How to Recommend Products to Patients the Right Way
Recommending products to patients comes down to three practical things: name the exact item, give the patient one place to get it, and disclose that you earn from the sale. The clinical judgment is already yours. This is about helping patients use what you recommended.
How do you recommend products to patients the right way?
Three steps:
- Name the exact item. "A knee sleeve" sends the patient into a marketplace to guess. The specific brace, in the specific size, doesn't.
- Give them one place to get it. If the item is already sitting in your storefront, the patient doesn't have to search for it.
- Disclose your financial interest. APTA's Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapy Profession, in effect since January 2026, asks PTs and PTAs to "fully disclose any financial interest they have in products or services that they recommend to patients and clients or to the public" (Standard 6.5) (APTA). One sentence covers it. Your state board may have its own retail-sales language worth reading once.
Why does giving patients the exact product matter?
Estimates of home-exercise nonadherence in rehabilitation run as high as 50% (Argent et al., JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2018). In a study of 222 Dutch physical therapists and 1,681 patient questionnaires, the barriers patients perceive and encounter had the strongest link to noncompliance (Sluijs et al., Physical Therapy, 1993).
Getting the right item is one of those practical barriers. The patient forgets the model you named, buys the wrong size online, or never gets around to it — and shows up next visit with something that doesn't fit the plan. Handing them the exact brace, support, or roller you specified removes the guesswork and keeps the program intact between visits. It's also why PTs, OTs, and chiropractors earn from the products they recommend.
What products do movement providers usually recommend?
The everyday recovery items you name in the treatment room:
- Braces and supports (knee, back, wrist)
- Foam rollers and massage tools
- Resistance bands and mobility tools
- TENS units and kinesiology tape
- Stretch straps and orthotics
For a fuller list, see the best retail products for a PT clinic to sell.
How should you disclose a product recommendation?
One honest sentence does it: "I earn a small commission if you buy through my storefront — buy wherever you like; I just want you to get the right one." Say it out loud, put it on the storefront, and let the patient choose.
Do you need to hold inventory to recommend products?
No. With a storefront, a supplier fulfills and ships each order directly to the patient, so the supplier holds the stock and you tie up no cash. A storefront is a catalog and a checkout, so it never touches protected health information and stays outside your clinical records. It's also a way to add cash-based revenue to a clinic.
FAQ
How do you recommend products to patients the right way?
Name the exact item, give the patient one place to buy it, and disclose your financial interest — APTA's Code of Ethics (Standard 6.5) requires that disclosure. Your state board may add its own retail-sales provisions.
Can physical therapists earn from the products they recommend?
Yes — it's common across movement and rehab practices. Disclose your financial interest and follow your board's retail-sales provisions.
Do I have to disclose that I earn from a recommendation?
Yes. APTA's Code of Ethics (Standard 6.5) asks PTs and PTAs to fully disclose any financial interest in products they recommend. A sentence at handoff, or a note on the storefront, covers it.
What products do PTs commonly recommend?
Braces and supports, foam rollers, resistance bands, TENS units, kinesiology tape, and stretch straps — the recovery tools patients use at home.
Give patients one place to get the right item
Feature the products you recommend; a supplier ships each order directly to the patient.
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