Every healthcare professional recognizes the importance of patient retention. Keeping patients healthy and satisfied leads to better health outcomes and is the hallmark of a successful and thriving medical practice.
However, many clinics, especially smaller ones or newly opened facilities, may struggle in this aspect of operations. While no single strategy will provide a guarantee of patients staying with a practice, the following tips can help increase the chances that your patients will remain.
Understanding Patient Retention
Patient retention is a critical aspect of healthcare that refers to the ability of healthcare providers to maintain a long-term relationship with their patients. It is a key metric that measures the percentage of patients who return to a practice multiple times. Understanding patient retention is essential for healthcare providers to improve patient satisfaction, increase patient loyalty, and ultimately, drive business growth.
Patient retention is influenced by various factors, including the quality of care, patient engagement, communication, and the overall patient experience. Healthcare providers who prioritize patient retention strategies are more likely to see improved health outcomes, increased patient satisfaction, and a stronger reputation in the community.
Appointment Scheduling & Reminders
Patients may not stay with the practice if they find making an appointment too difficult. Similarly, they may not arrive at that visit without an appropriate and timely reminder. Developing a comprehensive patient retention strategy is essential for healthcare providers to maintain long-term relationships with their patients.
Find a trusted software program that allows patients to request appointment times online. After they submit a request, the office staff can then attempt to accommodate the request and call the patient back.
Once confirmed, a reminder phone message, text, or email should go out 48 hours before the appointment. This additional time gives the patient a chance to cancel or change the scheduled visit at least 24 hours in advance, to make the process easier for the clinic staff. For facilities that require a cancelation fee within 24 hours, the patient has the option of avoiding this charge if sent a reminder early enough.
Building Strong Relationships with Patients
Building strong relationships with patients is a crucial aspect of patient retention. Healthcare providers who take the time to understand their patients’ needs, concerns, and preferences are more likely to establish trust and loyalty. This can be achieved through effective communication, active listening, and empathy.
Healthcare providers can also use technology to build strong relationships with patients. For example, patient portals and secure messaging systems can facilitate communication and provide patients with easy access to their medical information. Additionally, healthcare providers can use data analytics to gain insights into patient behavior and preferences, allowing them to tailor their services to meet individual needs.
Reduce Staff Indifference to Improve Patient Satisfaction
One of the main reasons people leave businesses of any type is the feeling that the staff is indifferent to their needs. In fact, this single reason accounts for 68% of people changing the businesses they patronize.
When it comes to a medical practice, train staff to balance handling large volumes of patients with increasing the care they take with each existing patient. Staff members who feel overworked should have a chance to take a quick break to recover their composure. The few minutes taken by employees to refresh themselves and avoid taking their ire out on patients could help to increase patient retention and prevent financial loss for the practice.
Taking the time to acknowledge each patient can also help. For instance, send a card to each one on their birthday. Offer discounts for regular patients or those who have patronized the practice for years. Even asking them for ways to improve the practice and following through on feasible suggestions makes patients feel heard and appreciated.
Taking the time to call patients who file complaints or offer criticism is a great way of turning unsatisfied people into lifelong patrons.
Addressing their concerns is vital because 95% of people with negative experiences actually will not make complaints. Therefore, relying on the reports of the 5% who do and making necessary adjustments could help improve satisfaction and increase the chances they’ll stay with your practice.
Improving Patient Satisfaction
Improving patient satisfaction is a key aspect of patient retention. Healthcare providers who prioritize patient satisfaction are more likely to see improved health outcomes, increased patient loyalty, and a stronger reputation in the community.
There are several strategies that healthcare providers can use to improve patient satisfaction, including:
Providing high-quality care that meets individual needs and preferences
Ensuring effective communication and active listening
Providing easy access to medical information and services
Offering personalized care and attention
Encouraging patient feedback and responding to concerns
Healthcare providers can also use data analytics to gain insights into patient satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. By prioritizing patient satisfaction, healthcare providers can improve patient retention rates and drive business growth.
Give Your Patients Options for Better Patient Engagement
For most people, scheduling and keeping a medical appointment requires sacrifice from their daily routines. To retain more patients, make the process as open as possible to a variety of patient needs. To ensure the growth of your practice, it is important to focus on both acquiring new patients and retaining existing ones.
Payment options should be as varied as possible and clearly posted at both the reception and billing areas to avoid any confusion.
Most patients will still have to cover a co-pay even with insurance. Letting them know immediately the types of credit cards accepted can help ease their minds. Also, be willing to work with cash-only patients, if possible. For those who do not have insurance, visiting a practice that offers flexibility to help them pay for their visit and treatment will feel more caring as well.
While most clinics operate during standard business hours Mondays through Fridays, not everyone can set aside time from their workday to visit. If possible, offer weekend or extended hours to ensure patients have time available when they won’t have to take off from work or school.
Increasing parking spaces or adding locations can also help improve patient retention. Patients may not want to visit the clinic if they can’t ever find parking. For parking garages or lots, many practices choose to dedicate the closest spots to the entrance for patients only. These spots reduce the time a patient must spend searching for a spot and decreases their walking distance to the entrance.
Keep Patient Records Safe
A data breach or loss of information can quickly hurt patient confidence in your practice.
Handling numerous paper files and sending multiple faxes to various insurance providers or other clinicians creates a complicated situation where information loss and data security become serious threats.
A simple solution is converting the office to an all-digital patient record and delivery system.
HIPAA compliant cloud fax services like Documo are the most secure and reliable way to send and receive important patient data. Security features include:
Advanced data encryption both during transmission and at rest
User authentication and admin controls
Audit trails
Secure socket layer (SSL) protocol
Physically secured data centers with redundant connectivity and power
Additionally, minimizing time spent in the waiting room through electronic forms and virtual care solutions can enhance the patient experience.
Additionally, a robust API allows you to integrate fax within your existing clinic software, so your staff can fax more efficiently and you gain peace of mind knowing your patient data is safe.
Measuring and Improving Patient Retention
Measuring patient retention is essential for healthcare providers to understand their strengths and weaknesses and identify areas for improvement. There are several metrics that healthcare providers can use to measure patient retention, including:
Patient retention rate: This measures the percentage of patients who return to a practice multiple times.
Patient satisfaction surveys: These provide insights into patient satisfaction and identify areas for improvement.
Net Promoter Score (NPS): This measures patient loyalty and satisfaction.
Patient feedback: This provides insights into patient concerns and preferences.
Healthcare providers can use these metrics to identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to improve patient retention. For example, healthcare providers can use data analytics to identify patients who are at risk of leaving and develop targeted retention strategies to keep them engaged.
By prioritizing patient retention and using data analytics to measure and improve patient retention, healthcare providers can drive business growth, improve health outcomes, and establish a strong reputation in the community.
Retain More Patients with Effective Patient Retention Strategies & Drive Better Results
When patients feel valued, they’re more likely to remain regular patrons. To improve how each patient perceives your practice, use good business operations such as facilitating scheduling, offering better hours, and protecting sensitive information. Implementing effective retention strategies, such as minimizing wait times and improving patient engagement, can lead to better overall outcomes.
Don’t let patients slip through the cracks anymore. A few simple changes to your operating procedures can cut down on lost patients and solidify the clinic’s bottom line.
Learn more about how Documo keeps patient data safe. Sign up for a free trial now and experience the difference for yourself.
Author: Documo Team