Does your chiropractic office have low patient retention? It is time to improve it!
Healthcare practices need to remember their existing patients should not be neglected while they focus on obtaining new ones. Having good patient retention is very important and increasing patient retention is not the same as increasing customer retention elsewhere in companies based on technology, retail, entertainment, or places that try to increase the number of times consumers come back.
As a chiropractic office, the goal is to have the patient come back to your office instead of someplace else when they need your services – not trying to get them to come back as often as possible as this would mean they are getting no improvement from your care; so the way healthcare practices increase patient retention will work much differently from increasing customer retention in businesses who sell a product.
How does a chiropractic office increase patient retention? We have a few suggestions that will help you keep your patients returning to your office when they need your services again instead of them going elsewhere:
- Delivering Excellent Service to Your Patients
While a patient may not remember the entire process of your care, they will remember how they felt. Do you give your patients personal time with you for you to listen to their concerns, needs, and answer their questions appropriately? Or do you often find yourself quickly trying to get through patients that sometimes you run out of time to slow down and make sure they are satisfied?
Digital Patient Chart frees up much of your time by drastically decreasing the number of tasks you and your team need to complete. Many of your daily repetitive tasks can be automated, and now that we have the technology to automate – it is best to take advantage so you can put more focus on the quality of care you give to your patients.
It is not just the chiropractor patients will interact with. Every one of your employees will have an opportunity to serve patients at their best when time allows – and Digital Patient Chart can give everyone in your office that benefit.
A secretary is usually the first person the patient will see, and being greeted and feeling welcome to the office right away will put your patients at ease even when they are going through a stressful time. Many offices that have no automation split various tasks onto each member, and sometimes when a patient’s first impression is an office with members rushing back and forth to get tasks multiple did – the patient can begin to feel the stress.
Remember, automation can lessen stress within the office, give your team more time to spend on attending to patients, and create an everlasting satisfying impression they will remember as they will notice everyone has “slowed down” to give them separate attention.
- Influence Personalization
As stated above, patients will remember you giving them separately, personal attention. Patients deserve to see a chiropractor who cares and does not make them feel like another number. With the amount of time freed up by Digital Patient Chart, you and your team will be able to personalize their entire experience by listening and focusing on their specific needs.
But Digital Patient Chart doesn’t stop there! Each patient in the Digital Patient Chart chiropractic software will be given their own personal profile and patient card. They can access their profile in the comfort of their own home to check up on their progress, payments, appointments, speak to their doctor, and track their referrals. This will make patients feel more a part of the chiropractic office experience, heighten their patient engagement, and build stronger connections with your brand.
- Seek Feedback
Feedback is important from your patients as they will be able to point out if anything is below satisfactory. Use Digital Patient Chart automated emails to check up on your patients from time to time to see how they are doing after a certain number of visits or after each visit depending on their plan. This will not require any extra effort on your part as Digital Patient Chart can send these out automatically for you.
Many patients who are not pleased will most likely take their business elsewhere, without you ever knowing why. If you take the time to find out why they are not pleased, you have a chance of correcting the issue for the future and even regaining back your patient as you take the time to listen and respond.
- Continue to Educate and Inform Patients
Do you have a blog? What about a monthly newsletter? Continually educating and informing your patients about the importance of chiropractic services makes a huge impact. If a patient goes to you for back pain, they might never find out how chiropractic can help their migraines or bodily functions.
Imagine this: a patient walks into the office for back pain and finds relief through your services. Then, the patient finds out about your referral program. This patient may know people who suffer from migraines or tinnitus but only have known your services to be good for back pain because that was all they experienced. So instead of making more referrals to those who have migraines and tinnitus, they only refer those they know who have back pain.
Sending out updates on new blog posts or sending out a monthly newsletter can let patients know what else your chiropractic services may be used for! Teach your patients the importance of chiropractic care and share with them a variety of different testimonials. Digital Patient Chart’s automatic emailing function will help you send out your newsletters and updates automatically. All you have to do is choose the date and time!
- Offer Convenient Options
Making appointments online is very convenient for your patients. Digital Patient Chart’s appointment software connects all devices and updates in real-time. This allows your patients or new patients to schedule appointments online using their desktop or any mobile device!
Digital Patient Chart connects naturally to your website. When a patient goes to your site and makes their appointment, your office will see the new appointment as it is made. Even on days your office is closed, patients can make appointments without having to email and wait for approval or call when you are back open. This gives your office the ability to book 24/7.
In addition to making appointments online, Digital Patient Chart gives patients their own personal portal and grants them the option to fill out necessary forms ahead of time.
These suggestions are proven to heighten the patient experience and make an everlasting impression. It is important to show your existing patients as much care as new ones and using the above suggestions will highly work in improving your patient retention.