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Who answers the phone in a physiotherapy practice?
Often nobody, because the physiotherapist is treating. Tilcao answers instead, says it is an AI, recognises the patient and books, moves or cancels the session types the practice opens to it, in the caller’s language. You can hear it on the demo line of our example practice, +32 460 23 23 00.
RIZIV-INAMI counts 84% of physiotherapy full-time equivalents in solo practice in 2024: 85% in Flanders, 83% in Wallonia, 75% in Brussels. Of 46,377 registered physiotherapists, 27,202 were active. In 2023 a full-time physiotherapist had on average 2,466 reimbursed contacts with 129 patients, about 13 sessions per patient: a diary of series, not single visits.
SourceRIZIV-INAMI, Healthcare Providers Report 2024, Physiotherapist
Which calls can an AI receptionist take for a physiotherapist?
The ones about the diary and the practice, which is most of them. What the treatment should be stays with the physiotherapist.
- A new patient with a prescription who wants a first appointment.
- The next session of a series, or a fixed weekly slot.
- Moving or cancelling a session, and offering the freed slot to someone else.
- Practical questions: address, parking, what to bring, how to pay, from the practice’s own texts.
- Questions about reimbursement, answered with what the practice has written, never guessed.
- Anything about pain, a new complaint or the treatment itself: noted in the patient’s words and handed to the physiotherapist.
Prescription and number of sessions: what the receptionist needs to know
Reimbursed physiotherapy needs a doctor’s prescription, or a dentist’s for jaw-joint problems, and treatment must start within two months of it. How many sessions are reimbursed depends on the list the condition falls under. A receptionist does not decide this: it notes the prescription date and the condition as the patient states it, and books under the practice’s rule.
| Situation | Reimbursed sessions | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary pathology | 9 + 9, so 18 per calendar year per condition | The advisory doctor can allow 18 more per new condition |
| Fa list (acute, e.g. after surgery) | Up to 60 in one year | 100 or 120 for a subgroup |
| Fb list (chronic) | 60 a year, then 20 at a lower rate | Lower again after that |
| E list (severe conditions) | Agreement valid up to 3 years | No general yearly cap |
Can patients see a physiotherapist without a prescription?
Not yet. On 11 September 2026 the federal government approved a draft royal decree on direct access to physiotherapy and sent it to the Council of State. It covers musculoskeletal complaints only, at most seven sessions per condition per year, by a physiotherapist with a master’s degree and two years of experience, and the GP must be informed. The draft aims at 1 January 2027 and is not published yet. Reimbursement still requires a prescription.
For the phone this means one more question the practice answers with a rule of its own: “Can I come without a prescription?” Tilcao reads out what the practice has decided.
SourceFederal government, legal framework for direct access to physiotherapy, 11 September 2026
May a physiotherapist charge for a missed session?
A missed session can never be billed to the sickness fund: the health insurance law forbids issuing reimbursement documents for care that was not given. The physiotherapists’ agreement M/25 says nothing about missed sessions either way.
Any cancellation fee is a private arrangement between the practice and the patient, and the patient rights law requires informing the patient of the financial consequences beforehand. We found no rule that sets an amount or a notice period for physiotherapists, so do not state one as a rule. Reminders the day before, and a cancelled slot offered to the next patient, do more than a fee.
The agreement and what the patient pays in 2026
The agreement M/25 covers 2025 and 2026 and does not renew by itself; 64.34% of physiotherapists joined. Fees were indexed by 2.72% on 1 January 2026, while the patient’s share stays fixed. Since 1 May 2025 patients of a physiotherapist who did not join get 25% less reimbursement, except patients with increased intervention. A physiotherapist who joined has to show it in the waiting room and, where there is one, on the website.
| Ordinary session, 30 minutes, in the practice | Physiotherapist joined | Not joined |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | €31.64 | Free to set, except for patients with increased intervention |
| Sickness fund pays | €25.39 | €19.05 |
| Patient pays | €6.25 (€2.50 with increased intervention) | The rest, and any supplement |
SourceRIZIV-INAMI, agreement 2025-2026 for physiotherapists, and tariff circular of 15 December 2025
Software, online booking and MyCareNet from 2027
From 1 January 2027 physiotherapists must use MyCareNet for eAgreement, eFact, eAttest and Member Data, with exemptions for physiotherapists aged 67 or older on that date and hospital physiotherapists. Seven packages are approved for all four: Oxygen, CareConnect Physiotherapist, Crossuite Kineo 3.0, Hygie, KineQuick, Sophia and Kiné Helper. Online booking platforms that say they serve Belgian physiotherapists include Doctena, Doctoranytime, Rosa, Helena Pro Calendar (formerly Progenda) and Crossuite’s own agenda.
The practice software stays the record. Tilcao is not a practice package: it never attests or invoices. Where your software or online agenda allows a connection, it is set up and tested on your own installation before go-live; Crossuite, for instance, opens a REST API to partners on request, with its agreement. Where no route exists, Tilcao leaves the team a ready request instead of a pretend booking.
Telesecretariat or AI receptionist for a physiotherapist?
A telesecretariat puts a person on your line for agreed hours and calls; an AI receptionist answers every call at once, day and night, and writes the session into the diary where your software allows it. Impulseo, which refunds half of a telesecretariat, is for GPs only, so a physiotherapist pays the full price. Published prices of Belgian services are compared on medical telesecretariat in Belgium, and texts for the line when nobody answers on medical office voicemail greetings.
How does a physiotherapy practice start with Tilcao?
On request, with a conversation first. We look at your software or online agenda, your session types and series, your rule for missed sessions and your patients’ languages, and only then say what Tilcao can do. You keep your number and forward the line when you choose, for instance during sessions, and switch it back yourself. What an AI medical receptionist does and never does is on a page of its own.
Questions practices ask
May a physiotherapist in Belgium charge for a missed session?
Not to the sickness fund: a session that did not take place cannot be attested. A private cancellation fee is not regulated for physiotherapists; if the practice uses one, the patient must be told beforehand, as the patient rights law requires for financial consequences.
How many physiotherapy sessions are reimbursed per year?
For ordinary pathology 18 per calendar year per condition (9 + 9), with more on the advisory doctor’s approval. Conditions on the Fa list get up to 60 in one year, the Fb list 60 a year and then 20 at a lower rate, and the E list an agreement of up to three years. All need a prescription, and treatment must start within two months of it.
Is direct access to physiotherapy possible in Belgium?
Not yet. A draft royal decree approved on 11 September 2026 would allow up to seven sessions per musculoskeletal condition per year without a prescription from 1 January 2027, but it is not published. Reimbursement still needs a prescription.
Does Impulseo pay for a physiotherapist’s telesecretariat?
No. Impulseo support for a telesecretariat exists in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels for GPs only.
Does Tilcao work for physiotherapy practices today?
Tilcao runs in dental practices today. Physiotherapy practices can ask for a setup; we first look at their software, their session types and their rule for missed sessions before we promise anything.