continued non-compliance could result in regulatory action by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB).
The NMC said all medical colleges are required to integrate their hospital HMIS with the ABDM platform to facilitate digital health records, Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) ID-based patient services, Health Facility Registry (HFR) mapping and other mandatory digital health functions. The integration is aimed at improving monitoring of medical education, hospital services and patient care through the National Health Authority’s digital health ecosystem.
The Commission identified several categories of non-compliance. These include institutions that have installed ABDM-enabled HMIS software but are yet to complete key requirements such as ABHA integration, HFR/HPR mapping, Health Records Linkage (HRL) and Scan & Share services. It also flagged colleges that have not implemented ABDM-enabled HMIS and those that failed to submit valid Health Facility Registry (HFR) IDs.
Among the Gujarat institutions that have installed ABDM-enabled HMIS but are yet to achieve full compliance are Dr N D Desai Faculty of Medical Science and Research, Nadiad; ESIC Medical College, Naroda Bapunagar; Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhuj; Narendra Modi Medical College, Ahmedabad; Nootan Medical College and Research Centre, Mehsana; and Smt N H L Municipal Medical College, Ahmedabad.
The colleges yet to implement ABDM-enabled HMIS include Ananya College of Medicine and Research, Kalol; Bhagyoday Medical College; Dr M K Shah Medical College and Research Centre, Ahmedabad; SAL Institute of Medical Sciences, Ahmedabad; SBKS Medical Institute and Research Centre, Vadodara; Shantabaa Medical College, Amreli; and Swaminarayan Institute of Medical Sciences and Research.
The NMC also pointed out that Postgraduate Institute of Swasthiyog Pratisthan, Miraj, and Smt G R Doshi and Smt K M Mehta Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre–Dr H L Trivedi Institute of Transplantation Sciences, Ahmedabad, either failed to submit or submitted incorrect Health Facility Registry (HFR) IDs.
The Commission has directed all the identified institutions to rectify the deficiencies without delay, cautioning that failure to comply with the prescribed digital health standards may invite action under the NMC’s regulatory framework.