NMC Directs Medical Colleges to Complete ABDM-Compliant HMIS Integration
NMC's July 2026 memorandum directs medical colleges to complete ABDM-compliant HMIS integration. Review the gaps and action checklist...
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The National Medical Commission (NMC) has directed medical colleges and their attached or associated hospitals to complete implementation of an Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission-compliant Health Management Information System (ABDM-HMIS) immediately.
The direction appears in an Office Memorandum issued by the NMC IT Section on 17 July 2026 (File No. N-16021/2/2026-IT-NMC(Part), E-8416327). The memorandum identifies medical colleges that had not completed different parts of the required digital-health integration as of 10 July 2026 and warns that further action may be initiated by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) while non-compliance remains pending.
What has the NMC directed?
NMC regulations and Minimum Standard Requirements require medical institutions to install an HMIS in their attached or associated hospitals. According to the memorandum, the resulting data may be used by the concerned NMC Boards and the Commission.
The broader objective is to enable NMC to monitor:
• the standard of medical education and clinical training;
• the availability of clinical material;
• patient health-record linkage through ABHA IDs;
• the digital activity reported by attached or associated teaching hospitals; and
• compliance during annual renewal and assessment.
The 17 July memorandum follows earlier NMC directions concerning AEBAS, HMIS and CCTV integration, a notice dated 28 February 2026 seeking HFR IDs and HMIS linkage details, and a 3 March 2026 direction requiring HMIS integration with the ABDM-HMIS portal.
NMC's 3 March notice had provided a 15-day implementation period. The latest memorandum now asks the listed institutions to contact their HMIS vendors and complete the required integration on an immediate basis.
How many medical colleges appear in the compliance lists?
The memorandum contains three separate annexures:
Compliance category as of 10 July 2026 — Institutions listed
Using ABDM-enabled HMIS, but data is not properly reflected on the ABDM-HMIS dashboard — 247
Still not using ABDM-enabled HMIS software — 203
Failed to submit an HFR ID or submitted an incorrect HFR ID — 73
These categories should not be added together to claim a single total because the memorandum does not state that the three lists are mutually exclusive. An institution may potentially have more than one compliance issue.
1. HMIS is present, but data is not reflected correctly
Annexure 1 lists 247 institutions using ABDM-enabled HMIS whose information was not being reflected adequately on the ABDM-HMIS dashboard. The memorandum associates this category with one or more of the following:
• non-completion of the M2 milestone, including ABHA integration;
• incomplete HFR/HPR mapping;
• non-completion of the M3 advanced-data-sharing milestone;
• incomplete data in the Health Record Linkage layer; or
• data not appearing correctly in the Scan and Share function.
This is important because merely purchasing or installing HMIS software does not by itself establish compliance. The data flow, mapping and ABDM integration milestones must also work in the production environment.
2. No ABDM-enabled HMIS software
Annexure 2 lists 203 institutions that were still not using ABDM-enabled HMIS software as of 10 July 2026.
These institutions must either onboard an ABDM-enabled solution or take their existing system through the ABDM integration and production-certification process.
3. Missing or incorrect HFR IDs
Annexure 3 lists 73 institutions that either failed to submit their Health Facility Registry ID or submitted an incorrect HFR ID.
Because facility identification is fundamental to mapping a hospital and its digital transactions, colleges should verify that each attached or associated hospital has the correct HFR entry and that the submitted identifier corresponds to the correct facility.
What should medical colleges do now?
The immediate task depends on the hospital's current software position.
Scenario 1: The hospital already uses ABDM-enabled software
The hospital should:
1. Confirm that its HMIS or LMIS appears in the official list of ABDM-enabled solutions.
2. Ask the vendor to deploy the ABDM-enabled version where this has not already been done.
3. Obtain the Bridge ID from the vendor.
4. Link the software with the correct health facility through the applicable facility-management portal.
5. Verify HFR/HPR mapping and the required integration milestones.
6. Test whether information is actually reflected on the ABDM-HMIS dashboard, including health-record linkage and Scan and Share data.
Scenario 2: The hospital does not use HMIS software
The hospital may onboard an ABDM-enabled HMIS or LMIS solution according to its requirements. The NMC procedure points institutions to the official ABDM partner lists for eligible solutions.
The memorandum also says colleges may consider:
• NextGen eHospital, developed by the National Informatics Centre; or
• eSushrut, developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing.
The choice of software should be accompanied by a deployment plan, facility mapping, user training, data-governance controls and verification that the system is live—not merely contracted.
Scenario 3: The hospital uses non-ABDM or custom software
Where the hospital uses a non-ABDM-enabled solution, including a custom-developed system, the solution must undergo ABDM integration.
The process described in the NMC annexure includes:
1. Registration on the ABDM Sandbox portal.
2. Completion of the required ABDM milestones:
- M1: ABHA creation and verification;
- M2: health-record linking and exchange through HIE-CM;
- M3: consent-based sharing and linking of health records; and
- M4: creation and verification of healthcare professionals and health facilities.
3. Completion of production-certification requirements, including third-party functional testing, CERT-In-empanelled web-application security assessment, an internal demonstration before the NHA integration support team, Health Tech Committee certification and final go-live approval.
A practical compliance checklist for deans and hospital administrators
The dean, principal, medical superintendent and HMIS/IT team should jointly verify the following:
☐ Every attached or associated hospital has a valid and correct HFR ID.
☐ Healthcare professionals and facilities are mapped correctly where required.
☐ The deployed HMIS version is ABDM-enabled.
☐ The correct Bridge ID is linked to the correct facility.
☐ ABHA creation and verification are functioning.
☐ Health records can be linked and exchanged through the prescribed mechanism.
☐ Consent-based sharing is operational.
☐ Scan and Share data is generated and reflected correctly.
☐ Data is visible on the ABDM-HMIS dashboard and not merely available inside the local HMIS.
☐ Security testing, certification and production approval are complete where custom or non-ABDM software is being integrated.
☐ Evidence such as screenshots, test results, vendor confirmations, mapping records and dashboard reports is retained for inspection or assessment.
☐ The institution has documented accountability, escalation and daily monitoring until all gaps are closed.
What happens if a college remains non-compliant?
The 17 July memorandum states that colleges not complying with the applicable regulations and guidelines must complete the required actions immediately, pending which necessary further action, as per norms, may be initiated by MARB, NMC.
The memorandum does not prescribe a specific penalty for each listed institution. Colleges should therefore avoid assuming that every entry automatically results in the same regulatory consequence. However, continued non-compliance may become relevant during assessment, renewal or other MARB proceedings.
The safest course is to close each technical and registry gap promptly and preserve verifiable evidence of successful implementation.
Why this matters beyond regulatory compliance
NMC links HMIS integration with objective verification of clinical workload and the quality of medical training. For teaching hospitals, reliable digital records can help demonstrate the actual volume and nature of clinical material available to students and residents.
At the same time, implementation must protect patient confidentiality and follow consent-based health-record-sharing requirements. Compliance should therefore combine technology deployment with access controls, security assessment, staff training, correct facility mapping and continuous monitoring.
Key takeaways
• NMC's Office Memorandum is dated 17 July 2026.
• Non-compliant institutions were identified using information available as of 10 July 2026.
• The three annexures list 247, 203 and 73 institutions in different compliance categories.
• The figures should not be combined because the lists may overlap.
• Installing HMIS software alone is insufficient; the system must be correctly integrated, mapped and reflected on the ABDM-HMIS dashboard.
• Institutions have been directed to complete compliance immediately.
• NMC has indicated that MARB may initiate further action under applicable norms while non-compliance remains pending.
Frequently asked questions
Is ABDM-enabled HMIS mandatory for medical college hospitals?
The NMC memorandum reiterates that medical institutions must install HMIS in attached or associated hospitals and integrate that HMIS with the ABDM-HMIS portal.
Is purchasing ABDM-enabled software enough?
No. The 17 July list includes colleges using ABDM-enabled software whose data was not reflected properly because of incomplete milestones, mapping or data-sharing functions.
What is an HFR ID?
An HFR ID identifies a health facility in the Health Facility Registry. Medical colleges should verify that the ID submitted to NMC belongs to the correct attached or associated hospital.
Can a hospital retain its existing custom HMIS?
Yes, but a non-ABDM or custom solution must undergo ABDM integration, complete the required milestones, pass the applicable security and functional assessments and receive production approval.
Has NMC imposed an automatic penalty on every listed college?
The memorandum does not specify an automatic uniform penalty for every institution. It directs immediate compliance and says necessary further action may be initiated by MARB under applicable norms.
Primary sources
• NMC homepage notice dated 17 July 2026: Implementation of ABDM-compliant HMIS — https://www.nmc.org.in/
• NMC notice dated 3 March 2026: Implementation of HMIS for attached hospitals — https://www.nmc.org.in/ActivitiWebClient/open/getDocument?path=%2FDocuments%2FPublic%2FPortal%2FLatestNews%2FNMC+Pub+Not+03-03-2026.pdf
• NMC notice dated 28 February 2026: Submission of HFR IDs and HMIS details — https://www.nmc.org.in/MCIRest/open/getDocument?path=%2FDocuments%2FPublic%2FPortal%2FLatestNews%2Fdocument+%285%29.pdf
• Uploaded source: NMC Office Memorandum No. N-16021/2/2026-IT-NMC(Part), dated 17 July 2026, including Annexures 1-4.
Disclaimer: This article is a general informational summary of the cited NMC documents. It does not constitute legal, regulatory, medical or information-security advice. Institutions should review the complete official memorandum, verify their own status and obtain appropriate professional or regulatory guidance before acting.