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If your chiropractic office is struggling to find patients, the first step is identifying common reasons why patients don't return to your clinic. Once you've uncovered your guests' pain points, it's time to learn how to increase long-term patient retention in a chiropractic practice. Creating a safe, comfortable environment is key to getting your guests to come back, leading to more five-star reviews and a healthy, pain-free community.
Why is Patient Retention Important?
Patient retention is essential for running a chiropractic office. If most of your guests visit once and never return, you'll eventually run out of patients in the area, forcing you to seek business elsewhere. You'll also lose many patients to competing offices with better reviews and a friendlier, more welcoming vibe.
Skipping appointments is also bad for your guests. Many chiropractic patients require long-term care with regular checkups and adjustments to their treatment plan. If they don't feel comfortable returning to your office, they'll miss out on potentially life-changing care that could help them live without pain.
Fortunately, any office can improve patient retention by optimizing its workflow and fostering a positive environment for guests. As you learn how to increase long-term patient retention in a chiropractic practice, you'll also find ways to make your job easier and help your office provide the best possible service.
How to Keep Your Patients Coming Back
Schedule Appointments Before They Leave
Many people will simply forget about their follow-up appointments if they don't schedule one right away. Luckily, you can make their lives easier by guiding them to the front desk and asking the secretary to set up another booking. Your office will give them a card with the date and time of their next appointment. With this level of care, they're more likely to come back and recommend your practice to their loved ones.
Make Scheduling a Breeze
Sometimes, patients can't schedule an appointment at your office. They might need to check their schedule at home or talk to their spouse before setting anything up. This is fine until they get home, try to call your office--and realize that you're closed for the weekend. Some people will wait, but others will start calling your competitors, especially if they're experiencing pain.
To avoid this situation, you can make scheduling easy by letting your guests set up appointments online. Professional software makes this process completely independent: they'll log in at any time of day, choose an opening, get an automatic reminder, and arrive at the scheduled time. Your office will review the schedule to avoid any double bookings.
If you're not comfortable with patients scheduling their own appointments, you could invest in a messaging service that responds to your callers 24/7, even after you've closed the office for the day. When a patient reaches out, they'll receive an automatic text that continues the conversation and invites them to call back in the morning. This still requires some effort on the caller's end, but the instant message gives them a sense of acknowledgment.
Install a Chatbot
Most tech-savvy patients will check your website before calling. When you install a chatbot on your website, the bot can immediately greet visitors by inviting them to schedule an appointment, helping you increase patient retention and providing the answers they seek. The user may ask more questions, get your contact information, or schedule an appointment right through the platform.
Traditional chatbots have a limited set of responses. If you're particularly worried about people misusing the bot, some platforms invite users to choose from a selection of pre-written questions. Others give visitors more freedom by allowing them to type their own questions. Whatever the case, the bot pulls information from your website or database to help your visitors as quickly as possible.
For a more personal touch, AI-powered chatbots write personalized responses tailored to each user's individual needs. This gives the bot more flexibility and makes users feel like they're talking to a real person. However, this also inspires people to try to trick the bot into defying its programming or making a controversial statement, which may reflect badly on your practice.
You could also work with a chatbot company that uses a combination of technology and real human agents. The human employees work for the platform, so you won't have to add new people to your team. Depending on the setup, you can have human agents available 24/7, allow them to work during office hours, and then let the chatbot take over in the evening.
Gather Contact Information
In today's world, everyone has different communication preferences. Some patients prefer letters and phone calls, while others would choose emails and texts. If you rely on a communication method that a patient doesn't use, they might never see your message, making it impossible for you to follow up.
When you're greeting a patient for the first time, ask them to list their phone number, email address, home address, and other contact information, then let them choose their preferred communication method. This reduces the risk of missing the message, and they'll appreciate that you took the time to respect their preferences. Make sure you have at least two ways to reach out in case of emergencies.
Send Appointment Reminders
Your job doesn't end once you've scheduled a follow-up visit. Some people will forget about their next appointment even if they write it on their calendar. Luckily, it only takes a few minutes for your office to reach out and remind patients about their upcoming visits.
A simple, professional message, such as "Hi, I'm calling to remind you about your appointment tomorrow at three o'clock," is all it takes to increase patient retention. You'll reach out to patients who might have forgotten about you and show that you're committed to continuing their treatment plan. Plus, you can easily customize your message to suit texts, emails, or phone calls.
Stay in Touch
Communication doesn't have to end after the patient leaves the office. In fact, you can stay in touch with your patients in the weeks between appointments to keep them on track, let them know that you're thinking about them, and encourage them to come back for their next appointment.
Common ways to keep the conversation going include:
- Celebrating their milestones
- Sending birthday and holiday greetings
- Publishing a monthly newsletter with tips, news, and updates
- Checking in when they've been gone for a while
- Sending personalized wellness advice
- Letting them know about events and workshops you're attending
To keep a professional distance, make sure you're using your work email or phone number. Avoid sharing your personal contact information or discussing life updates; instead, focus on professional topics that position you as an authority figure. You'll enhance your reputation and become a valued member of your community.
Provide Different Payment Options
Occasionally, you'll have patients who want to continue their care but aren't sure they can afford it. You can encourage patient retention by accepting multiple insurance plans and having your office verify each policy before treatment begins. As a result, your patients will keep coming back and focus on their goals without worrying about surprise bills.
For people who prefer to pay online, make sure payment options are easy to find on your website. You could also send an invoice to their email address. Whatever the case, find a reputable platform that processes payments in a secure, encrypted environment. Otherwise, your patients might hesitate to pay for treatment online.
Create a Positive Environment
If you've ever worked in a tense environment, you know that people can pick up on the atmosphere as soon as they walk through the door. This applies to your patients as well as your employees. A warm, welcoming office encourages them to come back, while a cold, intimidating office makes them want to call another office.
This makes it important to maintain a clean, spacious lobby with bright lighting and friendly staff. Some patients may have anxiety about their appointments, and a welcoming secretary could instantly put them at ease. You'll also need to promote a positive work environment that encourages your employees to help your guests rather than treating them as a nuisance.
Try asking your staff what they need to make their workspace feel inviting and relaxing. Celebrate their accomplishments with them, and let them know that you appreciate their efforts with the occasional gift or kind words. With their assistance, a difficult appointment could become a valuable learning experience for a guest.
Request Feedback
Your patients know what they want better than anyone, and requesting feedback is another way to stay in touch after they leave your office. Periodically, send your patients a survey that invites them to share their thoughts anonymously. This encourages them to be honest and bring up issues that they might not be comfortable discussing in person.
Most people won't spend more than five or ten minutes on the survey, so stick to a few multiple-choice questions and one or two open-ended responses. Make sure you thank your patients for their time and let them know that you truly appreciate their feedback. To get more responses, try offering an incentive at the end, such as a coupon code for a local store or restaurant.
Discuss Your Treatment Plans
Once you've greeted a patient and learned more about their challenges, take time to develop a detailed treatment plan with clear goals, exercises, and check-in dates. This turns a vague concept into a concrete journey, encouraging your patients to keep coming back and stay on top of their progress.
While you're at it, set clear goals and expectations for your patients at each appointment. When they know exactly what to do, your guests will feel motivated to take care of themselves and complete their recommended exercises at home, even when nobody else is watching. As a result, you'll see increased patient satisfaction and maintain a busy, productive schedule.
Upgrade Your Communication System
Strengthening your communication system is an important part of learning how to increase long-term patient retention in a chiropractic practice. When patients can reach you through a variety of channels, you'll avoid missed calls and reach more people than ever before.
PrimeVox offers a wide range of modern medical communication solutions, including voice transcriptions, instant call routing, automatic texts, streamlined handoffs, and after-hours responses. With encryption and multiple data centers, our software is fully HIPAA-compliant and safe for every patient to use. Plus, we offer 24/7 support so that you're never alone when an emergency strikes.
Contact PrimeVox today to learn more about our solutions for chiropractic offices. We look forward to serving you.
