A PT clinic doesn't look like a doctor's office. There's a gym floor with tables, bands, and a couple of bikes, and the therapist is usually out on it, hands on someone's shoulder or counting reps. The front desk, if there is one, might be empty half the day.
So patients arrive and stand at the counter. They look around. Eventually they wave, or an aide walks over and yells across the room that your two o'clock is here, and everyone on the floor hears it, including the patient you're with.
TapIn is a self check-in app that runs on an iPad at the entrance. The patient taps your name, you get a silent notification on your phone or Apple Watch, and you finish the set before you walk over. Physical therapy patient check-in with no front desk to staff.
What gets in the way in a physical therapy practice
You're mid-treatment when the next patient walks in
Manual therapy takes both hands and full attention. If you're working a stiff hip capsule, you can't be watching the door. But if no one's at the front, the patient who just arrived has no idea whether anyone knows.
The gym floor makes every announcement public
Open layouts are great for supervision and terrible for discretion. A name and a body part called out across the room carries to everyone. Patients doing their exercises don't need a running commentary of who's arriving.
Shared PT/OT suites confuse the hand-off
When PTs and OTs share a space, a walk-in has to figure out who to tell, and that person has to go find the right clinician. It's two interruptions for one arrival, and the wrong therapist often gets pulled first.
How TapIn helps
Check-in happens at the entrance, not at your table
Set an iPad on a stand by the door as a contactless check-in kiosk. Patients tap the name or photo of the therapist they're seeing today. It takes a few seconds and nobody has to hunt for staff.
A buzz on your watch instead of a shout across the room
The notification is silent and goes straight to the clinician the patient picked. You see it on your phone or Apple Watch, finish what you're doing, and go get them. Nobody else on the floor is disturbed.
Every therapist in the suite gets their own alerts
Each PT, OT, or PTA on the team gets their own seat and their own notifications. A patient picks the right person from the screen, so the OT doesn't get pulled for a PT's patient.
Nothing to connect to your EMR
TapIn doesn't plug into your scheduling or documentation system, whether that's Jane or something else. It handles the check-in and the alert and leaves the rest alone. Pairing the iPad takes a few minutes.
A check-in, step by step
- 1
A patient arrives for his post-op shoulder visit while his PT is on the floor with someone else.
- 2
He taps his therapist's photo on the iPad by the door and confirms with his initials.
- 3
The PT's Apple Watch buzzes silently while she's guiding another patient through a set of rows.
- 4
She finishes the set, cues the next exercise, and walks to the front to bring him back.
- 5
The check-in shows up in the day's analytics and is automatically deleted after 24 hours.
Want the full setup, including locking the iPad into kiosk mode? Read the iPad check-in kiosk setup guide.
Simple per-seat pricing
$5.99/month for the first therapist and $3.99/month for each additional, with 50% off annual billing. Unlimited iPads and locations, admin users free. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. See pricing.
Physical Therapy check-in questions
Can patients check in while I'm hands-on with someone else?
That's the point. The alert goes to your phone or watch silently, so you finish the technique you're in and step away at a good stopping point.
We have PTs and OTs in the same clinic. Does that work?
Yes. Every clinician has their own seat and gets only the alerts for patients who selected them. One iPad kiosk can serve the whole suite.
Does TapIn integrate with our EMR or scheduling software?
No, and it doesn't need to. It runs alongside any system and never reads from or writes to your records. It handles check-in and notification and stops there.
Is there an Android version?
The kiosk runs on iPad only. The therapist app that receives notifications is available for both iPhone and Android.
How much does it cost for a clinic with several therapists?
The first seat is $5.99 a month and each additional seat is $3.99. Annual billing is 50% off, and there's a 14-day trial with no credit card required.
Also built for
- Chiropractic patient check-inPatients tap your name on an iPad at the door and take a seat. You get a silent alert on your phone or watch in the adjusting room and keep the line moving.
- 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.
Keep reading
- iPad patient check-in kioskTurn any iPad into a patient self check-in kiosk. Patients tap their therapist's name and the therapist gets a silent push notification. Free app, 5-minute setup, from $5.99/month.
- How to set up an iPad check-in kioskStep-by-step guide to turning a spare iPad into a patient check-in kiosk: Guided Access, mounting, Wi-Fi, the TapIn kiosk app, and pairing with a QR code. About 10 minutes.
- Running a practice without a front deskHow solo and small group therapy practices handle arrivals, waiting rooms, and interruptions without a receptionist. Practical options, what each costs, and where an iPad check-in kiosk fits.
Put a check-in kiosk at the front of your PT clinic
Start a free 14-day trial. Pair any iPad in minutes and stop shouting across the gym.