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If you wish to practise medicine in New Zealand you must first gain registration from us. To do this, you must show us that you are qualified, competent and fit for registration.
We register more than 1500 new doctors each year and there are over 16,000 registered doctors practising in New Zealand. More than 40 percent have trained overseas, coming from more than 100 countries.
Use the links below to find out about getting registered to practise here. We recommend you start with ‘how to register’ for an overview. -
If you are thinking about practising medicine in New Zealand, there are many things to consider. This page provides an introduction to medical registration, the healthcare system, getting a job and settling in the country.
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We serve Aotearoa New Zealand by protecting public health and safety. We do this by setting and promoting standards for the medical profession.
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This pathway is for New Zealand and Australian medical graduates who have successfully completed their internship in Australia and want to register within the General scope of practice.
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The Medical Council has today launched Torohia – Medical Training Survey for New Zealand, a new survey designed with the profession, for the profession, to better understand doctors’ experience of postgraduate training.
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Doctors get sick too, and when they do it's important that their illness doesn't interfere with their ability to practise medicine safely. A doctor must always be able to practise medicine without putting patients or the public at risk.
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Regardless of your scope of practice, the basic process for registration as a medical practitioner in New Zealand is as outlined here.
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Every doctor in New Zealand must be registered to practise medicine. If you are not eligible for registration under any other pathway, you must sit and pass the NZREX Clinical, our registration examination.
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How you apply for a practising certificate will depend on whether or not you are already registered in New Zealand, if you have worked in New Zealand before, and how long it has been since you last practised. If you already hold a practising certificate, please see our page on renewing your practising certificate instead.
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This dashboard page contains information around how long doctors remain in New Zealand after their initial registration.
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A recent change to the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 sets a new requirement on all health profession regulators, including the Medical Council. We are now required to publish a policy setting out on when we might make public in some way, information about an order or direction made by us about a doctor.
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A Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) is an investigatory body appointed by the Council. Its purpose is to investigate matters and concerns referred to it by the Council about a registered doctor. Although a PCC is appointed by the Council, it is separate from the Council, and regulates its own procedures.
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You can apply to access the full medical register, but before you apply make sure you know what information the register holds. Whether your application is approved or not depends on what you want to do with the information.
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Physician associates are trained health professionals who work under the supervision of a medical doctor to provide healthcare to patients.
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This area of our site contains detailed information about the medical workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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In some circumstances you can be restored to the medical register if your registration has been cancelled. This page outlines how to apply to be restored to the register.
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If you, as an international medical graduate (IMG), apply for vocational registration and your application is successful, you will have to complete a provisional vocational registration period. You'll work under supervision for this period, during which we make sure you're competent to practise independently in your chosen field of medicine.
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Any doctor applying for registration in New Zealand must be fit for registration and fit to practise medicine. It's a legal requirement on us to ensure they are. We determine this as part of our assessment of your application for registration.
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Special purpose postgraduate training registration is available for doctors looking to come to New Zealand on a temporary basis, to gain experience and skills to take back to their home or sponsor country.
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If you trained and qualified as a specialist outside of New Zealand and Australia and wish to work in New Zealand as a specialist you can apply based on overseas training and qualifications and we will assess your case on its merits.
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The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (The Tribunal) has asked us to publish a summary of its recent decisions. You can access the full decision on their website at the links provided.
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Cardiothoracic surgery is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of patients with disorders of structures within the chest including: the heart and vascular system, the lungs and trachea, the oesophagus, the diaphragm and chest wall. It includes the management of trauma and congenital and acquired disorders of these structures.
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If you are planning on leaving New Zealand to practise in another country, its medical regulator may ask you for a certificate of professional status (COPS) from us. Your registration is not affected by your decision to practise overseas but you must ensure that we hold current contact details for you.
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Torohia – Medical Training Survey for New Zealand – is here! Doctors in training voices matter. Let's make sure they're heard. Visit the Torohia website to find out more and download the promo kit to help spread the word! https://www.torohia.org.nz/
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This pathway is for New Zealand and Australian medical graduates wanting to register within the Provisional General scope of practice to complete their internship.
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Our registration application forms include a range of 'fitness for registration' questions. This page will help guide you should you need to make a declaration about any issues that might affect your fitness for registration.
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Tell us who you are so we can better direct your enquiry
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The Medical Council of New Zealand, in partnership with Te Ohu Rata O Aotearoa (Te ORA), has released an independent research report outlining findings on the current state of cultural safety and health equity delivered by doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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Council is reviewing the core ethical standards it sets for the profession, ensuring the standards reflect both patient expectations and the realities of clinical practice. As part of this work, we have sought feedback from patients and doctors and have now released two reports that reflect their views.
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If a doctor has an issue with their own health, wherever possible we try to help them to remain in practice while it is being resolved. That said, our primary objective is to protect the health and safety of the public - which may mean that the doctor will be unable to practise safely, or will be limited in what they can do, until they are well enough to fully resume practice.
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VOC1 (specialist) registration is for doctors who hold an approved New Zealand / Australasian postgraduate qualification and already hold registration in the General scope of practice.
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From November 2014, Council reviewed and implemented significant changes to prevocational medical training requirements for doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand. The changes aim to improve patient safety and the performance of doctors through provision of high-quality learning.
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The Chair of Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | The Medical Council of New Zealand, Dr Curtis Walker, reinforced today the technical and complex process required when thoroughly reviewing a doctor’s overseas qualifications, training and experience.
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Medical Council News is our official newsletter. Published and distributed to the profession regularly, the newsletter contains a summary of the most important recent news as well as articles on topics likely to be of interest to doctors.
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If you have concerns about a registered doctor, you can refer the matter to the Council.
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This dashboard page contains information around new registrations - registrations granted where the doctor was not already on the medical register.
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Council is pleased to announce that from 1 November 2024, international medical graduates (IMGs) with an approved postgraduate medical qualification, intending to practise in Aotearoa New Zealand in an approved area of medicine, can apply for specialist registration via a new fast-track registration pathway.
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The professional services a doctor can perform in New Zealand are defined by the scope of practice for which they are registered.
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This dashboard page breaks down new doctors by entry pathway (how they qualified for registration in New Zealand) by ethnicity, gender, age group, and the country of their primary medical qualification.
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This page outlines how the process of renewing your practising certificate works and what to do if your certificate is about to expire and you haven't heard from us.
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Vocational registration is a form of permanent, specialist registration which allows you to work independently in New Zealand.
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This page contains important information on approved qualifications, the information to include with your application, and other things that may affect your application for registration in a vocational scope.
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Faster, easier registration for overseas-trained doctors to enter Aotearoa New Zealand’s medical workforce
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If you're not working away from New Zealand but are just taking a break from medical practice, this page outlines what you need to do.
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All international medical graduates (IMGs) registered in a provisional general, provisional vocational and special purpose scope of practice must be supervised. This is to support their practice while they become familiar with the New Zealand health system and the expected standard of medical practice.
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When you're applying for registration, we may ask you to provide a Statutory Declaration, or a copy of a document that you’re relying upon as part of your application.
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To practise medicine in New Zealand, you must first gain registration from us. This ensures you are competent and fit to practise.
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Whenever you use a health or disability service in New Zealand, you are protected by the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights (Code of Rights). The Code of Rights applies to both public and private facilities, and to both paid and unpaid services. It gives you as a patient, the right to be treated with respect, receive appropriate care, have proper communication, and be fully informed so you can make an informed choice.
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We have approximately 95 staff, including our Chief Executive and senior managers whose activities are overseen by a Council of 12 people who are a mix of doctors and laypeople. Our Chair is Dr Kenneth (Ken) Clark. Joan Simeon is our Manukura (Chief Executive) Officer.
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The Minister of Health has announced two new initiatives targeted at overseas doctors who have passed their New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX) examination in the last five years, allowing them to apply for roles in New Zealand that will lead to full registration as a doctor.
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Special purpose registration is a temporary form of registration, for specific purposes. It is not a pathway to permanent general or vocational registration. Entry on the Register is cancelled after a fixed time period.
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The Medical Council of New Zealand has two new members. The Hon Matt Doocey, Associate Minister of Health, made the appointments, which are effective from 1 July 2024 for a three-year term. The Minister also reappointed two current members for further terms. These four appointments follow the election by the profession, earlier this year.
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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand has today released the results of the first Torohia — Medical Training Survey for New Zealand , giving new insights into the experiences of doctors in training across the motu.
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Certificates of professional status (COPS) are documents used by medical professional regulators to share information about whether a doctor is in good standing. Doctors applying for registration, restoration or returning from practising outside New Zealand need to provide us with certificates of professional status.
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This page contains information on how to use myMCNZ, our web based portal for doctors.
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This page contains a full list of our forms including application, report and referee forms, as well as checklists and the current fees payable.
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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand is inviting feedback on proposals for how PAs should be regulated in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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To apply for registration as a medical practitioner in New Zealand, or to sit the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX Clinical), you must have a recognised primary medical qualification from a university medical school listed on the World Directory of Medical Schools.
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Graduates of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australian accredited medical schools and doctors who have sat and passed an approved medical registration examination, including the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX Clinical) complete prevocational medical training.
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Graduates of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australian accredited medical schools and doctors who have sat and passed an approved medical registration examination, including the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX Clinical) complete prevocational medical training.
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You can apply for this pathway if you have passed the Australian Medical Council examinations and are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
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The special purpose visiting expert scope of practice enables doctors to come to New Zealand to proctor, demonstrate, assist or teach a new or existing procedure to New Zealand practitioners for a maximum of one week.
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Our consultation regarding the strengthening of the accreditation framework for prevocational medical training is now open. We invite your feedback.
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The Council offers two clinical supervision courses for clinical supervisors and prevocational educational supervisors. The courses supplement training that supervisors receive from training providers and medical colleges. Courses are available to all supervisors through the ePort platform.
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Once a doctor successfully completes prevocational medical training and has received registration within a general scope of practice, a doctor is then eligible to enrol in a vocational medical training programme. Doctors undertaking this training are referred to as trainee doctors, and are usually employed as registrars.
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The Council and the Australian Medical Council (AMC) work together on accrediting the vocational medical training programmes offered by Australasian (joint Australian and New Zealand) vocational providers. If the applicant provider is seeking recognition in Australia (as an Australasian training provider), or if the scope is already recognised in Australia, stage 3 will be led by the AMC, with Council making a decision based on the AMC’s assessment.
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If you hold an approved postgraduate medical qualification from the UK, Ireland or Australia and intend to work as a specialist in Aotearoa New Zealand in an approved area of medicine, you can apply via the VOC4 fast-track pathway.
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It is important that we understand the composition and changes in our medical workforce, so that good planning decisions can be made. This pack brings together the key data that matters most.
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Paediatric surgery is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of children (usually up to 15 years of age) who may require surgery. It includes non-cardiac thoracic surgery, general paediatric surgery, oncological surgery, urology in children and the management of congenital abnormalities both ante-natally and in the neonatal period. Also included is the management of major trauma in children.
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Anaesthesia is the provision of anaesthetics, peri-operative care, intensive care and pain management to patients and can include the provision of resuscitation, retrieval/transportation (inter and intra hospital) and hyperbaric medicine to patients.
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All international medical graduates coming to New Zealand to practise medicine for the first time must attend a registration meeting and be able to produce the information we have asked for.
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Our Health Committee acts for Council when health problems affect a doctor’s ability to practise safely. Referrals come from doctors themselves, or worried colleagues. We ensure patients are protected while the doctor gets appropriate help.
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Doctors who hold overseas qualifications and who want to apply for registration in Aotearoa New Zealand must have key documents verified from their primary source. Since November 2017, Council has required primary source verification using the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates’ Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials (ECFMG’s EPIC) service, which is now accessed via the MyIntealth portal.
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To ensure that you are continuing to maintain your competence to practise medicine, you must meet recertification programme requirements set by Council, including any minimum continuing professional development (CPD) requirements.
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You can apply for registration through this pathway if you have an overseas specialist qualification on our approved list, and have a job offer to work in New Zealand for 12 months or less.
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The Medical Council of New Zealand |Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa today released the results of its 2025 Workforce Survey, showing continued growth, more diversity, and important shifts in the medical workforce.
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If you want to work as a specialist in New Zealand, hold the approved New Zealand/Australasian postgraduate qualification, but do not already hold general registration, you can apply down the VOC2 pathway.
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Special purpose research scope of practice is for doctors who come to New Zealand temporarily to undertake research. This special purpose scope is available for a maximum of two years and practise is restricted to research approved by a formally-constituted ethics committee in New Zealand.
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The special purpose teleradiology scope of practice enables doctors without the recognised New Zealand or Australasian qualification to provide teleradiology services for patients in New Zealand.
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The Medical Council of New Zealand will protect and safeguard personal information and treat it with the utmost care, respect and discretion. This includes all personal information collected online.This privacy notice applies to personal information that we collect through this website: www.mcnz.org.nz
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Council is responsible for setting standards of clinical competence, cultural competence (including competencies to enable respectful and effective interaction with Māori), and ethical conduct (Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003).
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This dashboard page contains information around international medical graduates, doctors who obtained their primary medical qualification outside of New Zealand.
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You can apply via this pathway if you have passed Part 1 and Part 2 of the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test administered by the General Medical Council (GMC), United Kingdom (UK); completed 12-months of satisfactory practice in the UK; and hold full general registration with the GMC.
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Medical administration is administration or management utilising the medical and clinical knowledge, skill and judgement of a registered medical practitioner, and capable of affecting the health and safety of the public or any person.
This may include administering or managing a hospital or other health service, developing health operational policy, or planning or purchasing health services. Medical administration does not involve diagnosing or treating patients. -
Find out how to keep us up to date with changes to your information including your name, employment, and addresses.
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We sometimes require that a doctor has a chaperone present to observe their consultations with patients. We do this to mitigate risk to the patient where there are concerns that the doctor poses a risk of harm or serious risk of harm to the public. This is different from when a chaperone is present as a matter of good medical practice.
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We sometimes require that a doctor has a chaperone present to observe their consultations with patients. We do this to mitigate risk to the patient where there are concerns that the doctor poses a risk of harm or serious risk of harm to the public. This is different from when a chaperone is present as a matter of good medical practice.
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There are two special purpose scopes of practice which enable us to react to emergencies and unpredictable situations or disasters and pandemics. The specific requirements and length of registration depend on the event, and are determined by the Council when required.
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You can apply for registration via this pathway if, within the last five years, you have passed either the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX Clinical); or Part 1 and Part 2 of the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test.
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Plastic and reconstructive surgery is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of patients requiring the restoration, correction or improvement in the shape and appearance of the body structures that are defective or damaged at birth or by injury, disease, growth or development. It includes all aspects of cosmetic surgery.
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The Performance Assessment Committee (PAC) is made up of two medical members and a lay member. The PAC can assess a doctor’s performance at any time.
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You can apply for registration through this pathway if you have a primary medical degree from the UK or Ireland and have completed your internship within the UK or Ireland.
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Rural hospital medicine is determined by its social context, the rural environment, the demands of which include professional and geographic isolation, limited resources and special cultural and sociological factors. It is invariable practised at a distance from comprehensive specialist medical and surgical services and investigations.
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The International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA) signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with the World Health Organization in a ceremony in Geneva.