Updated 2026-08-01 · 2 min read
Booking portals work: they bring in patients who didn't know you. The problem isn't that they're no use, it's what happens afterwards.
What they give you
Visibility to someone looking for a physiotherapist without knowing anyone, and a booking with no friction. For a clinic that's just opening, that's worth money and it's worth having.
What they cost you
Three things, and the last one is what weighs most. The commission or the fee, which you can see. The competition inside the portal itself, where your clinic appears alongside the ones next door. And the relationship with the patient: their next message will also go to the portal, not to you.
That third cost doesn't appear on any invoice, and it's what decides whether in three years you have patients of your own or rented ones.
The combination that works
It isn't about choosing: it's about not depending. The portal to attract people; your own channel —WhatsApp, your booking page, your Google Business profile— for everything that comes afterwards. Someone who has already been once should be able to ask for their next slot without going through anyone.
| Booking portal | Your own channel | |
|---|---|---|
| Brings in new patients | Yes | Not much at first |
| Cost per booking | Commission or fee | None |
| Who owns the relationship | The portal | You |
| The patient's data | Partial | Yours and exportable |
| Lifts your Google listing | No | Yes, if you ask for reviews |
The warning sign
If more than half your appointments come in through a portal, you don't have an acquisition channel: you have a supplier that can raise your price whenever it likes.
Questions clinics ask
Do you have to leave the portals? No. You have to stop depending on them, which is different: they stay for attracting people and the relationship comes back to your clinic.
How do I bring my patients to my own channel? With your booking link on your Google Business profile, on Instagram and at the front desk with a QR code. Whoever has already been comes back that way.
Does the booking link carry a commission? No. It's your page, with your logo and your colours.