Does your practice have a patient retention plan?

Many companies spend a great deal of time and money to attract new customers but don’t invest nearly enough time in figuring out why they lose customers. They don’t realize the importance of customer retention. The same applies to medical practices. Many physicians who see a steady stream of new patients often don’t spend as much effort or time as they should on retaining existing ones. In reality, the cost of losing patients is alarmingly high, in ways you might not have thought about before. Consider these implications:

Added costs. There are added costs in recruiting and onboarding new patients to make up for the patients that have been lost. Increasing your patient retention rate by only 5% can increase revenue and profits by four times that amount. You’re more likely to enroll an existing (and happy) patient into a health program or initiative offered by your practice, have them recommend you to friends and family and have them return for annual physicals and other preventive care visits.

Reputation issues. In today’s world, people have a variety of ways to share their dissatisfaction — instantly. Research shows that customers are much more likely to share bad customer service experiences far and wide than good ones. Bad reviews/public criticism over a long period on Google, Yelp and other sites can make it difficult for a practice to add new patients. You’ll want to aim for reviews of at least 4 out of 5 stars on Google and medical-specific review sites.

Lost revenue. When a patient leaves, medical practices lose not only ongoing revenue but any amount that person refuses to pay before they depart. That either results in a write-off or added legal/collection costs. They also are likely to let friends and family members know to avoid your practice.

These are just some of the reasons why a patient retention plan is so important. Any patient retention plan should include an examination of all aspects of the patient experience. You may have a great rapport with your patients and they may feel like you provide a high level of care, but things like a grumpy person answering the phone, calls going to voicemail or long waits on hold can spoil the patient experience.

A key part of the plan should include measurement of ongoing patient satisfaction and outreach to patients to see how your practice can serve them better. In terms of dissatisfied patients, a plan should be in place to quickly remedy the situation and make every effort to retain them, or at least identify the reason(s) for their dissatisfaction. Gaining insights from patients who have left the company is extremely important. Over time, such information can help you identify problems in your organization and fine-tune your processes to create a better patient experience. We’ve helped many practices create a better experience for patients. Learn more about all of the ways we can help: http://nationalrecalls.com