A folder of photocopies and a physio's own phone videos
At the end of a session, your physio grabs a photocopied sheet of stick-figure exercises, circles three of them and writes the repetitions in pen. Another physio in the same clinic films the patient doing exercises on their own phone and sends the video by WhatsApp. A third emails a PDF they made years ago.
The patient's next appointment is with a different physio, who has no idea what was given. The patient cannot remember either, because the sheet is in a kitchen drawer. So the first ten minutes of the session are spent working out what the patient was meant to be doing.
Why exercise programmes sit outside the system
Clinic systems handle notes, appointments and billing well, but home exercise programmes were historically paper, so they never became part of the patient record. Each physio found their own way to share them.
Personal phone videos raise a separate issue: patient images stored on a clinician's own device, sent through a personal messaging app. That is a question for your data protection policy, and many clinics would rather it did not happen.
Dedicated exercise programme tools exist, and Physitrack is a well-known one used by physios. Some clinics subscribe but only some physios use it, and the programmes are not linked to the rest of the patient's record in the clinic system.
What scattered programmes cost
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Programme not recorded | Next physio starts from scratch |
| Sheet lost | Patient unsure what to do between sessions |
| Personal phone videos | Patient images outside your controlled systems |
| Inconsistent tools | Every physio shares programmes differently |
| No adherence information | Session time spent asking what was done |
How we bring programmes into the clinic's workflow
- We look first at whether an existing exercise programme tool fits your clinic. If it does, we help you set it up consistently and connect it to your clinic system where both support it.
- If you need something simpler or more specific, we build a small programme library: your own exercise videos and descriptions, recorded in the clinic, which physios pick from to build a programme in a few clicks.
- Each programme is saved against the patient record, so any physio who sees the patient can view the current programme and its history.
- The patient receives a link to their programme on their phone, with the videos your physios recorded, rather than a photocopy.
- If you want it, the patient can tick off exercises done, which the physio can see before the next session.
- Clinic-owned videos replace personal phone recordings, so patient images are not needed at all for most exercises.
The exercises, repetitions and any changes are chosen by your physios. The system only delivers what they prescribe and keeps a record of it.
What changes in the treatment room
The next physio opens the patient record and sees exactly what was given last time. Patients have their programme on their phone and are more likely to find it. The first minutes of each session go on how the exercises went, not on reconstructing what they were. And the clinic has a consistent, professional way of sharing programmes that no longer depends on each physio's habits.
New physios benefit most. Instead of inheriting a folder of photocopies and learning which colleague uses which app, they start with the clinic's own library and a single way of working. Locums covering holidays can see exactly what a patient has been given, which makes a one-off session far more useful to the patient.
Signs you need this
- Photocopied exercise sheets are still standard
- Physios send exercise videos from their own phones
- The next physio cannot see what exercises were given
- Some physios use an exercise app and others do not
- Sessions start with 'what were you doing at home?'