Key Points
- Doctors first, then patients: every signed prescription brings a patient, and every patient brings a family. No marketing to patients.
- First users: general physicians, paediatricians and gynaecologists in small clinics in one Telugu-speaking metro, reached doctor to doctor and through a 15-minute demo on their own phone.
- Where: medical colleges, medical association branches and specialty societies, then the clinic pharmacies and chemists those doctors already work with.
- Targets: 100 doctors in year one, 1,000 in year two, 4,000 in year three, at under ₹20,000 per active doctor.
- Never: payments or gifts to doctors, influence on prescribing, or sale of patient data.
- The pilot must show that doctors keep using it after four weeks.
Who Adopts First
| Segment | Why they adopt | When |
|---|---|---|
| General physicians and family doctors | Most patients and prescriptions; the two-minute problem is worst here | Pilot |
| Paediatricians and gynaecologists | Weight-based dosing and pregnancy checks protect their patients directly | Pilot |
| Specialists | Long histories and repeat prescriptions | After the pilot |
| Ayurvedic and homeopathic doctors | Little clinic software is built for them; their own case fields | Phase 2 |
| Clinic pharmacies | Prescriptions arrive legible and complete | With their doctors |
| Patients and families | Their own record and an emergency card | Arrive with every signed prescription |
Geography: one Telugu-speaking metro first, where the team can support every clinic in person and the models are strongest, then other metros, then district towns. The market is large: 13,88,185 registered allopathic doctors and 7,51,768 AYUSH practitioners[1].
Doctors First, Then Patients
1Heath does not buy patients. The record grows the way care already flows: a doctor signs a prescription, and everyone downstream of that prescription is reached through it.
- 1DoctorSigns the first prescription without typing
- 2DeskRegisters the next patient, links their ABHA, records consent
- 3PharmacyReceives the signed prescription instead of a slip
- 4PatientGets the visit summary in their language and keeps the record
- 5FamilyAdds parents and children; takes the record to the next doctor
| Step | How patients join | What they get |
|---|---|---|
| At the desk | ABHA linked or created with consent; India already has 98.9 crore ABHA accounts[2] | A record that any ABDM-connected provider can request with their consent |
| After the visit | A link or QR code on the prescription opens the visit summary | Medicines, timings and instructions in their own language |
| At home | They add family members and home medicines from every system | Reminders, family history and an emergency card |
| At the next doctor | They share the record by consent, even with a doctor not using 1Heath | A doctor who knows their allergies and medicines |
Where We Go, and to Whom
| Place | Whom we meet | What we do there |
|---|---|---|
| Small clinics, door to door | General physicians and family doctors | A 15-minute demo on the doctor's phone with their own words |
| Medical colleges | Residents and faculty in medicine, paediatrics and gynaecology | Live demos; residents are tomorrow's clinic owners |
| Medical association branches | Local doctors at monthly meetings | Short demos and a signed sample prescription |
| Specialty societies | Paediatricians and gynaecologists | Weight-based dosing and pregnancy checks, shown on real cases |
| Clinic pharmacies and nearby chemists | Pharmacists who fill these doctors' prescriptions | The free Pharmacy app; legible, signed prescriptions with allergy flags |
| AYUSH colleges and associations | Ayurvedic and homeopathic doctors | Phase two, with their own case fields and formulations |
The Funnel, in Numbers
From demo to active doctor (targets)
- Doctors shown a 15-minute demo5,000
- 1 in 3 start a free trial1,667
- 6 in 10 of those still use it after four weeks1,000 doctors
The cost of winning each active doctor (all sales and support spending divided by active doctors) should stay under ₹20,000.
These ratios are targets until the pilot measures them. If trials convert at 1 in 5 instead of 1 in 3, the same 1,000 doctors need about 8,300 demos, and the cost per doctor rises accordingly; the business model shows what that does to payback.
Channels
- MEETDoctor to doctorClinical advisors introduce colleagues; every satisfied doctor is asked for two more
- SHOW15-minute demoOn the doctor's own phone, in their language, with their own words
- TRYOne month freeNo card, no commitment; first consultations with support
- STAYMeasured weeklyStill active after four weeks is the number that matters
- Medical colleges: live demos at teaching hospitals in the launch city, then nationally.
- Associations and CMEs: short demos at Indian Medical Association branches and specialty meetings.
- Doctors' groups: two-minute videos in Telugu, Hindi and English, showing a real consultation and the signed prescription.
- Launch: a modest event at a medical college in the launch city.
What We Tell Doctors, and What We Do Not
| We say | We do not say |
|---|---|
| It removes typing from your consultation | "It saves X minutes", until the pilot measures it. Evidence from other scribes shows modest time savings[3] |
| It never fills in a dose you did not say | "It is 100% accurate" |
| You see your own words next to every line | "You do not need to check it" |
| It records what your patient takes from every system | Anything that ranks one system above another |
Rules That Do Not Bend
- 1
Doctors are never paid, gifted or rewarded for what they prescribe.
- 2
Patients can use any pharmacy, and generic names are always printed.
- 3
No pharmaceutical sponsorship and no advertising to patients.
- 4
Patient data is never sold.
- 5
Safety features are never part of a paid tier.
What the Pilot Must Prove
| Question | Measure | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Do doctors keep using it? | Doctors still active after four weeks | 6 in 10 |
| Is it safe on real voices? | Invented medicines; unflagged dose errors | 0 |
| Is it quick enough? | Lines needing confirmation per consultation | 3 or fewer |
| Do clinics value it? | Clinics paying after the free month | 3 in 10 |
| Can we reach doctors efficiently? | Cost to win one active doctor | under ₹20,000 |
Every week we track demos given, installs, first consultations completed, doctors still active after four weeks, and cost per active doctor. These are targets; this page will show the real numbers once the pilot runs.
Risks and Answers
| Risk | Answer |
|---|---|
| Doctors try it and stop | The first thing the pilot measures; demos on their own phone; advisors as first users |
| Established scribes move faster | Compete on verification, every system of medicine and the record after the visit, not on transcription alone |
| Accuracy is lower on real voices | No accuracy claims until measured; the doctor confirms everything uncertain |
| A safety incident damages trust | The doctor signs everything; blocking checks; frozen test sets; claims limited to what is measured |
| Regulation changes | Classification opinion from CDSCO and a legal opinion before launch[4] |
Sources
- Union Health Minister, written reply in the Rajya Sabha, 2 December 2025, as reported by Deccan Herald. deccanherald.com
- National Health Authority. ABDM Insights public dashboard, figures last updated 5 November 2026, 8:33 PM. dashboard.abdm.gov.in
- Ambient AI scribes in clinical practice: a randomized trial. NEJM AI, December 2025 (238 physicians, 14 specialties). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Nishith Desai Associates. From code to compliance: decoding India's medical device software guidance (CDSCO guidance of 21 July 2026). nishithdesai.com