Physiotherapy practices

More Google reviews for your physiotherapy practice

A physiotherapy patient never really has a last session: they space visits out rather than say goodbye. To collect reviews anyway, the request attaches to your own end-of-care marker: the last prescribed session you actually delivered, a documented pause or discharge, or a reassessment appointment. That moment differs by condition and by reimbursement pathway, but it is one you recognise yourself, and that is exactly what you need.

No last session needed: the request hangs on the end of a prescribed block of sessions.
Our request never asks about a condition: what your patient then writes on Google is their own choice.
You do not have to say anything during the session: the QR code at the desk asks the question for you.

Updated on August 10, 2026 · 8 min

1 QR code

at the front desk, by the payment terminal, is enough

1 reminder

per patient, then follow-up stops on its own

1 question first

before a patient clicks through to Google

Why does a Google profile matter so much for a physiotherapy practice?

A patient with back pain or rehab after surgery does not choose a practice by its shopfront. They search online for a physiotherapist who takes the complaint seriously, is patient and keeps time. For that choice, reviews are the only reference point an outsider has, because the profession itself publishes no rating.

Someone with a fresh referral from their GP usually does not know their physiotherapist. They pick between a few nearby practices based on what they find online: a profile with recent reviews and a clear name, or an empty profile they know nothing about. That first impression decides who picks up the phone to book a first appointment.

Availability: how quickly did someone get a first appointment?
Approach: does the physiotherapist take their time, or does a session feel rushed?
Access: parking, ground-floor access, a home visit option.
Replies: does the practice answer a review itself, and in what tone?

When do you ask a patient for a review, if there is no clean last session?

At your own end-of-care marker: the last prescribed session you actually delivered, a documented pause or discharge, or a reassessment appointment. The number of sessions differs by condition and by reimbursement pathway, so you recognise that moment from your own course of care rather than from a fixed session count.

A course of sessions rarely ends with a conversation. Often it only becomes clear after the last delivered session that no new appointment follows, without anyone ever saying "that was the last one". Only weeks later does it become clear the diary stayed empty. By then the moment has passed.

Track, per patient, which session was the last prescribed session you actually delivered: that number differs by condition and by reimbursement pathway.
Ask around that last session, or at a reassessment appointment, while the patient is still there.
If you work with third-party payment, the co-payment at the front desk can be a good moment: it is an option, not a requirement, so ask patients who pay directly too.
If a rehab programme has a clear end, for instance after knee surgery, or there is a documented pause or discharge, that moment works just as well.

Why does a physiotherapist rarely ask for a review themselves?

Because three beliefs reinforce each other: it feels like self-promotion, which does not sit well with the profession, it feels like a risk to patient confidentiality, and between two thirty-minute patients there is no time and certainly no marketing budget in a one-person practice.

The first two beliefs do not quite hold up. Advertising is permitted for a physiotherapist, provided it stays objective, dignified and verifiable and does not claim exceptional expertise. Asking for a review does not breach patient confidentiality, as long as the practice never confirms in public that someone is or was a patient, and never repeats anything learned through the treatment. Confidentiality protects what you hear and see in the treatment room, not whether someone was satisfied.

The third belief does hold up. Many Belgian physiotherapists work as self-employed practitioners, often alone. Between two thirty-minute sessions there is not a spare minute to stand at a desk and ask something, let alone build a system to track who has already been asked.

A fixed moment tied to the prescription solves that without you having to say anything during the session. The request hangs on the administrative end of a block, not on a conversation you have to start yourself.

How do you reply to a review without breaching patient confidentiality?

Never by confirming that someone is or was a patient, and never by naming a condition. Thank the writer, state that you never discuss individual care in public, and give a phone number or email. Stop there, even when the review feels factually wrong.

A physiotherapist is more boxed in here than most other self-employed owners. A shopkeeper can point to the till receipt against an unfair review. A physiotherapist cannot publicly confirm that someone is a patient, or repeat anything learned through the treatment, even to correct something that is simply untrue. Patient confidentiality sets that limit, and it applies just as much when the review is unfair.

Thank the writer for the feedback.
State that you do not discuss individual care in public.
Give a phone number or email for anyone who wants to talk further.
Stop there: no explanation, no condition, no treatment, no date.

Staying silent about the condition is what makes the reply safe.

How does ReviewsPro fit into a one-person practice?

You put one QR code at the front desk and can send a WhatsApp or text message to patients whose number you already have, around the end of their prescription block. The app tracks who has already been asked, so you do not have to hold that in your head between sessions.

QR code: one code at the front desk, by the card machine for the co-payment.
WhatsApp or text: for patients whose number you already have from an appointment confirmation.
Follow-up: one reminder, then it stops. A second message costs goodwill.
Team: if you work with a colleague or a front-desk assistant, you can both track who has already been asked.

Nothing changes about your prescription tracking, your diary or your billing to the health fund. Those stay exactly as they are.

What can you realistically expect?

We promise no number: it depends on your patient base and your specialisation. A fixed moment tied to the prescription means you ask consistently, rather than now and then between sessions. Google names relevance, distance and prominence as its three local ranking factors, and reviews sit under prominence.

A physiotherapist cannot, like a shop, hope for a good week to bring in a batch of reviews. The patient base is smaller and more local, and that is exactly why every review weighs more, in both directions. Regularity is the one lever you actually hold.

	Asking now and then	Fixed moment per prescription
Who asks	You, if you remember between two patients	The front desk, at every finished block
When	At a random point during the session	At the end of the prescription block, at the front desk
Follow-up	You have to remember yourself	Visible in the app

Set a pace you can sustain in a one-person practice, and measure it against your own previous quarter rather than a figure from a brochure. With a small, local patient base, every extra, recent review matters to whoever is about to choose between your practice and the next one on the list.

Frequently asked questions

Can a physiotherapist ask patients for a Google review, or does that breach patient confidentiality?

No, it does not. Confidentiality protects what you learn through a patient’s treatment and whether they are or were a patient, not whether they were happy with the practice. Ask without naming a condition, ask everyone the same way, and offer nothing in return.

How do I ask for a review without the patient having to mention their condition or treatment?

Ask one neutral question, for instance whether the visit to the practice went well, without referring to the complaint. The patient decides what they write in their review. Never mention a condition or treatment in your own message or QR code, so the initiative stays with them.

At what point in a course of sessions should I ask for a review, if there is no clean last session?

Around your own end-of-care marker: the last prescribed session you actually delivered, a reassessment appointment, or a documented pause or discharge. The number of sessions differs by condition and by reimbursement pathway, so go by that marker rather than a fixed count. A dropping booking frequency or an explicit discharge from a rehab programme are the same kind of signal. If you work with third-party payment, the front desk after the co-payment is a good moment, but it is not a requirement: ask patients who pay directly too.

Does a Google review count as advertising that breaks the professional conduct rules?

No. Advertising is permitted for a physiotherapist, provided it stays objective, dignified and verifiable and does not claim exceptional expertise. A patient who writes an honest review on their own is not advertising you are running, and asking without anything in return does not change that. Ask every patient the same way and at the same point in their course of care, never write a review yourself or have a colleague or family member write one, and never offer anything in exchange for a review.

How do I respond to a negative review without discussing the patient’s condition in public?

Thank the writer, state that you never discuss individual care in public, and give a phone number or email. Never confirm, deny or name a condition or treatment, even to defend yourself. A sentence that opens with a body part or a diagnosis has already revealed too much.

Can I mention my rates on my Google Business Profile as a conventioned physiotherapist?

Be careful about using reimbursement as an argument. RIZIV/INAMI explicitly bans using health-insurance reimbursement as a lure, and advertising free care is banned too. State factually that you work at the agreed rate, without selling it as a reason to choose you. A rate sheet at the front desk is fine, a promotional line on your Google Business Profile is not.

Attach the request to the prescription, not to a conversation

Create your QR code, put it at the front desk and track in the app who has already been asked around the end of their prescription. Your diary and your billing to the health fund stay exactly as they are.

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