6 Patient Retention Strategies for Physical Therapy Practices

Why Patient Retention Matters in Physical Therapy?

While attracting new patients is the goal of any healthcare practice, patient retention might be more important. In fact, you can tell how successful a healthcare practice is by its patient retention rate.

Increasing patient retention by as little as 5% can significantly boost revenue, and have a lasting impact on your practice online reputation.

One of the things potential patients look for in a healthcare provider is patient reviews. Positive reviews can create a sense of trust and build credibility.

Retaining patients takes it a step further. It is an assurance of the fact that your practice takes good care of its patients, which is why they keep coming back.

And this goes beyond free marketing. By retaining patients you are ensuring that your practice is always booked, making it more profitable.

On an average, acquiring new patients is more expensive than retaining existing ones. There is only a 5-20% chance that a new patient will book a follow-up appointment. An existing patient, loyal to your practice, has a 60-70% chance of booking more appointments.

Retaining a patient can be a challenge. About 81% of patients feel unsatisfied with appointments with healthcare providers. This has led to 43% of healthcare organizations losing more than 10% of their revenue due to poor patient retention.

So, if you were wondering why patient retention matters to your physical therapy practice, you are asking the wrong question. What you should be focusing on is how you can improve patient retention to ensure the success of your business.

If that sounds like something you are interested in, here are 6 strategies to help you retain more patients, and foster patient loyalty.

6 Strategies for Improving Patient Retention in Physical Therapy

1. Educate Your Patients on Physical Therapy Educating your patients about the benefits of physical therapy can encourage them to stick to their treatments. A lot of the time patients will discontinue their treatments because they are disappointed with the experience, or they aren’t seeing any progress.
   
   This doesn’t mean that you are not providing the right treatment. Your patients just need more patience, and guidance from you. Teach them the importance of working with a professional physiotherapist, whether it is through videos, journals, or your success stories.
   
   The more your patients feel involved in the process, the more likely they are to continue their therapy sessions with you. Setting clear goals and expectations can also help prepare the patients for what they should expect from the sessions.

2. Provide Easy Appointment Scheduling The surest way to get more bookings is by providing your patients with an easy way to book appointments. This is where tools like DemandHub can help.
   
   DemandHub allows you to schedule appointments online. Both patients and practices can use this tool to easily book appointments. It is also a convenient way to gather patient data and interact with patients leading up to the appointment.
   
   A patient with a busy schedule will appreciate the flexibility of online appointment scheduling. Adding the convenience of two-way communication through SMS or email, encourages patients to choose your practice in the future.
   
   This is because they know they can get a swift response. Adding elements of convenience and flexibility makes your practice stand out from its competition.

3. Provide a Personalised Approach to Treatment As a physical therapist, you know that each and every patient is unique. Their needs are also unique, and so creating a treatment plan that is designed specifically for them is a great way to make your patients feel valued.
   
   The great thing about customized treatment plans is that you can use AI to identify which exercises are best suited to your patient’s performance, lifestyle, and physical endurance. Machine learning algorithms can also be used to indicate where there is a high risk of reinjury, gait abnormalities, and muscle imbalances.
   
   When patients have a better understanding of their treatment, they are more likely to continue their sessions. This is why it is so important to make them feel involved in the process.

4. Use Technology to Enhance Patient Engagement Patient engagement plays an important role in improving patient retention. One way you can improve patient retention is by staying in touch with them between sessions. This is easier to achieve when you have the right technology.
   
   Using a software such as DemandHub allows you to engage with patients at different stages to ensure that your patients feel connected to you. Sending regular updates such as appointment reminders, review requests, or exercise guides shows patients that you are invested in their health.
   
   Reaching out to your patients that have lapsed or have missed an appointment can be reengaged through timely updates and personalized emails. This allows you to increase bookings and encourage existing patients to continue treatment.

5. Encourage Patient Feedback Your existing patients are the best source of data on what is working for your practice and what is not. Asking your patients for their feedback gives you a clear picture of what you need to improve the quality of your services, and build trust.
   
   This can be achieved by sending post-appointment surveys or review invite links. Collecting feedback is much more effective when it’s speedy and hassle-free.
   
   You can always provide incentives and gamify the process to collect patient feedback more regularly. The goal is to make sure patients know that you value their opinions.

6. Make Physical Therapy Convenient and Accessible While it is important for a healthcare practice to attract new patients, sometimes patients can struggle to attend in-person. This could be due to scheduling conflicts, and inaccessibility.
   
   In either case it is important to make your services accessible.
   
   Practices can offer virtual check-ups and therapy sessions to their patients in remote areas. By giving patients the opportunity to move their appointments online, practices can improve patient retention.
   
   In some cases, patients can benefit from Home Exercise Programs (HEP). This usually includes a tailored physical therapy routine, combined with regular follow-ups and adjustments if needed.