Beyond Treatment: Building Lasting Patient Relationships For a Thriving Reputation

Growing your practice requires building a relationship with your patients that fosters return visits and glowing reviews, both online and among friends and family. Unfortunately, clear and direct communication can be a struggle between provider and patient. Here are a few of the ways rehab therapy practices aren’t communicating as well as they could, both in providing treatment and collecting feedback, and how you can look to enhance the therapeutic alliance.     

Challenges in Patient Communication

One of the most common messaging mistakes, surprisingly, occurs right at the outset of the patient journey: the pressure to pre-schedule multiple appointments from the very first visit. While it might seem like a best practice for clinic efficiency, it can unintentionally create a significant communication gap that ignores a patient’s immediate reality, reduces patient engagement, and can even hurt a clinic's reputation.

For many patients, committing to a fixed, long-term schedule of two or three appointments a week on day one can feel incredibly overwhelming, especially when they're still processing their diagnosis and what therapy entails. I've experienced this firsthand; I once signed up for PT and was asked to commit to two sessions a week upfront. While I initially agreed, once I returned to my own work and life schedule, it became clear I simply couldn't make it happen. The awkwardness of having to call and repeatedly reschedule, coupled with feeling like I was letting the clinic down, ultimately led to disengagement.

This isn't to say clinics shouldn't aim for consistency, but the communication around initial scheduling needs a more patient-centric approach. Instead of simply dictating a frequency, clinics should foster a collaborative discussion, perhaps saying, “Based on your needs, we typically recommend X sessions per week. Let's look at your calendar together and find a rhythm that works for you, ensuring your commitment is sustainable.”

This shift from a transactional “book these slots” approach to a more relationship-building, flexible conversation upfront can drastically improve patient adherence, reduce no-shows, and build trust, ultimately safeguarding the clinic's reputation for patient-centered care.

Why It’s Hard to Collect Feedback

Your patients’ opinions are the ones you really want to understand how your practice can improve, but many clinics have a hard time even starting a conversation to collect that feedback.  

Care can be unpredictable.

One of the most significant communication hurdles for outpatient rehab clinics when it comes to engaging patients and collecting testimonials boils down to the unpredictable nature of the patient-provider relationship itself.

Unlike other service industries where long-term, predictable engagement is common, clinicians can't always know the exact length of a patient's care journey due to a multitude of factors: insurance limitations, fluctuating financial capacities, and the intricate dance of scheduling around life's demands.

This inherent unpredictability means that what might ideally be an ongoing relationship can often feel, to the patient, like a short-term, intensive commitment. Patients are often focused on their immediate recovery and the commitment of time their therapy requires, which can make them feel overwhelmed.

Consequently, clinics face a critical timing dilemma: when is the “right” moment to ask for advocacy, such as a testimonial? If the relationship's duration is ambiguous, it's hard to gauge when a patient has felt sufficient impact and goodwill to provide that valuable feedback. This lack of a clear relational timeline fundamentally complicates efforts to foster deeper engagement and strategically solicit powerful patient stories. 

It can be awkward to ask for honest opinions. 

Many clinics struggle to solicit honest patient feedback without it feeling awkward or forced, and a major contributing factor is the inherent power dynamic and the fact that new patients simply don't know what they don't know.

Clinicians, despite their best intentions, might inadvertently use jargon or ask questions framed from a clinical perspective that a layperson struggles to fully grasp or feel comfortable discussing. The nature of rehab therapy itself is deeply personal—touching on injuries, post-surgical recovery, or sensitive areas like postpartum care—which adds a layer of vulnerability and privacy concerns (naturally, alongside HIPAA considerations).

Practices aren’t collecting as much feedback as they could—or should.  

One of the biggest marketing myths or misconceptions I see holding clinics back regarding patient testimonials is the idea that they only need a few glowing reviews on their website. The reality is, while website testimonials are valuable, Google reviews are arguably even more critical. Prospective patients are very likely to check a clinic's Google Business Profile before ever navigating to its website. A lack of recent, positive Google reviews can be a significant barrier to entry, causing clinics to lose potential patients right at the initial search phase.

Beyond just quantity, another misconception is that all testimonials need to focus solely on clinical outcomes. While recovery stories are powerful, clinics often miss the opportunity to collect a diverse range of testimonials that speak to different points along the entire patient journey.

For someone who has never experienced physical therapy, their initial hesitations aren't just about “will I get better?” They're also concerned about the overall experience:

• Initial Impressions: “Did I feel welcomed?” and “Was the atmosphere comfortable?”
• Engagement and Support: “Was it easy to communicate with my therapist between sessions?” and “Was the home exercise app helpful and easy to use?” (Tying back to our earlier discussion about digital tools.)
• Logistics and Administration: “Was the billing process straightforward?” and “Was it easy to pay and understand my financial responsibility?”

By actively soliciting testimonials that address these softer, yet crucial, aspects of the patient experience—from the ease of scheduling to the clarity of billing—clinics can proactively address common objections and anxieties that a first-time PT patient might have. These types of diverse testimonials paint a much fuller, more reassuring picture, making it easier for a hesitant individual to take that crucial first step and contact the clinic.

These ongoing challenges point to a bigger issue that rehab therapists are also struggling with: clearer, more consistent, and more empathetic communication. I’ll get into how providers can look to adapt their communication style and further bridge the gap between patients and providers in the second part of this blog.