To have a successful practice you must have patients. The more you offer a well-rounded and good service to these patients the better your recommendations and ability to get more patients. The problem however is how to hang on to your existing patients. Patient recommendations to your new potential patients help grow your practice.
Achieving good patient retention takes planning and strategic execution. This article gives you some simple tips on retaining your patients and ensuring your practice rises to the top of the recommendation list.
Get to know your patients.
We know, with your hectic schedule that sounds like an impossible task. Create a filing system with a section dedicated to a patient’s issues, anxieties, and concerns. This will make a patient feel appreciated and even calm them before a procedure. With the personal knowledge of a patient, the dentist will appear as a friend and not a robotic professional.
Communicate in a way your patient understands
Again this is more work than usual but we guarantee you the results will make it all worth it. As you meet and know your patients you will learn that some require more attention than others. This means as a dentist you need to train your team on how to handle these exceptional patients. If a person is of a nervous disposition then maybe a one-on-one with the dentist is recommended to calm them down before a procedure. This kind of specified communication is key to making sure you retain that patient and get a great review for many more to come.
Introduce flexible payment plans
Billing and collections are vital for the survival of your practice. How do you improve your collections and retain your patients? Introduce payment methods that are flexible for patients and financially beneficial to your practice. This makes it easier for patients to come in for treatments knowing there are several ways to sort out their bills.
Improve your front desk.
Your front desk is where everyone gets the longest-lasting impression of your practice. This means you and your team need to make this impression a good one always. Invest in proper front desk training and make sure that there is never a time that a person walks into your practice and finds it empty. Front desk management goes beyond being physically present to attend to your patients. Handling phone calls and call-on-hold times play a greater part in the impression your patient will have of you.
Be on time
Time is an important thing to both dentist and the patient. Keeping a well-structured patient schedule will help you with patient retention. If you plan your day accordingly your patients will feel prioritized. Emergencies happen and if your time management is good patients will turn to you for all their oral care issues.
Get help
The thought of extra help frightens many practice owners as this usually means spending money. What if we told you there was a way to get a well-rounded virtual team member at a fraction of your current employment cost? Outsourcing your practice processes ensures that you get a professional handling your tasks at a cheaper cost while improving your productivity.
Patient retention simplified
Patient retention has many positive ripple effects on your practice. Dental practices can save a lot in expenses if they have a loyal patient base and a good referral system in place. Patient retention offers something money cannot buy, that is an honest opinion of your practice.
Conclusion
A good reputation can never be emphasized enough. To have a well-running practice you need to make sure you have patients that can vouch for you and make you a recommendation of choice to all they know.
SupportDDS is a leading Texas-based in-sourcing company that provides virtual assistants and administrative support for dental practices. Moreover, we offer both short and long-term virtual outsourcing services customized to suit your business process needs.
