A physiotherapy practice has a very particular phone problem: most of the calls are about appointments, and every one of them arrives while a therapist has their hands on a patient. An AI receptionist answers in your practice's name, books and reschedules routine sessions, takes cancellations so the slot can be refilled, answers what a session costs and what to bring, and takes a message for anything else. It never advises on an injury, an exercise or a treatment. Those calls become a message for a therapist, which is the only safe way to run an automated line in a health practice.
In most practices the single most valuable call is the one saying "I cannot make four o'clock". Caught in time, the slot goes to someone on the waiting list. Missed, it is an empty hour that was already paid for in rent and staffing.
Those calls do not arrive politely spaced out. They come in the morning before your first patient, during treatment blocks, and in the evening when someone realises tomorrow will not work. A phone that is answered only between patients turns half of them into no-shows.
The mirror image is the patient trying to book. They ring, get voicemail, and book with whoever answers, because a course of treatment is something people arrange once and then stop shopping for.
You upload the material your reception already answers from: session lengths and prices, what to bring and wear, your cancellation policy and any late-cancellation rule, how prescriptions or referrals work in your practice, your billing arrangement and what patients can claim back, parking and access.
On a call the agent can:
What it must not do is anything therapeutic. It does not assess an injury, suggest an exercise, advise whether someone should train through pain, or say whether treatment is appropriate. That is not caution for its own sake: a physiotherapist decides those things with the patient in front of them, and an automated line has no business offering an opinion in the gap.
Two practical details make the difference between a line that helps and one that creates work.
Series. Most physio is a course rather than a visit, so a caller often wants "the same time next week for six weeks" or to move one session inside an existing block. Set your services and durations properly and the agent can take these bookings cleanly; anything unusual becomes a message rather than a mess in your calendar.
Waiting list. The agent can capture that someone wants an earlier slot, with their number and their availability, so when a cancellation lands you have a list to work through. It will not promise them a place, because that is your decision.
With PhoneMyAgent you keep your existing practice number and forward it, so nothing on your door, your website or your listing changes. There are 45 free minutes with no card, which is enough to hear how it handles a cancellation, a new patient enquiry and a question you should not answer.
| Voicemail | Reception between patients | Answering service | AI receptionist on your material | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catches a cancellation in time | Sometimes | Sometimes | Yes | Yes |
| Books the next session in a series | No | Yes | Rarely | Yes |
| Knows your prices and cancellation rule | No | Yes | Roughly | Yes, from your documents |
| Answers at 7am and after closing | Records only | No | Yes | Yes |
| Cost | Low | Salary | Per call | Monthly plan, all in |
The limits are the same ones every health practice needs, and they are worth being explicit about: the agent is a receptionist, not a clinician. It does not diagnose, does not advise on symptoms, exercises, pain or medication, and does not handle emergencies. Anything clinical is taken as a message for a therapist or routed to a person, and anything urgent is sent to urgent care.
Callers hear at the start that they are speaking to an AI assistant, which is on by default. After each call you get an email with the transcript, a summary and any action taken, so the appointment book and the messages are both visible.
Pricing is a monthly plan with an allowance of call minutes, never per minute. The same spine, applied to a doctor's surgery, is in an AI receptionist for a medical practice. For a practice where the first call matters more than the diary, see an AI receptionist for a psychotherapy practice.
Yes, for routine sessions, including moving an appointment inside an ongoing course of treatment. It works from your real availability, confirms the details back to the caller, and sends a confirmation. Anything unusual or clinical is taken as a message for a therapist instead.
Yes, and that is the strongest reason to have it. Cancellation calls arrive when nobody can pick up, and each one caught in time is a slot that can go to someone waiting. The agent can also capture who wants an earlier appointment, with their number and availability.
No, never. It does not assess symptoms, recommend exercises, or say whether treatment is suitable. Those questions are taken as a message with the caller's own words and passed to a therapist, and anything urgent is directed to a person or to urgent care.
Yes, from the documents you upload. Saying the cancellation rule clearly when the appointment is made is much easier than enforcing it afterwards, and price and session-length questions are among the most common calls a practice takes.
Yes. A short disclosure at the start of the call tells them they are speaking to an AI assistant. It is on by default and it is good practice, particularly in a health setting where people should know what they are and are not talking to.
No. You keep your number and forward it to the number we provide, so what is on your door, your referral slips and your online listing stays exactly the same. Setup takes minutes and is described in keeping your number and forwarding it.
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