Patient Experience Improves Patient Retention

When it comes to choosing healthcare providers, patients have more choices now than they ever have. Because of this growing competition for patients, many clinics are looking for ways to increase patient satisfaction, patient experience and patient retention. With good reason. According to research, just a 5% increase in retention can increase profits by more than 25%. And it is no secret that it costs less (much, much less) to retain patients than to gain new patients. Any money spent to retain patients generally ends up generating more money than was even spent and ends up profitable in the long run. 

Reputation

The impact of patient experience is exponentially larger now than ever because of the internet. Word of mouth advertising has always been an important part of the success of a clinic, and now that everyone is so closely connected through social media, “word of mouth” now means sharing with hundreds and thousands of people rather than 5-10. The online reputation of any business is so valuable that billions (with a B) are now being spent every year for online reputation management. Currently, more than 92% of patients are looking for advice from family and friends (mostly through social media) on who to see for their healthcare services. It is clear to see why a clinic’s online reputation is so valuable. 

The Correlation

The Beryl Institute has a great definition for Patient Experience: “The sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care”. Patient experience is so powerful, that it almost completely determines patient retention. When it comes to people leaving a business, research by J.D. Power and Associates shows us this:
8% of those people find another business because of price.
9% of those people find another business because of uncontrollable circumstance (such as if they moved away, or their insurance now doesn’t cover their services at your clinic).
81% of those people find another business because of poor customer service.

Statistically speaking, if a patient leaves a clinic it is most probably because of poor customer service. 

Improving Retention

Really, a clinic doesn’t improve their patient retention. Instead, improving retention is more of a side effect of improving patient experience. A clinic’s focus therefore should be on enhancing patient experience and increasing patient satisfaction overall. Truly, healthcare clinics should really be doing their best to care for their patients anyway, but this also has a major impact on the revenue of a clinic, which is another reason clinics should look for ways to improve patient experience.

If a 5% increase in retention can increase profits by more that 25%, imagine if a clinic has a 5% loss in retention. Or 10, 15 or 20% loss in retention.

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What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make

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