Guide
Hospital management software or clinic software: which one does your clinic need?
Most searches for hospital management software come from clinics that do not run a hospital. This page explains what an HMS covers, what a clinic actually uses, and where Vitels sits, so you do not pay for wards you do not have.
At a glance
- HMS is for
- Beds, wards, OT, lab, pharmacy
- Clinic software is for
- OPD visits
- Vitels
- Clinic software, OPD only
- Typical HMS rollout
- Weeks, with training
- Vitels setup
- About ten minutes
- Vitels price
- No licence fee
What is the difference between hospital management software and clinic software?
Hospital management software (HMS) runs a hospital's whole operation: inpatient admission and discharge, wards and beds, operation theatre, pharmacy stock, lab and radiology orders, insurance and TPA desks, and central billing. Clinic software covers the outpatient visit only: registration, queue, consultation, prescription, consultation fee and reports. If you have no beds, you need clinic software.
In Vitels
What a clinic uses from an HMS, and what it never opens
Vitels keeps the first column and deliberately leaves out the second.
OPD registration and queue
Used every day by every clinic. In Vitels: search before create, families on one number, daily tokens, live on both screens.
Consultation and prescription
Used every day. In Vitels: three-zone screen, keyboard-first pad, letterhead print, every version kept.
Consultation billing
Used every day. In Vitels: cash, UPI, card; immutable amounts; day book; revenue by doctor.
Offline
Rarely in an HMS, always needed in a clinic. In Vitels: queue, consultation, print and billing continue with no internet.
IPD, wards, OT
Not used by a clinic. Not in Vitels.
Pharmacy stock and dispensing
Not used by a clinic without a dispensary. Permanently not in Vitels.
Lab and radiology orders
Not used by most clinics. Lab orders are on the Vitels roadmap, not live.
Insurance and TPA desk
Not used by a clinic. Not in Vitels.
Side by side
Scope, not quality. A good HMS and good clinic software solve different problems.
Hospital management software
- Inpatient admission, discharge, bed and ward management
- Operation theatre scheduling
- Pharmacy stock, purchase and dispensing
- Lab and radiology order entry and results
- Insurance, TPA and package billing
- Central billing counter across departments
- Multi-department MIS and statutory reports
- Rollout measured in weeks, with on-site training
Clinic software (Vitels)
- Outpatient registration with families on one number
- Daily token queue shared live between desk and doctor
- Consultation and keyboard-first prescription pad
- Prescription print on the clinic letterhead
- Consultation fee, receipt, day book, revenue by doctor
- Patient history with every version kept
- Works offline; syncs when the connection returns
- Setup in about ten minutes; no licence fee
Three questions that settle it
- Do you admit patients overnight? If yes, you need an HMS. If no, you need clinic software.
- Do you sell medicines from your own stock? If yes, you need pharmacy software, which Vitels does not include. If no, clinic software is enough.
- Do you run your own lab? If yes, you need a lab module now; in Vitels it is on the roadmap. If no, clinic software is enough.
When Vitels is the wrong choice
We would rather you find this out here than after you have moved your patients in.
- You run a nursing home or hospital with inpatient beds
- You dispense medicines from your own stock and want it tracked in the same software
- You need lab orders, teleconsultation or ABHA linking today
- You have several branches that must share one patient database today; multi-branch is on the roadmap
Questions
Straight answers
01Can a small hospital use Vitels for its OPD?
Only if the OPD can run as a separate system from inpatient, pharmacy and lab. Vitels does not integrate with HMS products, so most hospitals should use their HMS's OPD module.
02Is Vitels a hospital management system?
No. It is clinic software for outpatient clinics with one to a few doctors. It has no inpatient, pharmacy, lab or insurance modules.
03What does hospital management software cost in India?
It varies widely by bed count and modules, from a few lakh rupees for a small hospital to much more for a large one, usually with annual maintenance. Vitels is not an HMS and has no licence fee.
04Does Vitels handle multiple branches?
Not today. Multi-branch clinics are on the roadmap. Each clinic is a separate, isolated tenant.
05Will Vitels add pharmacy or inventory later?
No. Clinic drug stock, dispensing and drug sales are permanently out of scope.
Keep reading
Related pages
If you have no beds, try Vitels on your next OPD day
Sign in with your mobile, set up the clinic, add your doctors. Patient registration switches on after our team verifies medical council registration, usually within one working day.
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