What to charge for a physiotherapy assessment, and why not free

3 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Introduction

The initial assessment is the most demanding appointment in a physiotherapy practice. It is longer than a treatment session, it requires the most clinical judgement, it produces the plan everything else follows from, and it involves the most documentation. It is also, in a great many clinics, priced at or below the follow-up rate, and sometimes given away entirely.

That pricing is backwards, and free assessments compound the problem by attracting people who wanted a free opinion rather than a course of treatment.

Charging properly for the assessment sets the value of everything after it. Discount it and everything else follows downward.

1. What to charge for a physiotherapy assessment starts with the time it takes

Price the appointment you actually deliver.

Count the whole appointment

History, examination, explanation, the written plan and the notes. Frequently an hour, against a thirty-minute follow-up. Time three of them properly rather than assuming.

Price it above the follow-up rate

A common structure is an assessment at roughly one and a half times a treatment session. Pricing it the same undervalues the hardest work you do. It also anchors patients to the wrong figure.

2. Do not give it away

Free assessments cost more than they earn.

Free attracts the wrong enquiry

People wanting a free opinion, a second opinion, or reassurance without treatment. They consume the same hour and produce nothing. The hour is gone whether or not anybody pays for it.

A paid assessment qualifies the patient

Somebody who pays for an assessment has decided to address the problem. Conversion into a course of treatment is dramatically higher. That alone justifies the fee.

3. Bundle the assessment into the course

This is usually the better structure.

Include it in a block

An assessment plus five treatments, priced as one figure. The patient commits to the plan rather than to the first appointment. Continuity also improves the outcome.

Or credit it against the block

Charge for the assessment, then deduct it if they proceed within a stated period. This removes the objection without giving anything away. State the period at the point of booking.

4. Handle insurers and third parties separately

Funded work has different economics.

Know your actual rate per hour by funder

Insurer rates, self-pay, occupational health and medico-legal work pay very differently for the same clinical time. Report them separately. Some funder work is worth declining.

Do not let the lowest funder set your self-pay price

Self-pay patients are not buying an insurer's negotiated rate. Price that market on its own terms. Publish the self-pay figure clearly.

5. Explain the fee in terms of the plan

Patients accept prices they understand.

Say what the assessment produces

A diagnosis, a written plan, an expected number of sessions, and exercises to start immediately. That is a deliverable, not an appointment. Say all four things when you quote.

Give the likely total cost of the course

An honest estimate of the whole course prevents the patient stopping at session three because they had not budgeted for six. Give a range rather than a single figure.

Conclusion

Price the assessment above the follow-up rate, because it is the longest, most skilled and most documentation-heavy appointment you deliver, and pricing it the same undervalues the hardest work in the practice.

Do not offer it free — free attracts people who wanted an opinion rather than treatment, and a paid assessment qualifies somebody who has decided to act. Bundle it into a treatment block or credit it against one if they proceed within a stated period. Track your genuine hourly rate separately for each funder and never let the lowest set your self-pay price. Then explain what the assessment produces as a deliverable, and give an honest estimate of the full course so nobody stops halfway for want of a budget.