Divide your area into zones
Divide your city or service area into four or five zones. Give each zone a fixed day or half-day. New patients are offered times on their zone's day.
Book by zone, not by request
When a patient asks for "Tuesday 11 am", check where they live. If Tuesday is your east zone and they are in the west, offer Thursday. Most families understand when you explain.
Order the day
Plan each day as a loop: start near home, move outward, and finish near home. Avoid peak traffic roads at peak times where you can. Keep societies with slow security checks for less busy hours.
Put travel in the diary
Travel there and back must be in the diary, so you are never double-booked or late. In Clinidiary each home visit can carry its own travel before and after: 15 minutes to a nearby society, 30 minutes back from a farther one. See home visit software.
Keep a buffer
Traffic jams, rain, a patient who needs longer, a family who wants to talk. One buffer slot in the middle of the day stops one delay spoiling the whole day.
Use clinic days or video
Some patients can come to a clinic as they improve, and some reviews can be on video. See running a hybrid practice.
Review monthly
Look at where your patients actually live. If one zone keeps growing, give it more time.
Good routes also change what a visit should cost. See pricing home visits and how home visit physios manage their caseload.
Frequently asked questions
How do home visit physios plan routes?
By dividing the city into zones, booking each zone on fixed days, and ordering visits as a loop.
Should travel time be in the diary?
Yes. Blocking travel before and after each visit prevents double-booking and late arrival.
What if a patient can only do one specific day?
Make exceptions when needed, but explaining your zone days usually finds a time that works.