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With so many things to do around your physiotherapy practice, the last thing you need is more manual work.
Some physical therapy clinics use multiple tools:
- One for their EHR
- Another for patient scheduling
- And a third to share physiotherapy exercises
However, switching between multiple software tools is often time-consuming and frustrating, and generic tools don’t do the job. More tools, more problems.
You know the phrase “Work smarter, not harder”? This is what separates busy physiotherapists from burned-out ones. What you need is efficient practice management software, to help you work more efficiently.
This is exactly what a robust software solution helps you with.
However, with so many options, how do you know which one to choose?
To help you out, we’re focusing on the must-have features of great physical therapy practice management software and comparing the top five software systems.
Features to look for in physiotherapy clinic management software
A solid software solution streamlines everything from patient management and electronic medical records to appointment scheduling, charting, and billing – but most importantly, it should make patients happier and make your physical therapists’ work easier.
These are the key features to look for in physiotherapy practice management software.
Appointment scheduling
An intuitive appointment scheduling system is the backbone of a successful physiotherapy clinic. It streamlines workflow, optimizes therapists’ time, and reduces scheduling gaps and overlaps.
However, there are two essential features you’ll need:
- Online booking: Enhances patient experience and practice efficiency – 73% of patients prefer booking appointments online at their convenience.
- Automated appointment reminders: Frees up staff time from manual reminders, allowing them to focus on critical tasks while reducing no-shows.
Point of sale system
An integrated point of sale (POS) system provides a seamless and easy way to handle payments.
It helps you reduce wait times for patients and ensure a smooth checkout experience.
An integrated POS system provides multiple payment options, including credit/debit cards, contactless, and online payments, allowing your patients to choose their preferred way.
No more wasting time on manual medical billing. The point-of-sale system automatically updates patient records with payment details and generates invoices. You can rest assured your billing is accurate without shelling out for separate billing software.
Insurance billing
Some patients may have private insurance (such as BUPA), so they may not pay for the treatment in full or at all, as their insurance provider will cover it.
In this case, you need insurance billing to issue invoices to insurance companies instead of clients.
A software solution designed for physiotherapy practices offers an insurance billing feature that handles insurance claims and billing inquiries effortlessly.
Patient portal
The patient portal provides a secure, user-friendly way for clients to access their medical information, communicate with healthcare providers, and manage bookings.
With 24/7 access to their medical history and test results, patients can get information, stay updated with pre- and post-care emails and SMS, and follow their treatment plans without needing to call the practice.
One key detail to consider is a patient portal with online appointment functionality, especially one where patients can book, reschedule, or cancel appointments. Not many solutions offer that, and it’s a big one for patient experience and work efficiency.
The physical therapy practice management software should also allow you to enable, disable, or fully customize the patient portal, depending on your preferences.
Deposits and no-show protection
It’s any physiotherapy business’s worst nightmare: losing out on expected revenue from service because of a no-show or late cancellation.
Deposits and no-show protection policies help to protect your revenue and secure more predictable income.
Almost half (49%) of medical groups have seen increased patient no-show rates since 2021.
By requiring deposits, private practices can filter out time wasters and make sure patients are committed to their appointments, which reduces the chance of missed or canceled appointments.
Your software solution should offer features with flexible deposits and clear no-show protection. A practice management solution automates collecting deposits and allows you to customize them per service or require them only for online bookings.
Digital client records
Name a bigger time waste than digging up a patient record from a dusty cabinet.
With digital client records, you reduce the clutter in your practice, save on overhead costs, make them easily accessible, and store them safely in a cloud-based practice management software.
Electronic medical records (EMR) allow therapists to access patient information, patient histories, and treatment plans from any location and any device with an internet connection, enabling them to provide excellent patient care.
This is especially handy if you do home visits, so you’ll be able to access what you need on the go from anywhere.
A solid system also has robust security measures to help you comply with healthcare regulations (e.g., HIPAA) and ensure patient confidentiality.
Automated pre and aftercare emails
Pre and post-care emails keep patients engaged with their treatment plans, ensuring they come prepared for the treatment.
However, it’s impossible to keep track of all patients’ treatments manually and make sure everyone gets the right information at the right time without leveraging automation.
Physiotherapy practice management software allows you to create automated client pathways, from the moment the patient schedules the appointment all the way to sending follow-ups.
You set the emails once and can focus on treating your patients, knowing that the practice management system will take care of the rest.
Physical therapy post-care videos
As a physical therapist, you’ll know how useful video post-care can be!
Sending out video post-care instructions rather than text or diagrams is instantly more engaging. A study proved that after-care video instructions help improve patient comprehension and information retention, which also improves outcomes.
5 best physiotherapy clinic management software
The solutions below stand out for their comprehensive functionality, ease of use, and ability to meet the diverse needs of physiotherapy practices.
1. Pabau
Pabau is an all-in-one practice management software designed for private practices and healthcare businesses.
As a solution specifically designed for medical practices, we’ve packed in lots of features created for the unique needs of physiotherapy practices.
Besides core features like digital client records, online booking, automated pre- and post-care, automated appointment reminders and integrated POS, Pabau offers physio-specific tools that streamline two crucial aspects of your business:
- Pre-recorded physiotherapy videos: We have a library of 1400 prerecorded video templates for physical therapy post-care. You just select the video to be sent with the post-care so patients get the right video exercise.
- Insurance billing: Our comprehensive suite of financial tools includes an insurance billing feature that allows you to manage billing and invoicing securely and accurately. You can also add insurance companies to patient records and streamline the insurance billing process.
Pricing
Starting at $28 per month, Pabau’s pricing plans depend on the number of users.
However, Pabau comes with all core functionality built-in, with everything you’ll need to streamline your physio practice operations, grow your business, and boost revenue.
Unlike many other solutions, where you’ll need other software to do everything you need to run your business, you won’t need to use third-party tools for different aspects of your work. In other words, you can consolidate your tools.
You can do patient management, scheduling, managing payments, and marketing – all from one place without the need for other solutions.
2. Vagaro
Vagaro is a cloud-based salon, spa, and fitness business management solution that allows you to book appointments and manage your business. It also enables you to list your business on their online marketplace so clients can find you easily.
Its features include personalized client profile management, online booking through the Vagaro marketplace, a customer messaging platform, and a handy waitlist feature.
While Vagaro specializes in salon, beauty, and fitness businesses, it offers a range of features that can be useful for physiotherapy practices. However, it may not have some of the specialized tools tailored specifically for physiotherapy.
It’s an affordable solution in terms of the base monthly fee. However, it’s important to note that some essential features, such as storing client photos and files, automated emails and SMS, and automated forms, cost extra.
Pricing
Vagaro starts at $30 per month and has several plans, depending on the number of users and bookable calendars. If you opt-in for some of the add-ons, the price can easily reach $200 or $300 per month.
3. Power Diary
Power Diary is a complete practice management system designed specifically for health practices. It has a lot of really good features, including intuitive calendar management, two-way SMS communication, and custom forms.
They also have physiotherapy-specific features, such as telemedicine video calls, secure client documentation management for intake forms and treatment notes, and secure billing and invoicing, making it a solid contender for physiotherapy management software.
It’s worth noting that it currently lacks automated post-care emails and physiotherapy-specific videos, which could enhance follow-up patient care.
Pricing
Power Diary has two affordable subscription plans for solo users: a Starter for $9.50 per month, a Power Plan for $24.50 per month, and an additional Power Plan for multiple users for $34.50 per month.
However, their cheapest plan is limited to 1000 appointments and comes with their free Telehealth Lite feature, which has basic functionality.
4. ClinicSense
ClinicSense is an all-in-one clinic, massage, and physiotherapy software that includes online scheduling, treatment notes, forms, finance, communication tools, and more.
For physiotherapy-specific needs, ClinicSense offers comprehensive charting with pre-built, customizable SOAP notes, intake forms, and consent forms.
You might want to be aware that ClinicSense may currently lack features such as post-care communication and physiotherapy-specific educational content, which can be crucial for ensuring optimal therapy results.
Pricing
ClinicSense offers three plans: Lite at $39 per month, Standard at $69 per month, and Premium at $99 per month. No-show protection, packages, and communication features are available only in the pricier plans.
5. BetterClinics
Better Clinics is an online practice management software that helps allied health professionals like physiotherapists, psychologists, and chiropractors run their clinics smoothly.
Practitioners can create personalized clinical notes, upload patient documents such as imaging results, photographs, and consent forms, annotate body charts, and treat patients with telehealth.
BetterClinics boasts some helpful marketing features to attract new clients and engage existing ones, such as SMS and email marketing, customizable online booking, and appointment reminders.
One thing to note is that they don’t currently offer automated aftercare emails per service, which physios can use to send post-treatment instructions and videos.
Pricing
BetterClinics doesn’t have a set number of plans.
The pricing increases depending on the number of providers and comes with unlimited clients and admin staff. The price for one provider starts at $45 per month. A Starter package with 50 clients is also available for $19 per month.
Scale your practice and drive revenue with Pabau
Choosing your physical therapy practice management software isn’t easy.
After all, it should act as your most diligent staff member, taking the load off the most tedious and time-consuming tasks and helping you work smarter, so that you can focus on higher-priority tasks – like patient care.
Now you know the key features to look for in practice management software:
- Comprehensive patient record management
- Intuitive appointment scheduling
- Integrated point of sale system
- Patient portal
- Customizable deposits
- Automated pre- and post-care
But to take your patient care to the next level, you need software that understands your needs. A physiotherapy practice software with built-in physiotherapy videos for post-care and a comprehensive insurance billing feature helps you excel in your practice efficiency and patient experience.
We’re not saying Pabau is your obvious choice – we’ll leave that up to you – but ask yourself this: do want to use one solution with everything you need for your practice… or stack up multiple tools to do the essential tasks?
🥇 If you’re ready to take your physio practice to the big league, let’s have a chat.
