Digidentity enables remote onboarding registration for GMC doctors in UK

Healthcare continues to open up as a potentially major market for biometrics and reusable digital identity, as evidenced by the partnership between Digidentity and the General Medical Council (GMC), which was recently extended until 2027.

A case study notes that, “prior to the partnership, doctors had to visit GMC offices in either London or Manchester for an in-person ID check after their application was approved by GMC.” The digital option, which has seen 51,000 doctors verified in 18 months with a median time of 7 minutes 19 seconds to register and a 90 percent success rate, “has allowed the GMC to make significant strides in streamlining its operations and improving efficiency.”

This is particularly important given doctor shortages in the UK, which are increasingly filled by doctors from abroad – for whom remote registration is key.

“By expediting the process of placing doctors into their roles, over 95 percent of the ID checks that required an in-office appointment are now completed digitally,” the study says. “By enabling the quick and accurate verification of doctors of more than 149 different nationalities, the system is better equipped to meet the demands of a growing and evolving healthcare landscape.”

It also saves money; namely, two million pounds (US$2.7M) in travel costs.

Digidentity UK Country Manager Jonathan Evans says that, “since launching our service and partnership with the GMC, we’ve been able to transform and provide an efficient registration process for both doctors and GMC staff. We are delighted that this has resulted in a reduced need for face-to-face identity checks, and so lowering costs while enhancing security.

EIC talk points to identity crisis in healthcare sector

In a presentation at KuppingerCole’s 2025 European Identity and Cloud Conference (EIC), Digidentity Chief Technology Officer Marcel Wendt goes further in asking how the digital ID sector can empower healthcare providers with decentralized identity systems, and Wednt says there is a “healthcare identity crisis”: ninety seven percent of respondents to a survey believe there are recruitment delays in the healthcare sector, leading to understaffing and increased costs.

He believes firms like Digitdentity can help solve the problem. And the sector agrees, mostly: 74 percent of respondents say technologies such as digital identity could streamline and accelerate hiring. Meanwhile, only 2 percent use digital tools to assist with hiring.

To implement its remote identity verification system for GMC, Digidentity provided machine-readable zone (MRZ) document verification, validation through photo ID or NFC chip scanning, and selfie-based facial verification and liveness detection.

The firm, which is based in the Netherlands, was among early providers of the digital identity wallet model, offers both federated identity and device-based Verifiable Credentials.

Article Topics

decentralized ID  |  Digidentity  |  digital ID  |  EIC 2025  |  healthcare  |  identity verification  |  KuppingerCole  |  patient identification  |  reusable digital ID