I started my practice from scratch about five years ago. Right now, I have two days of hygiene per week and I want to build this to four days. I also want to increase my new patients. I used to get about 18-20 new patients a month, that’s dropped to about 14. Thankfully, I don’t think I’m losing my existing patients. But how do I know? I’m starting to worry. Midwest DMD
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Dear Midwest DMD.
First, I have some news that may be a little shocking. But I want you to realize that the first step in addressing a problem is recognizing that one exists. That being said, it looks like your practice is retaining only about 32% of your existing patient base. Here’s how I came to that number: With 2 days a week of hygiene at eight patients a day working 48 weeks a year that comes to 768 appointments. Assuming each patient has two appointments a year that equals 384 patients. I then took 20 new patients a month and multiplied that by five years. That should equal 1200 patients x 2 visits would be 2400 appointments. That brings me to your estimated patient retention of 32%. If you retained just 50% of those patients, you would have 600 patients and not 384.
Don’t panic. You are early in your career and open to looking at what isn’t working so that you can fix it. It is not uncommon for dentists in the start-up years to find that patients are coming in the front door and slipping out the back. The key is to lock the back door. There are literally a multitude of steps you can take to address this. I can’t cover them all here, but I recommend you start by looking at the five critical factors that directly affect patient attrition: service, reliability, stability, expertise, and price. Excellent service begins with the first phone call and continues with every interaction thereafter. Something as simple as welcoming all patients – new and existing – to the practice by name when they walk in the door conveys a sense of appreciation and good service. Look patients in the eye when you speak to them and when they speak to you. This tells them you are genuinely interested in what they have to say and you are sincere in what you have to tell them.
#2 Reliability – If the patient has to wait for more than 20 minutes, give them a letter signed by the doctor that apologizes for the inconvenience, thanks them for their understanding, and include a $5 gift card to a Starbucks or a similar gift in the envelope.
#3 Stability –If you’re losing staff regularly, seek outside help to find out why and address the problems. This is not only costing you patients, staff turnover is a huge drain on revenue.
#4 Expertise – Brag about each other. Take every opportunity to convey the message of excellence and quality. If a patient asks a team member if the doctor is good at a particular procedure, answer with an emphatic “Yes! She/he is the best.”
#5 Price – Make it easy for patients to accept treatment and pay for that treatment. Provide clear financing options that are both practice friendly and patient friendly. Partner with a patient financing company, such as CareCredit. These firms provide excellent financing options that benefit both doctor and patient.