Booking an Appointment with an Osteopath

Once you have found the contact details for your local osteopathic clinic (or the osteopathic clinic that you feel is most convenient for you or most suited to your specific requirements) you are ready to book your initial appointment with your osteopath.

Booking over the Internet

A number of osteopathic clinics have extensive websites where you may be able to choose an appointment time and book a visit online (and maybe even pay for your visit in advance). If you use this option it is important that you are sure that the website you are using is for a genuine osteopathic clinic! You should also be sure that you are booking the correct length of appointment as most osteopaths will require you to have an elongated appointment for your initial visit (so they can have longer to ask take a detailed history of your past medical problems and get an overall impression of your health and attitudes.)


Booking by Phone

The most common method of booking an appointment with an osteopath is over the phone. This allows you to discuss your requirements either with the osteopath them self or with their administrator (depending on the size of the clinic and the time that you choose to phone). Be aware that if your local osteopathic clinic is run by a single osteopath and you ring during the day, they may be seeing patients and thus unable to take your call. In this case you will probably be required to leave a message so that they can call you back to discuss your requirements and book you in for an appointment time that is convenient for both you and them. Obviously for larger clinics with a full time administrator, your call will be taken throughout the working day. The administrator will be able to discuss the length of appointment required and may be able to offer you advice on the most appropriate osteopath for you to visit (if there is more than one in the practise).

If you call outside the osteopathic clinic hours (which are usually slightly longer than the normal 9-5 working day) then you may have to leave a message on their answer machine. In this case you will be phoned back either by the osteopath or their administrator during the next working day.

Booking at the Osteopathic Clinic

Most osteopathic clinics will be very happy for you to drop by in person to discuss your requirements and book an appointment. The advantage of this method is that you will get to see the clinic and potentially even meet the osteopath who may be carrying out your treatment.

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