Doctor’s Attendance Gets a High-Tech Upgrade: App-Based Biometric System Launched

To end long-standing complaints about the attendance of doctors working in government hospitals, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has taken a new step. An app-based face biometric attendance system has been introduced across the country. Through this system, the presence of doctors in the hospital will be more strictly controlled. The old attendance system has been completely discontinued, and the new rule has been effective from October 1.

How the new system works

In this new system, every doctor has to install a specific app on their mobile. Through this app, they can record their attendance. However, this app will only work within a 100-meter radius of the hospital. As a result, doctors will not be able to mark their attendance from outside without coming to the hospital.

• App functionality: The app will use GPS technology to confirm the doctor’s location.
• Aadhaar card information: The doctor’s Aadhaar card information will be registered in the app.
• Facial recognition: At the time of attendance, the app will verify the doctor’s face with the photo on the Aadhaar card. The attendance process will be completed only after a successful match.

Why this new system?

There are frequent allegations against government hospital doctors such as not arriving at the hospital on time, seeing patients in private chambers during duty hours, or working in private hospitals. To deal with all these complaints, the National Medical Commission has introduced this new system. Earlier, the National Medical Commission had expressed strong dissatisfaction with the low attendance of doctors in the government medical colleges of West Bengal. There was even a warning that the salary could be stopped if the attendance was less than 75 percent.

Important Dates

• May 1, 2025: The new face-based biometric system was announced to be launched from this date.
• October 1, 2025: The old QR code-based attendance system has been completely discontinued from this date.

It is hoped that this new app-based attendance system will bring transparency to the attendance of doctors in government hospitals and improve the quality of healthcare services.