| Patient Loyalty | | | | diagnoses (ICD) codes. |
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| Patient loyalty is key to continued practice | | | | - Patients with chronic conditions or |
| success in terms of both recurring and new | | | | permanent injuries need literature about |
| revenue. As patients keep returning to your | | | | recent progress in treating their conditions |
| practice, it maintains revenue stability and | | | | |
| as patients refer their friends and family, | | | | - Patients that have had a long series of |
| your practice billing collections grow. In | | | | appointments need progress reports |
| terms of profitability, new patient | | | | |
| acquisition is by an order of magnitude more | | | | - Patients that receive good progress reports |
| expensive than loyalty maintenance for an | | | | need to be solicited for referrals |
| existing patient. | | | | |
| | | | - Patients with bad progress reports need |
| Time delay is a major problem of eroding | | | | special literature and special appointments |
| patient loyalty. By the time you discover | | | | |
| that you have a patient loyalty problem, it | | | | - Patients waiting in reception area need |
| is typically too late to do anything about | | | | access to custom information about their |
| the patients who already left. Patients | | | | specific condition. |
| typical desert without saying "good bye," and | | | | |
| your only way to discover patient attrition | | | | To generate such lists of patients, your |
| is by observing lower collections and more | | | | systems must combine scheduling, medical |
| free time on your appointment scheduler. | | | | notes, and billing data in a single database. |
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| Frequent patient communication is the only | | | | Patient Communications Venue |
| effective way to reduce such time delay and | | | | |
| increase the likelihood of timely loyalty | | | | While traditional phone and conventional mail |
| problem identification and resolution. Such | | | | systems are still in use, Internet is the |
| patient communications can revolve around any | | | | most obvious choice for communicating with |
| of the practice management components, | | | | patients. A custom, HIPAA-compliant patient |
| starting with patient scheduling, to SOAP | | | | portal is the least expensive way to allow |
| notes, to special health care literature, to | | | | your patients interact with their doctor |
| medical billing, insurance payments, copays, | | | | outside the clinic at their convenience and |
| and deductibles. | | | | privacy. Patients can |
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| Patient Identification for Targeted | | | | - Review reminders and schedule appointments. |
| Communications | | | | |
| | | | - Review visit results. |
| It's convenient to view targeted | | | | |
| communications from the patient visit | | | | - Ask you clarifying questions. |
| perspective: | | | | |
| | | | - Request prescriptions. |
| - Patients due for scheduled appointment or | | | | |
| owe you payments need a reminder. | | | | - Read special literature and progress |
| | | | reports you sent them. |
| - Patients that recently had an appointment | | | | |
| need results, interpretation, prescriptions, | | | | - Send you referrals. |
| and follow up. | | | | |
| | | | - Review medical bills and pay invoices |
| - Patients with prescriptions that are about | | | | |
| to expire may need to schedule a visit | | | | - Track their medical costs |
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| - Patients that have not had an appointment | | | | Active patient loyalty management based on |
| for long time need a reminder to schedule a | | | | selective patient identification for targeted |
| checkup. A screening procedure schedule | | | | communications at the patient's convenience |
| should be generated using specific | | | | is one of the most effective way to improve |
| combinations of procedures (CPT) and | | | | practice profitability. |