Fill Your Physiotherapy Schedule Without Front-Desk Overwhelm
Physiotherapy clinics juggle appointment bookings, Medicare queries, private health fund questions, and cancellation management simultaneously. Our AI receptionist handles the phone while your team focuses on patient care, booking appointments 24/7 and answering the repetitive administrative questions that fill your day.
The Physiotherapy Reception Challenge
Physiotherapy clinics operate on tightly managed appointment schedules. Every phone interruption during treatment, every unanswered call at 7pm, and every manual booking entry adds administrative burden that grows as your clinic grows.
Therapists Cannot Stop Treatments for Calls
A physiotherapist mid-treatment cannot answer the phone. The front desk handles calls, but during the 8am to 6pm window when your practice is busiest, the reception phone and the clinical workload compete for the same person. Calls that cannot be answered in that environment go to voicemail and often result in lost bookings.
After-Hours Bookings Are Increasingly Expected
Patients book their healthcare appointments when it is convenient for them, often in the evenings after work or on weekends. A clinic that only accepts bookings during business hours loses patients to competitors who offer 24/7 booking. Our AI captures those after-hours requests before they bounce to the next clinic in Google search results.
Administrative Questions Consume Front-Desk Time
A significant proportion of physiotherapy calls are asking the same questions: Medicare rebate amounts, HICAPS acceptance, parking details, what to bring to a first appointment. The AI answers all of these consistently and accurately, freeing your reception team for the tasks that require human judgment.
Built for Physiotherapy Clinic Operations
Configured with the specific intake requirements, health fund knowledge, and appointment types that make physiotherapy reception different from any other professional service.
24/7 Appointment Booking
Books appointments 24 hours a day on the Professional plan (into your practice management system with a connection quoted as custom work). New patients and returning patients handled differently with appropriate intake for each.
- New patient intake capturing referral source, condition, and health fund
- Returning patient re-booking with existing notes context
- Specific appointment type booking: initial, follow-up, hydrotherapy, Pilates
- Sends appointment confirmation with preparation instructions
Health Fund and Medicare Queries
Answers the most common health fund and Medicare questions accurately, based on your clinic configuration. Callers get correct information without waiting.
- HICAPS acceptance list for your clinic
- Medicare-rebated physiotherapy eligibility (GP management plan)
- Private health fund questions handled, with gap amounts confirmed by your team
- DVA and WorkCover acceptance confirmation
New Patient Intake
Captures the clinical and administrative information needed before a new patient's first appointment, reducing paperwork on arrival.
- Captures condition description, referral details, and health fund status
- Identifies if GP referral or management plan is required
- Records emergency contact and relevant medical history questions
- Sends new patient intake forms before the appointment
Cancellation and Rescheduling Management
Handles last-minute cancellations and reschedules through the AI, reducing the administrative burden on your front desk and helping fill cancelled slots.
- Cancellations processed with cancellation policy communicated clearly
- Immediate waitlist notification when a slot becomes available
- Rescheduling offered immediately rather than leaving a gap
- Cancellation data tracked for follow-up and no-show patterns
Referral and GP Communication Handling
Manages incoming referral communications from GPs, specialists, and other health professionals with appropriate urgency assessment.
- Identifies GP and specialist referral calls and routes appropriately
- Captures referral details for clinical team review
- Flags urgent referrals requiring same-week appointments
- Handles workers compensation and insurance referral enquiries
Appointment Reminder Outreach
Sends appointment reminders via SMS and handles confirmation responses to reduce your no-show rate.
- 48-hour SMS reminder sent automatically for all appointments
- Confirms, reschedules, or cancels based on patient response
- Fills cancelled slots from the waitlist automatically
- Reports monthly on no-show rate and cancellation trends
Working With Your Practice Management System
A direct connection to your practice software is not part of Starter or Professional and can be scoped as custom work on a quote. With one, the AI and your clinical team work from the same data.
Configure Your Clinic Profile
Set up your health fund list, appointment types, therapist availability, and intake questions. We review the configuration with your practice manager before go-live.
Decide on a Practice Software Connection
A connection to Cliniko, Nookal, Power Diary or Coreplus is not part of Starter or Professional and can be scoped as custom work on a quote. With one, bookings land directly in your schedule without manual entry.
Forward Your Clinic Number
Set your clinic number to forward to the AI when your reception team is busy or after hours. Your number stays the same, patients notice nothing except that someone always answers.
Reduce Admin, Improve Patient Experience
Review the call summaries and booking data in the first week.
Privacy and Clinical Standards
Health information requires the highest standards of privacy handling. Our AI receptionist is designed around the Australian Privacy Act; check your own obligations too, including under the My Health Records Act if it applies to you.
Health Information Privacy Compliance
Health information is sensitive information under the Australian Privacy Act. Our system is built to handle it appropriately at every step.
- Australian data residency, all data stored in Australian data centres
- AES-256 encryption for all stored call recordings and transcripts
- Role-based access controls for clinical vs administrative staff
- Data retention configurable to match your Privacy Policy obligations
Clinical Safety Boundaries
The AI handles administrative functions only. It does not provide clinical advice, assess symptoms, or make triage decisions.
- Clearly outside clinical scope, books appointments, does not diagnose
- Refers all clinical questions to the treating physiotherapist
- Does not comment on treatment approaches or expected outcomes
- Flags calls involving potential clinical emergencies to your staff
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Which practice management systems does it integrate with?
A connection to Cliniko, Nookal, Power Diary or Coreplus, practice management systems widely used by Australian physiotherapists, is not part of Starter or Professional and can be scoped as custom work on a quote. With one, when a patient books through the AI, the appointment is created directly in your system with the patient's details, health fund information, and any intake notes captured during the call. Other systems can be scoped the same way.
Can it answer health fund questions?
Yes, from the health fund acceptance list you configure during setup. It does not quote fees or gap amounts on the call: it takes the patient's details and fund, and your team confirms the cost. If your accepted funds change, you update them in the admin portal and the AI's answers update immediately.
How does it handle a caller asking about treatment for a specific condition?
The AI captures the condition description for intake purposes and answers general questions about physiotherapy for that condition type (for example, confirming that your clinic treats lower back pain or sports injuries). It does not assess severity, provide clinical recommendations, or comment on treatment approaches. All clinical questions are directed to the physiotherapist at the appointment. This is appropriate and professional, consistent with how a human receptionist should handle clinical enquiries.
What happens when a patient calls to cancel at short notice?
The AI processes the cancellation, communicates your cancellation policy (including any short-notice fee if applicable), and immediately offers a reschedule option. If the cancelled slot is within your cancellation window, the AI also notifies any patients on your waitlist. Your front desk receives a notification of the cancellation and the slot appears as available in your practice management system within seconds.
Can it handle calls from WorkCover and insurance companies?
Yes. WorkCover and insurance company calls are handled as a distinct call type. The AI captures the relevant details, claim number, insurer, patient name, and case manager contact, and routes the call appropriately within your clinic. For approval and fee queries from insurers, the AI takes the message and ensures a relevant staff member responds.
Does it work for clinics with multiple physiotherapists and different availability?
Yes. You configure each physiotherapist's availability, specialisations (for example, sports injuries, women's health, or hydrotherapy), and booking preferences separately. Patients who request a specific therapist are booked with that person if available. Patients who are flexible are offered the next available appointment across all therapists. The AI shows real-time availability based on your practice management system.
Sources and further reading
- The Privacy Act 1988 (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner)
- National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIA)
- My Health Record and the Australian Digital Health Agency (Australian Digital Health Agency)
- NIST AI Risk Management Framework (US National Institute of Standards and Technology)
- Cliniko practice management software (Cliniko)
Give Your Front Desk Time Back
Automate your appointment bookings, reduce no-shows, and answer every after-hours enquiry. We confirm a realistic timeline in your written quote.