Patient Reactivation Tips and Best Practices for Practices

What is Patient Reactivation?

Patient reactivation is the process of re-engaging a patient that may have lapsed, needs follow-up care, or has overdue treatments.

Why do healthcare practices need patient reactivation?

Patient reactivation is important because one-third of patients who have started a treatment will not return for a second visit. There are many reasons for this.

In some cases the patient lacks motivation to continue follow-up treatments, while in other cases it is fatigue or side effects from the treatment, as well as relapses.

Non-adherence to treatments can worsen the patient’s condition, leading to negative health outcomes. In contrast, engaged patients are less likely to come in for emergencies, as well as less likely to be readmitted once they have been discharged.

Patient reactivation can also be beneficial for healthcare organizations as it reduces hospital utilization costs, while also increasing the efficacy of their treatment plans. While staying in touch with patients is important, practices can still make a difference by reaching out to lapsed patients.

Simply put, when practices reconnect with their patients, they can educate patients on the benefits of the treatment plans, protect them from the adverse effects of discontinuing treatment, and help them achieve better health outcomes.

What is the Difference Between Patient Recall and Reactivation?

Patient recall and patient reactivation are both strategies used to enhance patient engagement for the growth of your healthcare practice.

Patient recall refers to the practice of reaching out to patients regarding follow-ups or preventive care. Patient reactivation is focused on re-engaging patients that may have lapsed either by missing or delaying their appointment.

In either case, practices reach out to patients and encourage them to continue treatment through email, text or phone calls.

Patient recall tends to be more proactive and can be achieved by scheduling routine reminders to address a patient’s inactivity. Patient reactivation, however, is focused on past patients and patients that have lapsed due to lack of engagement, usually through personalised outreach and incentives.

An example of patient recall can be calling a patient to schedule a routine dental cleaning or an annual physical exam. These appointments help patients maintain their health and are usually sent as reminders.

An example of patient reactivation is reaching out to a patient after they have missed an appointment and asking them if they would like to reschedule. In some cases, practices can offer special discounts to encourage patients to book an appointment, or to welcome them back when they do so.

What are the Benefits of Patient Reactivation?

Here are some of the benefits of implementing a patient reactivation strategy for your healthcare practice.

Increased Patient Retention

One of the benefits of patient reactivation is an improvement in building long-term;patient relationships with patients. When patients choose to stay with a healthcare provider long-term, it suggests that they are receiving quality care and this makes the practice stand out from its competitors.

Improved Health Outcomes

When patients show up to their routine check-ups they can benefit from continuity of care. This includes early detection of health issues and preventive treatment, which ensures better health outcomes for patients.

Boost Practice Revenue

Practices can also benefit from patient reactivation because returning patients ensure a stable source of revenue. Patient reactivation also increases the patient retention rate which lowers the practice’s spending on patient acquisition, making it highly cost-effective in the long run.

Enhanced Patient Engagement

Patient engagement is essential for building lasting relationships with patients. It allows healthcare providers to reduce no-shows and increase adherence to treatment plans. Patient reactivation requires engagement to ensure that patients that may have lapsed can be brought back in for continued care.

Patient reactivation is also a great way to proactively manage a patient’s concerns. This enhances patient satisfaction, strengthening the patient-practice relationship in the process.

Top 3 Effective Patient Reactivation Strategies

Here are some effective reactivation strategies that you can use to maintain your relationship with patients and encourage them to continue treatments.

Personalised Outreach

It is very important to reach out to patients and let them know that you value them. Whether it through text, email or phone calls, reaching out to patients and reminding them to book a follow-up is an effective reactivation strategy.

Start by addressing the patient by their name. This creates a personal connection. Next, you reference their last appointment and the treatment prescribed to them. This is a great time to remind the patient that they can easily book a follow-up appointment.

Here’s an example:

Offer an Incentive

It is very important to encourage your patient to book follow up appointments, especially in the case of lapsed patients. This is because you want to ensure the patient doesn’t go to your competitor for healthcare services.

Incentives can be in the form of discounts, and complimentary services. For example offering dermatology patients free skin analysis, or offering a flu shot for a discounted price.

The goal is to make your patient feel valued and appreciate them for re-engaging with your practice.

Automated Reminders

Automating patient re-activation through scheduled reminders is the best way to ensure that patients receive follow–up reminders, and re-engagement emails at appropriate times. Automated appointment reminders allow you to enhance engagement without increasing your practice’s administrative workload.

How DemandHub Helps with Patient Reactivation

DemandHub is a practice management software that helps you to notify patients about their appointments with automated appointment reminders. It offers easy scheduling options to ensure that you can reconnect with inactive patients and improve your patient retention rates.

DemandHub is a HIPAA-compliant software that streamlines patient reactivation and enhances overall patient satisfaction.

Book a demo today to learn more about DemandHub.