Call Answering Service for Physiotherapists
Keep your hands on the patient on the couch while a trained receptionist books new assessments, moves follow-ups and takes insurer details.
- UK-based receptionists
- Real people, not bots
- Answered in your company name
Your hands are busy for most of the working day
You are halfway through a knee assessment, measuring how far the joint will bend, when the phone on the side table starts to buzz. You let it ring, because the patient on the couch deserves your full attention, yet the caller might be a runner hoping for a first appointment this week. A call answering service for physiotherapists means that call is answered in your clinic name and the runner ends it with a booking, while your session carries on undisturbed.
Onwards Answering suits a solo practitioner moving between a treatment room and home visits, and a clinic of several therapists whose front desk is stretched. Calls divert to receptionists based in Scotland, working from home, who follow the script you agree with us as part of our call handling for clinics and health professionals. They explain your self-pay fees, take insurer and authorisation details, book assessments and follow-ups, and pass anything clinical back to you. They never tell a caller whether physiotherapy is right for their problem. If you mainly want a friendly person on the line, our telephone answering service page explains the basics.
One of our healthcare clients is a chiropractic clinic that has used Onwards for years. Steve Collins, Director of ChiroProActive, says: "ChiroProActive have worked with Onwards for several years now... I know that my clients get an expert, friendly service when they call." You can test the same approach free for two weeks, then choose a monthly package from £72 with no per-call charges.
Calls that come into a physiotherapy clinic
Each type of call below gets its own handling rule, written with you during set-up.
First assessment bookings
A new patient with a sore shoulder wants to be seen soon. The receptionist explains what a first assessment involves, in your wording, offers the next available slots and books one, then notes how the patient heard about you and whether they would like a particular physiotherapist.
Self-pay price questions
Callers comparing clinics ask what an assessment and follow-up sessions cost and whether you offer bundles of sessions. The receptionist gives the fees and package details you have approved, answers questions about location and parking, and offers a booking before the caller tries the next clinic on their list.
Private medical insurance patients
Insured callers ask whether you can see them under their policy. The receptionist follows your process, taking the insurer's name, the policy and authorisation numbers and any referral details you need, then books the appointment or sends the details to you so you can confirm cover first.
Questions about needing a referral
Many callers are unsure whether they can book directly. The receptionist answers with the position you have given us, for example that self-referral is welcome for private appointments, and passes anything needing a clinical view, such as whether a particular condition suits treatment, to you as a message.
Rescheduling a course of treatment
Patients partway through a course ring to move a session because of work or childcare. The receptionist finds another slot in your diary that keeps the course on track and records the change in the call summary, so you do not discover a gap when the patient fails to appear.
GPs, consultants and sports clubs
Professional callers, such as a GP surgery sending a referral, a consultant's secretary or a local club wanting a therapist for match days, are taken with full details. They are either put through to you by warm transfer or passed on as a priority message, depending on your instructions.
Fitting a call answering service for physiotherapists around your diary
- 1
Agree your script
We go through your services, fees, insurer process and referral position, along with the questions you never want a receptionist to answer, such as anything clinical.
- 2
Choose your cover
Divert every call, or only the calls you miss while treating. Overflow suits a solo physiotherapist who still likes to answer the phone between patients.
- 3
Calls answered as your clinic
Callers hear your clinic name. Bookings go into your own calendar or onto Onwards' secure booking platform, which is free to use.
- 4
Read the summary between sessions
A call summary arrives by email or SMS after every call, so you can glance at it before the next patient walks through the door.
A protected title, and patients who check
Physiotherapist is a protected title in the UK, so anyone using it must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. Whether a physio is HCPC registered is a question people search for, and self-pay patients may well ring more than one clinic before choosing. They want to hear that the person treating them is registered, what the first visit involves and what it costs. Those are reassurance questions, and they deserve a prompt, confident answer.
If your phone rings out while you are treating, that caller rarely waits around for you to ring back. With a receptionist who can confirm the registration details you supply, explain your assessment and book it, the reassurance happens on the first call. Our article on how messages reach you from an answering service shows what you see afterwards. Clinics with different pressures, such as dental practices juggling NHS and emergency calls, are set up in their own way.
Voicemail, an AI receptionist or a real person?
Each option suits some calls, and here is how they compare for a clinic where the therapist is usually hands-on.
| Voicemail or a missed call | AI receptionist | Onwards Answering | |
|---|---|---|---|
| While you are treating | The phone rings out or goes to voicemail | Answers automatically | A receptionist answers in your clinic name |
| Routine questions about parking or fees | Wait for your call back | Handled well for simple, routine questions | Answered from your FAQ bank |
| Insurance details | Often left incomplete | Depends on how it has been set up | Insurer, policy and authorisation numbers taken per your script |
| Callers in pain or worried | Hear a recording | Some would rather speak to a person | Speak to a person who passes clinical questions to you |
| Evenings and weekends | Fine for leaving a message | Can respond at any hour | Voicemail on your number, included |
| Pricing | No cost, but bookings can slip away | Often per minute or per call | From £72 per month, no per-call charges |
ChiroProActive have worked with Onwards for several years now. ... I know that my clients get an expert, friendly service when they call.
Questions from physiotherapists
Still unsure? Call the team on 0141 286 4220 and we will talk it through.
Will receptionists tell callers whether physiotherapy will help them?
No. They never assess symptoms or say whether a condition is suitable for treatment. If a caller asks a clinical question, the receptionist explains that a physiotherapist will answer it, takes the details and passes them to you, or books a first assessment if your script allows that.
Are physios HCPC registered, and can you confirm that to callers?
Anyone using the title physiotherapist must be registered with the HCPC. If you give us your registration details, the receptionist can confirm them to any caller who asks, which reassures self-pay patients who are choosing between clinics and want to know they are in safe, qualified hands.
I work on my own. Is a call answering service worth it?
For a solo practitioner, every call that goes unanswered during a session could be a booking lost. An overflow divert lets you answer when you can and hand over the rest. Our article on whether a call answering service suits a sole trader looks at this in more detail.
Can you book home visits as well as clinic appointments?
Yes, if you set out the rules. Tell us which areas you cover, how long to allow between visits and which appointment types apply, and the receptionist books within those limits or takes the details for you to confirm. Any request outside your rules comes to you as a message instead.
How much does call answering cost for a physio clinic?
Onwards starts with a free 2 week trial. Packages after that begin at £72 per month and are sized to the call volume you expect. You pay nothing per call and there is no limit on how many calls are taken. Three months in, the team looks at your actual volumes and only raises a change if the difference has been sustained.
Answers for physiotherapists
Practical guides to the call questions that come up most in your line of work.
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