Playbook, physiotherapy clinic
Answering the practical questions before a first physio session
First visit questions here are physical rather than emotional. People want to know what they will be asked to take off, whether anything will actually be done, and whether they can drive home afterwards.
Why this is not the general answer
The handling pattern for first visit questions holds across every trade. What follows is the part that does not.
- The practical questions in physiotherapy are bodily: what to wear, whether clothing will need to come off, and what movement will be asked for.
- Patients often arrive holding scan reports, referral letters or consultant notes, and telling them to bring those changes what the assessment can achieve on the day.
- The assessment involves movement and hands on examination, so somebody with a mobility problem needs to know what will be asked of them before agreeing to come.
- A first physio appointment is mostly assessment, and saying so prevents the disappointment of somebody who expected to walk out fixed.
How it arrives
- what should i wear
- do i need to get undressed
- will you treat me on the first appointment
- should i bring my scan results
- how long is the first appointment
- can i drive home afterwards
What has to be indexed for this to work
| What to wear for the areas you commonly treat | Specific rather than general. Shorts for a knee, a vest for a shoulder. Loose clothing as a phrase answers nobody. |
|---|---|
| What to bring | Referral letters, scan reports, a list of medicines, insurance details. Framed as things that save time rather than as requirements. |
| What the assessment involves, in plain words | A description of the appointment as a sequence, so somebody can picture it before agreeing to it. |
| Chaperone and privacy arrangements | Whether a chaperone can be present and how to ask. People are uncomfortable asking this, which is exactly why a chat window gets asked it. |
The reply
Wear or bring clothing that lets the physiotherapist see and move the area being assessed, and shorts are useful for anything below the waist [1]. Bring any scan reports or referral letters you have, since they save time. The first appointment is an assessment and usually includes treatment where that is appropriate [2]. If you would prefer a chaperone present, just say so when you arrive.
The clothing answer is tied to the body part rather than being generic, which is the difference between useful and decorative. Bringing reports is framed as a benefit rather than an instruction. The chaperone line answers a question people find hard to ask out loud, which is one of the better reasons a chat window exists.
Where it stops
The trigger. The visitor asks what will be done to their particular injury on the day, or whether the assessment will hurt.
What happens in the assessment depends on what the physiotherapist finds, so I cannot say. Leave your name and an email and the team will call you before your appointment.
It stops answering before it guesses, says who will pick it up, and asks for the one thing that makes a reply possible. Nothing about it reads as a dead end.
Never say this here
Out of bounds
- Never say an assessment will not hurt.
- Never say what treatment will be given.
- Never tell somebody to stop or continue an activity before their appointment.
- Never say whether somebody will be able to drive, work or train afterwards.
Questions
- Why not just say wear comfortable clothing?
- Because it answers nothing. Naming shorts for a lower limb assessment or a vest for a shoulder is the version that stops somebody arriving in jeans and losing half the appointment.
- Can it say whether treatment happens on day one?
- It can state your usual arrangement, with the qualifier that it depends on what is appropriate. That qualifier is not hedging, it is the clinical boundary.
- Should it answer the driving question?
- No. It can say the physiotherapist will advise, because whether somebody can drive after a session depends on what was done and on the person.
Keep reading
- Everything for a physiotherapy clinicSession prices, referral rules and what to wear are safe to automate. Exercise advice and injury assessment are not.
- Handling first visit questions in generalWhat to wear, where to park, how long it takes, whether they can bring somebody. Cheap to answer and disproportionately valuable.
- Moving a physiotherapy appointment, and what a late notice costsA physio appointment is booked one to one time, so a late cancellation costs the hour. Explaining the charge well.
- Handing over when somebody asks a physio to predict a recoveryHow long will this take, will it heal, do I need a scan. The physio handover is about a prediction, not an emergency.
- What the assistant can settle before a physio appointment is bookedSelf referral, assessment versus follow up, and picking between physio and another discipline on the same site.
Try it on your own material
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