How to choose clinic management software in India

Most clinic software looks alike in a feature list: appointments, records, prescriptions, billing. The differences show up on a busy Monday, when the front desk, three doctors and a queue of patients all use it at once, and later, when you want your data back.

Start from your own day. Write down what happens from the first phone call to the patient leaving with a prescription and a bill, then ask each vendor to show you that day, on your own services and prices, rather than a demo script.

The questions below are the ones that separate software you will still be using in three years from software you will be migrating away from.

The checklist

1. Does it need internet, and does it run in a browser?

   Cloud software needs a connection but nothing installed; installed software works offline but ties your records to one computer. Know which one you are buying, and whether there is a mobile app.

   How Cohezo Health answersFully online: it runs in any browser, and doctors also have a mobile app. It does not work without internet.

2. Where is the data stored, and is it backed up?

   Patient records are sensitive. Ask where the servers are, whether data is encrypted, and how backups work, and get the answer in writing.

   How Cohezo Health answersOn cloud servers in India, encrypted and backed up securely.

3. Can you get your data out?

   The most important question, and the one most often skipped. Ask in what format you can export everything, and what happens to your data if you cancel.

   How Cohezo Health answersOn request, as a JSON dump or CSV files. If you cancel, you choose whether your data is exported for you or deleted.

4. Will they move your existing data in?

   Re-typing years of patient records is not realistic. Ask whether migration is done for you, what it costs, and what you have to provide.

   How Cohezo Health answersYes, if you can export your data from your current software. Onboarding is free.

5. Does every person get their own login and role?

   Shared passwords make every record anonymous. Each doctor, assistant and receptionist should sign in as themselves and see only what their role needs.

   How Cohezo Health answersOwner, admin, doctor, staff and front-desk roles, held per clinic, with every note, prescription and payment attributed. See multi-doctor clinics

6. How fast is a consultation?

   Count the clicks to write a typical prescription. Autocomplete, saved medicine groups and picked (not typed) doses decide whether doctors use the software or go back to paper.

   How Cohezo Health answersAutocomplete on symptoms, diagnoses and medicines, dose, duration and timing picked from lists, and saved medicine groups that fill a prescription in one click.

7. Does the prescription look like your clinic?

   Patients judge the clinic by the paper they take home. Check for your letterhead, signature and stamp, printing on pre-printed stationery, and the languages your patients read.

   How Cohezo Health answersYour letterhead or your own pre-printed paper, in English, Hindi, Marathi or Gujarati. See digital prescriptions

8. How does it reach patients on WhatsApp?

   Most patients would rather get a PDF on WhatsApp than install an app. Ask which messages go out, from whose number, and whether messaging costs extra.

   How Cohezo Health answersConfirmations, reminders, prescriptions, certificates and invoices, sent from Cohezo Health's WhatsApp numbers. Messaging is included in some plans and charged separately in others. See WhatsApp for clinics

9. Does billing handle GST properly?

   Consultations and products are taxed differently. Ask to see one invoice with both, part payments tracked, and who can see the revenue.

   How Cohezo Health answersTax split per line, part payments tracked, and revenue figures visible to the owner only.

10. Is there anything for your speciality?

    A dentist needs a tooth chart and an eye clinic needs a two-eye workup. Generic notes fields are not a substitute.

    How Cohezo Health answersA dental chart in FDI numbering and an eye module with workup, flags, photographs and spectacle prescriptions. See eye clinic software

11. Can tests go to a lab, and reports come back?

    Lab reports arriving as photos on a phone get lost. Ask whether the software sends tests to a lab and files the report back into the record.

    How Cohezo Health answersTests go to a named lab from the consultation, and reports from labs on Cohezo Health are filed into the record. See lab software

12. Can you try it before you pay?

    A demo shows the vendor at their best. A trial on your own patients shows the software on a normal day. Ask how long setup takes, too.

    How Cohezo Health answersA free trial, and most clinics go live in a day with onboarding done with you on a call.

Red flags

• No clear answer on how to export your data, or a fee to get it back.
• Shared logins for the whole clinic.
• WhatsApp messaging whose cost is not explained until after you sign.
• A demo that will only run on the vendor’s sample data, never yours.
• No trial, or a long contract before you have used it on real patients.