NCAHP proposes mandatory registration for allied healthcare workers

The NCAHP has proposed mandatory registration and periodic renewal for allied healthcare professionals through a centralised digital portal. Existing practitioners with older qualifications may receive a three-year grace period, subject to bridge courses, supervised clinical training and qualifying examinations.

Hyderabad: In the coming months, just like doctors, it will become mandatory for all allied healthcare professionals, including physiotherapists, radiologists, optometrists and medical laboratory technologists, in Telangana and elsewhere in the country to register and periodically renew their credentials, under proposed regulations.

Such allied healthcare professionals will be issued Unique Identification Numbers through a unified digital registration portal. The digital system is expected to eliminate regional registration discrepancies, ensuring that every practising physiotherapist, radiographer or laboratory technician can be tracked on a centralised national registry, which will boost patient safety and accountability.

The move to ensure that all allied healthcare workers are registered and unqualified practitioners are weeded out is part of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions’ (NCAHP) efforts to formalise the massive, previously unregulated auxiliary healthcare workforce in the country.

Under the landmark Draft Provisional Registration of Allied and Healthcare Professionals Regulations, 2026, released by the NCAHP, individuals who have been working as physiotherapists, laboratory technicians or optometrists for years but hold older degrees or diplomas that do not meet the new NCAHP guidelines will be given a three-year grace period. This will allow them to continue working while attending bridge courses or taking examinations to obtain permanent registration.

Simply holding an older diploma or degree will no longer automatically qualify practitioners for permanent registration. To transition from provisional to regular registration on the National and State Registers, practitioners must complete a recognised bridge course ranging from six months to one year, including supervised clinical hours, and pass a qualifying examination.

The bridge courses will be conducted exclusively through recognised allied and healthcare education institutions under a transparent, first-come, first-served admission model.

Applications for provisional registration will have to be routed through the respective State Allied and Healthcare Councils. In states where a functional council has not yet been established, professionals can apply directly through the central NCAHP portal.

Some important points:

• A three-year grace period for existing practitioners whose old degrees do not match the new standards.
• Mandatory six-month to one-year training programmes with supervised clinical hours to upgrade professional qualifications.
• Practitioners must pass a competency test to transition from provisional to permanent registration.
• Unique Identification Numbers will be issued through a centralised digital registry to ensure national tracking and accountability.
• Practitioners must apply for registration within two years from the date these regulations officially come into force.
• Transparent provisions will be available to address rejected applications.
• Professionals can file appeals with a written response and a formal opportunity to be heard.
• Bridge courses are strictly intended to upgrade skills and meet registration criteria. They do not automatically grant a new academic degree or diploma.
• Admissions to designated bridge courses will be conducted through existing recognised educational institutions on a transparent, first-come, first-served basis.