Online booking for physiotherapists: a practical guide
What changes in running a physiotherapy clinic when your calendar goes online — from the first assessment to a multi-session treatment plan.
A physiotherapy clinic has quirks a generic calendar doesn't handle well: the first assessment takes longer than follow-up sessions, treatment plans span several sessions booked out over weeks, and every session needs time between appointments to prep the room. Here's how to structure it.
Separate the first assessment from follow-up sessions
They're not the same service. The first assessment usually needs more time — clinical history, physical exam, treatment plan — while a follow-up is more predictable. Setting the two up as distinct services, with different durations and prices, keeps the calendar from getting cramped right at each new client's first appointment.
Use a buffer between sessions
Between one session and the next there are always a few minutes of prep — tidying the table, jotting something down, catching your breath. Setting a buffer before and/or after each service makes sure that time never disappears, even when the calendar fills up. It's invisible to whoever's booking — it just narrows which slots show up as free.
Ask for history before the first session
An intake form sent automatically before the first appointment saves the first ten minutes of the session, which would otherwise go to asking the obvious: current injury, past surgeries, medication, expectations for treatment. Arriving at the appointment with this already read means more actual treatment time.
Log notes per session, not just at the end of the plan
A physiotherapy plan stretches across several sessions, often months apart between the first and last. A short note per session — what was done, how they responded, what's next — is worth more than trying to reconstruct the history from memory three weeks later.
Make clear what's in-person and what can be remote
Not all physiotherapy needs a room: follow-up reassessments, exercise guidance, or checking in on an already-started plan can, in many cases, happen over video call. Having that option set per service makes clear to the client what to expect before booking, with no back-and-forth.
In short
The difference between a physiotherapy calendar that runs itself and one that demands constant manual management almost always comes down to these details: well-separated services, a real buffer between sessions, and history that arrives before the appointment, not after.
FAQ
Can I have in-person and remote sessions on the same calendar?
Yes. Each service is tied to a location with a defined type (in-person or online) — you could have, for example, a follow-up as online and the first assessment as in-person, each with its own address or video-call link.
Does the buffer between sessions eat into the client's appointment time?
No. The buffer adds to the service duration only for availability purposes — it doesn't show up to the client or shorten the booked session time.
Where do each session's notes live?
In the client's record, inside Link Meet — each note is tied to the appointment it was written for, with the full history visible.