Why MedBrains software is free, and what we charge for instead

In short: The MedBrains software and every update are free for every hospital and clinic. We charge for implementation, customisation and a yearly AMC, because that work, not a licence key, decides whether a hospital system succeeds.

Most hospital software is sold the way office software is: a licence or a monthly subscription, often counted per user or per module. We decided not to do that. The MedBrains software, and every update to it, is free for every hospital and clinic. There is no subscription and no charge per login.

What we charge for is the work that decides whether a hospital system actually succeeds: setting it up, shaping it to the hospital, and keeping it running. This post explains the choice, what it changes for a hospital, and what it costs us.

What is free, and what is not

Free, for everyone:

• every module, from registration and OPD to IPD, lab, radiology, pharmacy, OT and GST billing with cashless claims;
• every update, for as long as the hospital runs MedBrains;
• the staff and patient apps, TV token boards and the kiosk;
• the clinical AI assistant, within fair use;
• every patient-safety rule, and a full export of the hospital’s data whenever it asks.

What we charge for, each quoted in writing before the hospital commits:

• Implementation, once: departments, tariffs and forms configured, patients and masters brought across, every team trained on its own screens, and a named go-live lead.
• Customisation, per requirement: a report, form, integration or workflow only that hospital needs.
• AMC, yearly: help desk, bug fixes, monitoring, checked backups, small configuration changes, and hosting in India if we run the system for them.

The full list is on our pricing page, and the terms behind it are in our commercial terms.

Why we chose this

A licence is not what makes a hospital system work

Hospitals rarely fail with software because they could not buy it. They fail because it was set up for someone else’s workflow, the night staff were never trained, the old data never came across, or nobody answered the phone in the second month. In our experience, the go-live, the training and the support afterwards decide the outcome far more than the licence does.

So we put our price on that work. When we charge for implementation, we are paid for the part that decides the outcome, and the hospital can see exactly what it is buying.

No meter on logins

Per-user pricing quietly teaches a hospital to ration accounts. Staff share a login, the audit trail records the wrong person, and a safety check that relies on knowing who is acting becomes meaningless. With no charge per user, every nurse, technician and clerk can have their own account, which is what patient safety and NABH both expect.

One version for every hospital

Because updates are free, no hospital stays on an old version to save money. A safety fix or a regulatory change reaches the small nursing home on the same day it reaches the large hospital. For us it also means maintaining one product, not a ladder of editions.

Free is not new in health IT

This is not an untested idea. Bahmni, an open-source hospital system, is free software, and hospitals pay partners for implementation and support. The government’s e-Hospital service is offered to public hospitals without a licence fee. We follow the same principle, with one team responsible for the software, the implementation and the support.

What we achieve with it

• More hospitals on a proper record. A smaller hospital or a trust hospital can start without a licence budget, paying for the work its go-live needs.
• Our income follows the hospital’s success. AMC renews only if the hospital is well served, so our incentive is to keep the system running well, not to sell more licences.
• Clear prices for clear work. Each quote lists what we will do, item by item. There are no modules held back to sell later.
• Charitable, trust and government hospitals get implementation at cost.

What we will not do

A free product has to be paid for somehow, and the usual ways are the ones we rule out. No money from pharmaceutical companies or advertisers reaches the product. We never sell clinical data: under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act we act as a processor for the hospital’s patient data, working only on the hospital’s instructions. And every patient-safety feature stays free for everyone. Safety is never an upgrade.

The trade-offs we accept

This model has costs for us, and we would rather say so. Our income comes in lumps, at each go-live, instead of a steady monthly subscription. And our growth is limited by how many implementations our team can do well, so we take on hospitals at the pace we can serve them properly rather than as fast as we can sign them.

If you want to help

Some hospitals have asked how they can support MedBrains. It is entirely optional: lend your IT team to test new releases, build or review a feature with us, share what your teams need, introduce another hospital, or sponsor a feature that every hospital then gets. None of it changes your support, which comes through AMC.

If you would like to see how MedBrains would run in your hospital, ask for a free assessment and a written quote.

Frequently asked questions

Is MedBrains really free?

Yes. The software and every update are free for every hospital and clinic, with no subscription and no charge per user. Hospitals pay for implementation, any customisation they ask for, and a yearly AMC.

How does MedBrains make money?

From implementation, customisation and the Annual Maintenance Contract. We take no money from pharmaceutical companies or advertisers, and we never sell clinical data.

What if a hospital stops its AMC?

The software keeps working, updates stay free and the data stays the hospital's. Support and monitoring stop. If we host the system, we give 30 days' notice and a full export before hosting stops.