Occupational therapy rarely happens at a desk. In a pediatric clinic the OT is in the sensory gym, on the mat or beside a platform swing, often with a child who took ten minutes to settle. In an adult or hand therapy clinic, the OT is at a table shaping a splint or working through a home program with someone recovering from a stroke. Either way, the lobby is out of sight.
Caregivers in the waiting room can't see any of that. They see a closed door down the hall and wonder whether to knock, and in a clinic shared with PT or speech they may not know who to tell. TapIn is an occupational therapy check-in kiosk that answers the question with one tap on an iPad by the entrance.
The caregiver or client taps your name or photo, and you get a silent push notification on your phone or Apple Watch. You finish the activity, help the child off the swing, and walk out at a good stopping point. It's a patient check-in app with no front desk to staff and no integration to set up.
What gets in the way in a occupational therapy practice
A knock undoes a settled child
Sensory work often starts with getting a child calm and organized enough to engage. A knock on the gym door, or a parent leaning in to say the next family is here, can undo that in seconds, and the rest of the session goes to getting it back.
The gym is the farthest room from the lobby
Sensory gyms need space and padding, so they tend to sit at the back of the building. A doorbell at the front may not carry over the swing and the music, and a therapist on the mat can't see who walked in.
Hand therapy runs on tight slots
In an outpatient hand clinic, visits are often short and back to back, and the OT may be halfway through molding a thermoplastic splint that has to be shaped before it cools. Walking to the front to check for the next patient costs minutes the schedule doesn't have.
How TapIn helps
One tap at the entrance
Prop an iPad on a stand by the door as a contactless check-in point. A caregiver taps the OT's name or photo and can type the child's initials. It takes a few seconds, even with a sibling on one hip.
A buzz on your wrist, not a knock on the gym door
The alert is silent and goes only to the OT the caregiver picked. You see it on your Apple Watch or phone, finish the obstacle course or the splint, and step out at a natural break.
Works in shared OT, PT, and speech clinics
Each clinician has their own seat and their own notifications. A family picks the right person from the screen, so the speech therapist isn't pulled out for an OT client and nobody at the front has to relay arrivals.
Runs alongside WebPT and your scheduling
TapIn doesn't connect to WebPT, Jane, or whatever you use for scheduling and documentation. It handles the check-in and the alert, stores only a name or initials or nothing at all, and deletes each check-in after 24 hours.
A check-in, step by step
- 1
A grandmother arrives with a five-year-old for a 2:00 OT session while the therapist is in the sensory gym with another child.
- 2
She taps the OT's photo on the lobby iPad, types the child's initials, and the screen confirms the check-in.
- 3
The OT's Apple Watch buzzes silently while she's spotting her current client through the last round of an obstacle course.
- 4
She finishes the round, walks that family out, and brings the new client back to the gym.
- 5
The check-in appears in the clinic's analytics and is deleted automatically after 24 hours.
Want the full setup, including locking the iPad into kiosk mode? Read the iPad check-in kiosk setup guide.
From practices using TapIn
“TapIn gives our clients a simple, professional way to check in while notifying each provider directly. It has been an excellent solution for our shared therapy practice, and the developer has been remarkably responsive to our feedback.”
Village Therapy Collective “The customer service has been excellent, particularly during the initial set-up… We also really appreciate how user-friendly the app is for both patients and therapists.”
Hughes Healthcare “I got a doorbell, but that became very tedious. Other clients from other businesses were ringing my doorbell. It got really annoying. Now, I get instantly notified on my phone. Simple as that!”
LeapStar Pediatric Therapy
Simple per-seat pricing
$5.99/month for the first therapist and $3.99/month for each additional, billed monthly. Unlimited iPads and locations, admin users free. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. See pricing.
Occupational Therapy check-in questions
Does it work for both pediatric and adult OT?
Yes. A caregiver can check in a child, and an adult hand therapy or neuro rehab client can check in for themselves. Both tap the OT's name on the same screen.
We share space with PT and speech. Can one iPad serve everyone?
Yes. One kiosk lists every clinician, and each gets only the alerts for patients who picked them. Add more kiosks for another entrance or location at no extra cost.
I keep my phone out of the gym. How will I know someone's here?
If you wear an Apple Watch paired with your iPhone, the alert shows on your wrist. Otherwise it waits silently on your phone until you check it, and the caregiver has already seen on the iPad that you were told.
Does TapIn integrate with WebPT or our EMR?
No. It runs alongside your scheduling and documentation without reading from or writing to them. There's nothing to set up beyond pairing the iPad and inviting your OTs.
What does it cost for a clinic with several OTs and COTAs?
Anyone who receives check-in alerts is a seat: $5.99 a month for the first and $3.99 for each additional, billed monthly. A clinic with 5 clinicians pays $21.95 a month. There's a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
Also built for
- Pediatric Therapy patient check-inOne iPad at the door, one tap by the parent, and the right therapist out of six gets a silent alert. No doorbell, no front desk, no stroller traffic jam at a counter.
- Speech Therapy patient check-inParents and adult clients tap their SLP's name on an iPad in the waiting room. You get a silent buzz on your phone or watch and finish the drill you're in the middle of.
- Physical Therapy patient check-inYour patient taps your name on an iPad at the front. You feel it on your watch while you're spotting someone on the leg press, and nobody has to shout across the clinic.
Keep reading
- iPad patient check-in kioskA patient check-in app for iPad: patients tap their therapist, who gets a silent alert on their phone or Apple Watch. 14-day free trial, no credit card.
- How to set up an iPad check-in kioskTurn a spare iPad into a patient check-in kiosk in about 10 minutes: pair it by QR code or pairing code, lock it with Guided Access, and test the alert.
- Running a practice without a front deskHow therapy practices without a receptionist handle arrivals: timed pickup, doorbells, texts, wall lights, sign-in sheets, and iPad check-in compared.
- How therapists know a client has arrivedDoorbells, texts, cameras, wall lights, sign-in sheets or an iPad check-in: seven ways therapists without a receptionist know a client has arrived.
- When to use a notification groupHow TapIn notification groups work: one kiosk button for walk-ins, new patients, and "next available" visits that alerts the whole team, and lets one person take the patient. When to use a group and when to keep individual buttons.
Put a check-in kiosk at the front of your OT clinic
Start a free 14-day trial with no credit card. Pair an iPad you already own and keep the sensory gym door closed.