PMDC to roll out e-certificates for licence renewal

Islamabad:Two months after the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council launched an updated online portal, its president, Prof. Dr. Rizwan Taj, has directed the IT team to roll out e-certificates for licence renewal and Good Standing Certificates.

Prof. Taj insisted that the initiative promised a more efficient and user-friendly experience for medical and dental professionals. "These e-certificates will be issued fast, ensuring that doctors experience minimal disruption," he told reporters here. Under the new system, licence renewals are likely to take 6-7 days, while Good Standing Certificates will be processed in just 1-2 days. Additionally, the enhanced digital infrastructure will allow the PMDC to efficiently handle up to 300-400 applications per day, further increasing operational efficiency, according to him. The PMDC president said the current manual process for license renewals and Good Standing Certificates was both time-consuming and resource-intensive.

He said the digital technology initiative would streamline those processes by replacing manual processing and mailing of hard copies with online submissions, electronic certificate generation, and direct electronic delivery, incorporating enhanced security measures.

Prof. Taj said the change would also cut down on printing and mailing costs and reduce paper use, while providing a more convenient, transparent, and user-friendly application process and more enhanced digital security measures to prevent fraud or forgery. He said since the updated portal's launch in June 2024, the PMDC had received 17,524 renewal cases, with 16,692 completed and issued.

"In the last two months, 5,063 doctors and dentists applied for Good Standing Certificates, with 4,891 successfully issued. These certificates are often needed for international practice, job applications, or further education." Prof. Taj insisted that once the e-certification system was fully implemented, the time for issuing licence renewals would drop to 6-7 days and that for Good Standing Certificates to 1-2 days.