Should I type in my whole paper register before I start?

No. Start with new visits from day one. Your regular patients will be added as they come back, and you can decide later whether older records are worth adding.

What details should I keep from the old register?

Name, phone number, age, last visit date and the main condition. Old prescriptions and vital signs can stay on paper.

Answers

Patient records & data

How do I digitize my paper patient register?

Last reviewed: 25 September 2026 Gaurav, Founder, Vaidya OS

Quick answer

Do not try to type in the whole register before you start. Put every new visit into the software from day one, and your regular patients will be in the system within a few months. For older records you still need, send the file to your software vendor or have someone type the key details into a spreadsheet. Name, phone, age, last visit and condition are usually enough.

In this answer

Start with new visits
Adding older records
What to bring across, and what to leave
With Vaidya OS

The most common mistake is trying to digitise everything before going live. It takes weeks, and the clinic keeps running on paper the whole time.

Start with new visits

From day one, every patient who walks in goes into the software. Keep the old register for reference only.
Over the next few months, your regular patients come back and get added as they visit. Most of the patients who matter end up in the system without any extra typing.
Then decide whether the older records are worth adding at all.

Adding older records

A spreadsheet. Someone types the key details from the register into Excel. Slow but accurate.
Photographs of the register. Keep them as a reference archive. Handwriting recognition on old registers is unreliable, so check anything you convert.
Ask your vendor. Some vendors will import a spreadsheet for you.

What to bring across, and what to leave

Bring: name, phone, age, last visit date and the main condition.
Leave: old prescription history and old vital signs. The next visit builds a fresh record.

With Vaidya OS

Patients can enter their own details when they check in by QR code, so new records build without anyone typing. For older records, send us your Excel or CSV file and our team will move up to 5,000 records in for you, free.

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