5 Strategies for Improving Patient Retention in Dentistry: How Outsourcing Dental Billing Can Help
No matter the number of new patients you attract, the simple truth is that your office will not grow if you don’t retain those patients. Retaining patients not only helps you build a loyal patient base, but it also has a direct impact on your revenue. That’s why keeping patients happy and satisfied with your services should be one of your top priorities. The bottom line is that you need to ensure patients have such a stellar experience at your practice that they keep coming back to you instead of a competitor down the road. Let’s discuss some practical tips to help you improve patient satisfaction and, ultimately, your patient retention rate.
Patient Retention Definition
Patient retention refers to the ability to keep your existing patients coming back for regular dental check-ups and treatments. The opposite of retention is patient churn. Churn happens when patients leave your practice for various reasons such as dissatisfaction, high costs, or poor customer service. Patient retention is essential because it helps you build a loyal patient base that refers their friends and family to your practice, thereby increasing your revenue and helping you grow your practice.
Improving Retention Levels Through Patient-centered Care
Improving patient satisfaction is crucial to retaining patients. It’s simple: patients who are satisfied with your services are more likely to come back for future appointments and recommend your practice to others. That being said, how can you increase your patients’ satisfaction levels?
1. Provide Excellent Customer Service
The first step to improving patient satisfaction is to provide excellent customer service. This might sound like a no-brainer, but many offices struggle with this! At a bare minimum, you must make sure your staff is friendly, welcoming, and knowledgeable. Also be sure to respond to patient queries and concerns promptly. If you want to take things to the next level, you might consider adding bonus features to the dental experience at your office. For example, you can offer patients a warm hand towel, use calming essential oils, or give out high-end snacks at the end of the visit. Providing levels of customer service that set you apart from your competitors is key to retaining more patients.
2. Create a Welcoming Environment
Patients are more likely to return to a practice that feels welcoming and comfortable. No one wants to visit a dark and dreary office! Your office should have a pleasant ambiance with comfortable seating, clean facilities, and a relaxing atmosphere. You can make your dental office environment more welcoming by hanging pictures of friendly faces, painting the walls in warm tones, and adding plants to your decor.
3. Offer Flexible Payment Options
Patients appreciate flexibility when it comes to paying for dental treatments. Offer multiple payment options, such as credit card payments, financing options, and insurance billing. If you don’t already, you can join a PPO network to attract patients with PPO plans. Offering flexible options enables patients to pay for their treatments in the way that works best for them. This reduces the likelihood of patient churn due to high costs.
4. Use Patient Feedback to Improve Services
Want to know the best way to know how you are doing through the eyes of patients? Ask them! Patient feedback is the best way to get customized advice for how you can improve. At the end of each appointment, encourage patients to leave feedback. You might do this by providing a business card with a QR code to scan and leave you a Google review. Or you could ask them to fill out an anonymous survey to rate their experience on a scale from 1-5 with a comment box for notes. Once you receive their feedback, use it to improve your services. This shows patients that you value their opinions and are committed to providing the best possible care.
5. Outsource Dental Insurance Billing
One of the best-kept secrets to improving patient satisfaction is to outsource your dental insurance billing. Here’s why: the average office manager spends 4-6 hours per day on the phone with insurance companies. That’s 4-6 hours that could be spent welcoming patients, collecting feedback, and implementing strategies to create a better patient experience. If your office manager is stuck on the phone with insurance companies, they aren’t focusing on your patients. In addition to freeing up time for your staff, outsourcing dental billing improves patient satisfaction in other ways. It can reduce errors and payment delays that lead to patient dissatisfaction. This reduces the likelihood of billing disputes and, ultimately, patient churn. Schedule a no obligation consultation for eAssist’s dental billing services today by clicking here.
Conclusion
Improving patient retention through satisfaction is crucial for the success of your dental practice. Providing excellent customer service, creating a welcoming environment, offering flexible payment options, using patient feedback to improve services, and outsourcing your dental insurance billing are some ways to achieve this. By implementing these strategies, you can build a loyal patient base, increase revenue, and grow your practice.
Interested in learning more about patient retention? Check out this blog post.
