New clinic checklist: the first 30 days after opening Papers to confirm, boards to put up, registers to open, software to set up and the numbers to watch.

In the first 30 days after opening, a clinic should do four things: confirm every registration is actually issued and on display, put up the boards the rules require, open the registers it will be asked for later, and set up billing and records so the daily numbers can be read from week one. The sections below take each in turn. If you have not opened yet, start with our guide on how to open a clinic in India, which covers the registrations in order.

Which registrations should you confirm in week one?

1. Council registration for every doctor who will see patients, and a copy of each certificate in the clinic file.
2. Clinical establishment registration under the law your state uses. Where the central Clinical Establishments Act, 2010 applies, section 11 says no person shall run a clinical establishment unless it is registered, section 15 gives a provisional certificate within ten days of the application, and section 14(4) asks a new clinic to apply for permanent registration within six months of being established. Diary the six-month date now.
3. Bio-medical waste authorisation. Rule 10 of the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 requires every occupier handling bio-medical waste, "irrespective of the quantity", to apply in Form II to the State Pollution Control Board. For a non-bedded clinic the authorisation is one time and is deemed granted if the Board does not object within ninety days of a complete application. Keep the acknowledgement with the date.
4. Local registrations your state requires, such as Shops and Establishments and a trade licence; our posts on Shops and Establishments and fire NOC and trade licence cover them.

What has to go up on the wall?

Our post on signboard and fee display rules has sample boards that stay inside these rules.

Which registers should a new clinic open?

• Patient register or OPD record. The Ministry's minimum standard for a consultation clinic says every patient visiting the clinic shall be registered (para 10.1.1), and findings, medications and investigations are documented legibly on the OPD prescription with the doctor's signature, date and time (para 10.2.1).
• Register of Medical Certificates. Regulation 1.3.3: keep full details of every certificate issued, the patient's identification marks and a copy of the certificate.
• Record requests. Regulation 1.3.2: when a patient, an authorised attendant or a legal authority asks for records, acknowledge it and issue the documents within 72 hours. Note the date and time of each request.
• Medicine supply register, if the doctor supplies medicines to their own patients under Schedule K, item 5 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules: purchase records with batch numbers, and for Schedule G, H or X medicines a numbered supply register kept for at least two years. See Schedule K dispensing.
• Waste. Segregate at source and keep sharps in a puncture-proof container (CEA/Clinic-008, paras 10.5.2 and 10.5.3).
• Emergency contacts. Keep first aid and the contact details of an ambulance and a hospital at the desk (para 10.6).

Where the central Act applies, the same standard asks clinics to keep records and statistics for national programmes and send quarterly reports to the district authorities (para 9.1). Ask the district office in your first month which format it uses.

What should be set up in the clinic software in the first week?

1. Clinic profile and letterhead: clinic name, address, timings, and the doctor block with registration number and council, so every printed prescription and receipt carries regulation 1.4.1's details.
2. Fees: the consultation and follow-up fee for each doctor, matching the rate board on the wall.
3. Front desk login: a separate login for the receptionist, so the doctor's screen is free for consultation.
4. Prescription favourites and templates for the medicines and advice the doctor writes most often.
5. Payment modes the counter accepts (cash, UPI, card), so the day's collection splits by mode at closing.
6. Data export: check that the clinic admin can download all patient, visit and bill data, before the first month's data piles up.

Which numbers should you watch in the first month?

At most new OPDs the first month is too short to judge the practice, but long enough to spot leaks. Read these every evening, and compare week to week rather than day to day:

• Patients seen per day, split into new and follow-up.
• Collections by payment mode, and whether the cash in the drawer matches the cash total on the system.
• Bills cancelled or changed, and who did it.
• Follow-ups due that did not come back.
• The hour the waiting room is fullest, which tells you when the desk needs a second pair of hands.

Our post on daily reports a clinic owner should check explains what a change in each number usually means.

Can you announce that the clinic has opened?

Yes, within limits. The NMC's 6 Oct 2026 advertising guidelines allow a doctor a formal announcement "on starting practice" (section 8.2(ii)(a)), and section 9.3 says such announcements must be factual, non-promotional and limited in scope. An opening notice with the doctor's name, qualifications, registration number, address, timings and fee fits. "Free consultation for the first week" does not: section 8.1(x) bars free procedures, discounts and limited-period offers used as inducements.