There’s always room for growth, improvement, and bigger return on investment within your practice. And while providing quality treatment is very important, it’s not quite enough. What’s more essential to your practice management is that you have a keen understanding of what your patients want.
Here are 10 ways you can look at your medical practice from your patient’s perspective, allowing you to give them the experience they’re truly looking for.
1. Perfect your appearance.
When we stop paying attention to the details, we lose sight of what forms our patients’ first impressions. Does the exterior of your clinic seem inviting? Take a look at your office with a fresh eye. An innocent crack or a greasy spot on the wall will give any office a messy look, but in a medical practice, it can create a wrong impression about the quality of provided care. Create the right atmosphere with pleasant music, reading material, and a comfortable waiting area (a younger crowd will appreciate free guest Wi-Fi).
If you choose to set up guest Wi-Fi, just make sure it’s secure. You can do it yourself by looking up how it’s done online (for instance, see How to Enable a Guest Access Point on Your Wireless Network post on How-To Geek). However, we recommend having an IT professional do it for you – as it’s more reliable and secure.
2. Demonstrate your expertise.
Put your practice on the map by publishing articles in a local newspaper or journal. Starting a blog on your website (say, on how to stay healthy) is another way to establish yourself as an authority, which is just one more way to attract new patients.
3. Give back.
Create a positive image for your medical practice by engaging in charitable events and sponsoring health awareness foundations. As humans, we want to be associated with organizations that do good and give back to the community. By choosing your practice, patients will feel as though they are giving back as well.
4. Make your website user-friendly.
Since many patients look for service providers online, it is crucial for a medical practice to be visible to potential and existing patients. According to statista.com, more than 50% of searches on the internet come from mobile devices. Is your website mobile-friendly? Without a mobile version of your website, a good portion of potential patients can be lost in a struggle of browsing on their smartphone.
It’s also a bonus that Google favors mobile-friendly sites! Learn how to transform your website into a marketing tool on our blog.
5. Encourage online reviews.
A positive review is one of the most effective ways to grow your practice. Offering a discount on their next visit in exchange for feedback will encourage patients to share a review – and a follow-up email is a great way to communicate this.
6. Be friendly, professional, and compassionate.
Do not underestimate the power of a phone call. In many cases, it is the first interaction between the clinic and the patient (and a significant number of potential patients can be lost due to poor customer service on the phone). Friendly manners and phone etiquette are essential for the front desk staff – learn how to find the perfect candidate for the Office Admin position on our blog.
Keep in mind that while you and your team are used to the daily routine in the clinic, patients are not. It is important for them to feel welcomed and understood. Does your staff possess enough time to effectively assist a patient and demonstrate their knowledge – all while answering their questions without getting overwhelmed with the volume of work?
According to the Four Tips To Grow Your Medical Practice article posted on Forbes, keeping your employees happy will boost their productivity by 12%. Also, coaching your team can make a significant increase of return on investment. Take a look at how your entire practice can benefit from Universal Scheduling.
7. Offer discounts on slow days.
Do you have a specific day that is always slow? Offer special rates for your services that are hard to resist. Use “happy hour” deals for specific services at specific hours to drive more patients.
8. Keep medical billing and collections up-to-date.
Whether it’s an EHC or MVA invoice, submit your billing on time. This keeps your revenue from sitting in someone else’s account.
Looking to improve your billing and collections processes? Check out the 3 Strategies to Speed Up Collections & Improve Cash-Flow for MVA Files and How to Keep Financial Health in Check.
9. Send follow-ups and birthday specials.
Show your patients that you care for them by offering special discounts on their birthday and by following up on their care. Take a look at an example of a follow-up email in our blog post Plan to Engage Your New Patients with Follow-up Emails.
10. Collect referral information.
Ask your patients how they heard about your clinic. Add and manage referrals in patient case files to keep track of them, then pull up referral reports and review the statistics.
You have several different types of referral reports available in Universal’s Online Template Library, and it’s important to know what referral avenues work best for you.
Don’t forget that the holidays are a great opportunity to grow your practice! Read Grow Your Practice over the Holidays with These Easy Tips on our blog for some seasonal tips!
Analyzing and improving your practice is a tedious, but rewarding, process. The key is to address one issue at a time. The assistance of a rehab clinic advisor is another great way to benefit your clinic.
What do you do to grow your practice?
