Two Simple Secrets of Ideal Patient Retention

Patient retention is undoubtedly one of the most fundamental aspects to master for achieving success in dentistry. It doesn’t matter how good your clinical skills are or how many new patients you can attract. If you don’t keep your existing patients solidly “in the family,” you are inevitably going to lose traction.

Most practices with a retention issue are going through the motions of a reminder system. They continue to make calls and send out postcards, but they fail to address their retention problem because they aren’t tackling the reasons why patients don’t return.

But imagine if every patient left each appointment knowing exactly when and why they had to return. What if every patient knew the exact cost of their dentistry, the value of the treatment, and they paid for it in full? How many would fail to attend, cancel, or no-show then? How many would fall off the radar and never be seen again?

Ultimately, as with so many issues in the dental practice, it comes down to creating value. Unless you have a strong foundation of value in place where clients fully understand what you do and why, you can’t really begin to address a retention problem. Patient actions are based on their perception of value and it’s up to you and your team to create the right value environment.

With that understanding in mind, there are two simple questions to ask about every patient who comes through the practice on any given day. These are two simple checklist items that keep your practice’s focus pure when it comes to patient retention.

1. Does this patient have a future hygiene appointment?

This should be tracked for each provider in the practice, including doctors. If a doctor treats a patient with no future hygiene appointment, appointing that patient for hygiene is the clinical team’s responsibility. And of course, patients need more than just a date; they need to be appointed with the right value, and with an understanding that an appointment is a confirmation.

2. Is this patient complete for payment?

That doesn’t necessarily mean they have to pay for everything upfront all the time, but secure financial arrangements should always be in place for any treatment that has been agreed upon, for every patient, every day. This performance standard is 100% for a reason. There is absolutely no excuse for any patient to leave uncertain about their financial responsibility. A financial commitment is an emotional commitment; it keeps people coming back.

It’s really that simple. Achieve routine clarity on these two key issues with every patient who is about to walk out the door and you will find that patient retention. This fundamental component of any successful practice will practically take care of itself.

This is one of my favorite topics because we are discussing strategies that can be mastered quickly and have a significant impact on the practice.