Islamabad: The Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PM&DC) has cleared more than 175,000 applications in record time after launching multiple digital portals that have reduced processing to just three to four working days, a shift that officials say has transformed efficiency, transparency, and service delivery, officials claimed on Friday.
Since May 2024, the Council has rolled out portals for registration, postgraduate qualifications, faculty experience, and the MDCAT entrance test, allowing doctors, students, and institutions to apply and track cases online without unnecessary visits to Islamabad.
The new system, backed by e-certification and digital payments, has slashed delays, eliminated backlogs, and enabled real-time monitoring of cases.
According to official figures, out of 175,738 registration cases received in one year, 173,373 were promptly processed and issued. This includes 32,469 full licenses, 25,952 good standing certificates, 5,232 foreign provisional licenses, 31,539 provisional licenses, 8,908 postgraduate qualifications, and 61,574 license renewals. Similarly, 7,438 teaching experience certificates were issued and 13,483 faculty registration cases completed.
Officials said pending cases mostly involved third-party verifications, which cannot legally be bypassed.
Through the dedicated MDCAT portal, thousands of students registered online with secure digital payments, cutting waiting times and improving oversight.
“The figures demonstrate our commitment to digital transformation, making services faster, reliable, and more transparent,” said PM&DC President Prof. Rizwan Taj.
In another step to expand access, PM&DC has launched its licensing system at regional offices in Lahore and Karachi, offering services such as license renewals, good standing certificates, and record updates.
Doctors visiting these offices are also guided in using the online system, while completed documents are delivered by courier. Phase III of regional expansion will cover Peshawar, followed by Phase IV in Quetta.
Officials said the Council aims to further strengthen its IT systems and adopt global best practices to minimize human interaction, speed up turnaround times, and streamline regulation. “This is not just digitization, it is a cultural shift in how regulation and service delivery function in Pakistan,” Prof. Taj added.
The PM&DC, Pakistan’s statutory authority for regulating medical and dental education and practice, said it remains committed to sustaining reforms that simplify access and raise standards across the healthcare sector.
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