As any healthcare practitioner knows, having a practice that thrives and prospers is a continuous journey. There are so many issues to contend with, from healthcare itself, to marketing and patient services, and it can be challenging to monitor all of these when you’re constantly seeing patients. One problem you’ve no doubt encountered is retaining patients. When a patient starts to leave, you have to determine why they’re leaving and take steps to bring them back. The best way to find a solution to this problem is to use the most effective patient retention strategies for growing your practice. Here are some strategies to consider:
Understanding the Reasons Behind Patient Attrition
The first step in finding the best patient retention strategies for your practice is to understand why patients are leaving. Are they not getting the care they need from you? Are they not happy with the customer service they’re receiving? Are they maturing past the need for your expertise? A study from the National Association of Health Plans showed that dissatisfaction with care is the biggest reason for attrition among patients. This means that you need to examine the overall care experience that your patients receive to find out if it’s lacking in any areas.
Create an Experience-Based Culture
One of the best ways to increase patient retention is to create an experience-based culture in the practice. This means that everything from check-in to treatment should be designed to make the patient feel comfortable and well-cared for. Train your staff to be patient-focused and kind, and have your front desk staff and medical assistants greet patients with a smile. You can also makes sure that patients feel welcome by making the practice look nice and having a clean and inviting waiting room.
Provide Quick and Efficient Service
Another excellent way to boost patient retention is to make sure that your patients get in, get treated and get out as quickly as possible. Keep your appointments on time, and make sure that you see patients as soon as you can so that they don’t have to wait. You should also consider implementing a patient portal that will allow them to schedule appointments, view their medical records and test results, and communicate with other . This will help you provide quick and efficient service, and will also make your practice more tech-savvy, which will appeal to younger patients.
Excellent Patient Communication Strategies
How you communicate with your patients can also affect whether they stay in your practice or not. Do you regularly send out voicemails, emails and text messages to check up on patients? Communicating with your patients is a great way to make sure that they remember you and stay in your practice, and it can even help you bring back those patients who’ve left in the past. You can also use communication to build trust and rapport with your patients, which will make it harder for them to leave.
Conclusion
Patient retention is essential for the success of any healthcare practice. It’s important to take the time to understand why patients are leaving your practice, as well as to implement strategic changes to keep your patients around. By creating an experience-based culture, providing efficient services, and building trust and rapport through communication, you can take the first steps in boosting patient retention for your practice.