The most common failure mode is trying to digitise everything before going live. Don't.
The 90-day method
- Day 1: switch all new visits to the digital tool. Old register stays for reference only.
- Day 30: ~30-40% of your active patients are now in the digital tool.
- Day 90: ~60-70% of active patients in the system. Old register hits archive.
- Day 120: bulk-import the long tail (lapsed-but-recoverable) via CSV or OCR.
For the long-tail import
Option A: CSV (fast, cheapest)
Have an intern type names, phones, and last visit dates into a spreadsheet from your paper register. ~250 records/hour. 2,000 records = ~8 hours = ₹1,200 at ₹150/hr.
Option B: Photo OCR
Photograph each register page, run through Google Document AI or local OCR. 70-85% accuracy on Indian handwriting. Cleanup pass needed. Faster for 5,000+ records.
Option C: Hire an intern (cleanest)
Pre-final-year MBBS students. ₹3,000-5,000 fixed for 2,000 records. They'll do CSV import + a basic data quality check.
What to import vs leave behind
- Import: name, phone, age, last visit date, condition tag.
- Skip: full prescription history. Future visits build new history.
- Skip: vital signs from old visits. Take fresh ones on next visit.
Vaidya OS supports CSV import in the dashboard. Setup time for digitisation: under 10 minutes for the tool, 3-5 hours for the long-tail import.