The calls a PT clinic gets all day, how an AI receptionist handles them, and what to check: BAA, call forwarding, transfers and texting your own links.
An AI receptionist for a physical therapy clinic answers every call right away, handles routine requests such as new evaluations, reschedules, cancellations, hours and the insurance questions you have approved, and takes each caller's name, callback number and reason for calling. It does not give clinical advice: calls that need a person are transferred to your front desk or flagged for follow-up. Catchsera works through call forwarding from your existing number, is built with HIPAA safeguards and signs a BAA with every practice.
A physical therapy clinic's phone rarely stops. New patients want an evaluation, current patients need to move an appointment, someone asks whether you take their insurance, and a referring office calls with a question, often while every therapist is mid-session and the front desk is checking someone in. An AI receptionist answers those calls right away so none of them turn into voicemail.
It answers in a natural voice with your clinic's name, answers the questions you have approved, and takes the caller's name, best number and reason for calling. It does not give medical advice. When a call needs a person, it can transfer the caller to your front desk or take a clear message. Your team sees every call on a live dashboard with a summary and full transcript, so following up takes seconds instead of replaying voicemails.
This is the call that deserves the most care. The receptionist answers with your clinic's name, takes the caller's name and best number, notes that they are a new patient and records the reason in their own words, such as knee pain after a fall or rehab after shoulder surgery. If the caller mentions a referral or a prescription from their doctor, that goes into the record too, so your team knows what to ask for when they call back. With the caller's permission, your team can text your own registration or scheduling link straight away.
"Do I need a prescription to start?" and "Can I come in without seeing my doctor first?" come up constantly, and the right answer often depends on the state and the patient's insurance plan. The receptionist should give only the answer your clinic has approved, in your words, and take a message for anything it cannot answer with certainty. It should never guess.
A physician's office calling about a shared patient usually needs a person. Set the receptionist to transfer those calls to your front desk, or to take a clear message marked for follow-up when nobody is free.
These are frequent and routine. The receptionist captures who is calling, which appointment they mean and the days or times that would suit them better, so your team can rebook in your own scheduling system in one step. If you use an online scheduling link, your team can text it to the patient instead.
The receptionist can tell callers which plans you accept, using your approved list. Questions about how many visits a plan covers, how many are left or whether an authorization is needed require your team to check, so the receptionist notes the plan name and the question for a callback. It does not collect member ID numbers by voice; those belong on a secure form.
When a patient says their pain has changed or they have hurt themselves again, the receptionist does not assess it. It takes the details, flags the call as urgent and can transfer it to your team. Anyone describing an emergency is directed to call 911.
Clear limits are what make an AI receptionist safe to put on a clinical phone line. For a PT clinic, it should never:
Here is an illustrative weekday at a busy outpatient clinic, to show where the calls go.
Catchsera is an AI voice receptionist for medical and dental offices. You keep your number and phone system; calls forward to Catchsera, for example after the third ring or after hours. We build and test your receptionist with your hours, therapists, insurance answers and the way you want calls handled, and it answers in English or Spanish, following the caller.
When a caller agrees to receive texts, your team can send your own registration or scheduling link, or a secure Catchsera form for sensitive details, from the dashboard. Plans start at $129 per month with every feature included, a free trial and no contract. We sign a BAA with every practice.
Calls reach Catchsera through forwarding from the line you already have; our guide to keeping your number with call forwarding walks through how that works. The setup is the same one we describe for dental practices in Boston.
Yes. The receptionist can transfer a call to the number you choose, for example your front desk, and you decide when that happens. Otherwise it takes a clear message so your team can call back.
No. You keep your number and your provider. Calls forward to Catchsera from your existing line, for example after the third ring or after hours.
Yes. Once the caller agrees to receive texts during the call, your team can text them your own registration or scheduling link, or a secure Catchsera form, from the dashboard. Texts never include health details.
Catchsera signs a Business Associate Agreement with every practice covering the service: calls, recordings, transcripts, call summaries and messages. Recordings and transcripts are encrypted and stay in your account.
No. It does not give medical advice of any kind. It takes the caller's details, flags urgent calls and can transfer them to your team, and it directs anyone describing an emergency to call 911.
It can tell callers which plans you accept, using your approved list. Questions about covered visits, remaining visits or authorizations are noted for your team to check and call back. Member ID numbers are never collected over the phone.
We build a receptionist for your office and let you call it before it goes live. Free trial, no contract.
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