3 reasons you're losing patients

If you're like most dentists, you probably spend far too much time focusing on attracting new patients to your practice, when you should be doing everything you can to keep the patients you already have.

Now don't get me wrong -- bringing new patients through the front door is vital to your practice's success, but those patients won't do you much good if they never come back. If you want to achieve practice profitability and reach your full potential, you have to focus on patient retention.

Sally McKenzie, CEO of McKenzie Management.

Not convinced? Let's look at some numbers. A recent McKenzie Management survey of dental practices in business for an average of 22 years revealed a patient retention ratio of 31%. That means for every 10 new patients who come to your office, at least seven will never return. So if you have 1,000 patient records on file, you have a mere 300 active patients.

While those numbers are a little disheartening, they represent a huge opportunity for growth. Imagine if you could raise patient retention numbers to 95% or even 85%. You'd be the proud owner of the successful, profitable practice you've always dreamed of.

Before you can improve your patient retention numbers, you have to understand why patients aren't coming back. Here are three reasons patients decide your practice isn't for them, and what you can do to change their mind.

You don't take patient concerns seriously.

When a patient takes the time to tell you or a team member he's unhappy about something happening in your practice, you better listen. Sure, it's easier to ignore negative patient comments and even blame the patient ("Mrs. Wilson sure was cranky today"), but that type of attitude certainly won't help you improve your practice. It will, however, send patients running to the dentist down the street.

If one patient didn't like the way he was treated when he called to schedule an appointment, or is upset because he had to wait more than 30 minutes to see the doctor, chances are other patients have experienced the same problems -- they just didn't bother to tell you.

The patient who did express his concerns is likely a loyal patient. You know, the kind who keeps appointments, schedules treatment, and pays on time. If you dismiss this patient's concerns, he just might decide to take his loyalty elsewhere.

The fact is, patients leave for many reasons. Maybe it's simply because they didn't like your parking lot, or they decided your fees were too high. Whatever the reason, patients don't usually tell you why they decided to move on, so you really should view any kind of patient feedback as a gift. And if you see negative feedback as an opportunity to make positive change in your practice, you'll find more patients will want to stick around.

You don't develop patient relationships.

Over the years, I've met many dentists who just don't understand the value of building patient relationships. They think their dentistry should speak for itself and would rather get lost in their work than take the time to get to know their patients.

The problem is that patients are far less likely to come back if they don't feel a connection with your practice. I've seen it happen. I've walked into struggling practices where the doctor performs superior dentistry, yet patient retention rates are as low as 20%. And it's almost always because they're not committed to building patient relationships.

If you want loyal patients, you can't rely on small talk. During each visit, take time to chat with your patients: Don't just rush in and out. Get to know them and their families. Find out what kind of work they do. Ask about their dental health goals. Encourage your staff to do the same. Not only will patients enjoy coming to their appointments more, they'll trust your recommendations and be more likely to accept treatment.

Building strong personal patient relationships requires effort, but the return on investment is huge. These happy patients will remain loyal, and they will likely tell friends and family how much they love their dentist.

You make changes without considering your patients.

Any time you implement changes in your practice's systems or procedures, you have to look at how those changes will affect your patients, not just what they'll do for you and your team.

While your team might love the idea of implementing an automated phone system to eliminate interruptions, your patients will likely hate it. When patients call, they want to talk to a real person, not leave a message and wait by the phone. And while the thought of reducing evening hours might be pretty attractive to you, patients who can only come after work won't appreciate the new schedule.

Before you make any major practice adjustments, try to get patient feedback. At the very least, look at it from a patient's perspective. If the change means inconveniencing your patients or a reduction in the level of service you offer, you might want to reconsider.

Patient retention is vital to your practice's success. Patients leave for many reasons, but if you avoid these common pitfalls, your patients won't even think about looking for a new dental home.

Sally McKenzie is CEO of McKenzie Management, which offers educational and management products available at www.mckenziemgmt.com. Contact her directly at 877-777-6151 or at [email protected].