The calendar and repeat bookings: scheduling a physiotherapy clinic in PhysioDesk

Booking a session is the thing a physiotherapy clinic does more than anything else, so PhysioDesk treats it as the most important action in the product. You can add a session from the calendar, from a patient's record, from the dashboard, from the Sessions page, or from the main button in the app. This post explains how scheduling works.

Booked, then completed

A session has a life of its own:

1. Booked for a date and time, with a therapist. A booked session counts towards nothing yet.

2. Completed when the patient has been. Now it counts: in the clinic's figures, towards the patient's diagnosis, and on their next bill. This is when the therapist adds the clinical note.

3. Or cancelled, if the patient does not come. A cancelled session is kept, never deleted, so you can see a patient's pattern of missed appointments.

Only one session can be completed per patient per day, which keeps the clinical log honest. Booking ahead is always allowed.

Repeat bookings

Most physiotherapy is a course, not a single visit. When you add a session you can repeat it:

• every day, every other day, or every N days up to 30

• or on chosen weekdays, such as Monday, Wednesday and Friday

• from a start date, at a time

The whole course is booked in one step. A repeat booking is pure scheduling: it carries no price and no commitment. The patient still pays for the sessions they actually attend, at their own rate. If plans change, you can call off the rest of a series in one go instead of cancelling a dozen appointments one by one.

No double booking

A therapist cannot be with two patients at once. When you book a session, PhysioDesk checks that therapist's other booked sessions for an overlap and tells you if there is one. Sessions can last from 15 minutes to 4 hours; the default is 30 minutes, and an assessment is often longer.

The calendar on the website

• Month view is a heat map: busier days are darker, and each day shows its count. Select a day to see its detail.

• Day view shows a column for each therapist, each in their own colour.

• Drag a booking to move it to another time or therapist.

• Click an empty slot to book it.

Therapists' working hours

The owner or a clinic admin can record each therapist's working hours on the Staff page: for each day of the week, off, or up to three stretches of time (for split shifts). When hours are set, the calendar's day view shows them under the therapist's name and shades the rest of the day. Every booking form says so when a time falls outside someone's hours. Nothing is ever refused, because clinics do sometimes book outside hours; you are simply told.

The diary on the phone

In the PhysioDesk app the Diary opens on the week. A therapist's diary shows only their own sessions; the owner sees everyone's.

Two branches

On the Business plan, each session belongs to a branch. Booking defaults to the branch you are working in, only therapists who work at that branch are offered, and a therapist still cannot be double-booked across both branches.

Reminders

The day before, the Reminders screen lists tomorrow's sessions with a WhatsApp message already written for each patient. One tap opens WhatsApp with it ready to send, and PhysioDesk notes who you have reminded, so the round can be finished later. Patients who use the PhysioDesk app, launching soon on Android and iPhone, also get a reminder on their phone.

Try it

Book a repeating course and drag a session to a new time in the 30-minute demo on the pricing page.