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Online Appointment Booking for Physiotherapy Clinics

A lot of patients look for a physio at night, after the pain has kept them awake, or on Sunday when your clinic is closed. If the only way to book is to call during working hours, many of them will book somewhere else. Online booking lets a patient choose a time themselves, any time of day, and it lands straight in your diary. This guide explains how online appointment booking works for a physio clinic in Clinidiary, and how to set it up well.

By the Clinidiary team · Updated · 5 min read

Why online booking matters for a physio clinic

  • Patients book when they think of it, not only when your phone is answered.
  • Fewer phone calls in the morning rush.
  • New patients from Google and Instagram can book in a few taps from your profile or bio link.
  • No mistakes copying times from a phone call into a register.

Your clinic's booking page

Clinidiary gives your clinic its own booking page, with your name, a short welcome and your clinic's colour. Put the link on:

  • your Google Business Profile as the booking link;
  • your Instagram bio and WhatsApp Business profile;
  • your website's "Book now" button;
  • the end of your WhatsApp messages to patients.

If you have more than one branch, each branch can have its own link that shows only that branch's physios and times. Put the right link on each branch's Google profile. See multi-branch physiotherapy clinic software.

What the patient sees

  1. They choose the service: an assessment, a follow-up, a home visit if you offer it online.
  2. They choose the physio, or anyone available.
  3. They pick a time from the free slots, grouped by morning, afternoon and evening.
  4. They fill in their details and press Book.

While the patient is typing their details, the time they picked is held for them for ten minutes, so the front desk or another patient cannot take it in the meantime.

Only the times you really want to offer

This is where online booking usually goes wrong: a patient books 7 am when the clinic opens at 9. Clinidiary's booking page only offers a time if the whole appointment starts and finishes inside that branch's opening hours, the physio is free, and there is no break, holiday or diary block in the way.

You also decide:

  • How soon before an appointment patients may still book, for example not within two hours.
  • How far ahead they may book.
  • Whether new patients can book online, or only existing patients.
  • Which services can be booked online, and which physios are offered for each one.
  • How many times to show in each part of the day, so the diary is not filled by the online page alone.
  • Whether to show prices, durations and your address.
  • Until when a patient may cancel online before the visit.

Straight into your diary

An online booking appears in the diary like any other booking. New patients are added as patients with the details they gave, so the front desk does not have to type anything again. The patient sees a confirmation message you can write yourself.

Before the first visit

For a new patient, send an intake form so their history and consent are filled in before they arrive. See patient intake forms and the patient portal. Then the day before, send the reminder: see WhatsApp appointment reminders.

Setting it up

  1. Open Manage → Online booking and switch it on.
  2. Choose your page address and write a short welcome.
  3. Check your branch opening hours under Manage → Locations. A branch with no hours set is not limited, so set them first.
  4. Choose which services can be booked online.
  5. Book a test appointment yourself from your phone, and look at it in the diary.

Counting bookings from Google and Facebook ads

If you run Google Ads, or Facebook and Instagram ads, Clinidiary can tell you which ads brought bookings:

  • Tag your ad links. Add utm_source and utm_campaign to the booking link in each ad, for example ?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=knee-pain. Google and Facebook add their own click ids by themselves.
  • See it in Reports → Ad campaigns. Online bookings by source and campaign, how many came, and how many carried a Google or Facebook click.
  • Upload conversions to Google Ads. The Ad campaigns report has a Google Ads conversions file to download and upload in Google Ads under Goals → Conversions → Uploads. It carries click ids and booking times only, nothing about patients.
  • Send patients to your own thank-you page. Under Manage → Online booking, set After booking, send patients to a page on your own website, where your Google or Facebook code counts the booking.
  • Booking page embedded on your website? The embed code tells your site's Google Tag Manager, Google tag or Meta Pixel when a booking is completed, and carries your ad tags into the booking page. Copy the code again from Manage → Online booking to get the latest version.

The booking page itself never runs Google's or Facebook's code, so a patient's booking details are never shared with an advertising platform.

Frequently asked questions

Can patients book physiotherapy appointments online?

Yes. Clinidiary gives your clinic a booking page where patients choose a service, a physio and a free time. The booking goes straight into your diary.

Will online booking offer times when my clinic is closed?

No. A time is offered only if the whole appointment fits inside that branch's opening hours and the physio is free.

Can I stop new patients from booking online?

Yes. You can allow new patients or only existing ones.

Yes. Each branch has its own link showing only its physios and times.

Can patients cancel online?

Yes, if you allow it, up to a number of hours before the visit that you choose.