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In my last post I talked about the Top 7 reasons Patients are leaving your Dental Practice.  Today I am going to tell you what you can do about it!  How do you stop patients from leaving?  First you need to be aware there is a problem.

Are you reviewing patient transfer requests before their records are being sent out? If not, that is the first system you need to put into place.  You can develop a simple form to be completed when a patient requests their records be transferred.  Once this form is completed, the patient’s charts should be placed in your “chart review” area so that you can address the issues appropriately.  For more information you can read the “7 Reasons” post.

Today I’ll tell you how to stop that transfer form from ever being requested!  The key is to develop your relationships with your patients BEFORE it gets to this point.  Here are 13 things you can implement to help you keep those patients in your practice, and better yet, have them referring their friends and family to you!

• Create a survey that you can have your patients fill out while they are waiting to be seen.  You can also send this out by email, or put them in your monthly statements and offer to enter their name in a drawing for a free Oral B toothbrush or something similar if they send the survey back.  An easy way to do this is by using an online service – http://www.surveymonkey.com/ .  This is a FREE service that will actually tabulate your results for you.

• Use a patient “memory jogger” form in your patients chart.  I recommend using a different colored paper so that you can associate it with that form.  In our office we call it the “Blue Sheet” – isn’t that original?  Everyone knows what the “Blue Sheet” is so when the Dr. says “make sure that gets on the blue sheet” we know exactly what he is talking about.  You can name it anything you like, but it contains information that is important to that particular patient.   Events like having a new baby, is a new grandmother, friends with Mary Smith, referred by Cindy Lou Who, Going on a cruise for 5th Wedding Anniversary – you catch my drift.  It is a memory jogger.Let’s face it, you see hundreds of patients a month and you can’t remember every detail about them, but if you could, wouldn’t that just blow your patients away?  Just think about this for a minute.  What if you went to see your physician, and he/she said to you “Mary, how was your cruise?  Didn’t you say the last time you were in that your and your husband were going on a cruise to celebrate your anniversary?”  Wow wouldn’t you be impressed that he remembered?

• Everyone in the office can use this – Doctor, Hygienist, Assistant.  It is a great way to make that connection.  To develop your relationship, to show you care.  The memory jogger should be maintained by everyone in the office that discovers anything new about that patient.  Make sure that each entry is dated.  This is so simple and easy to implement and the benefits are huge. This one simple system could revolutionize your entire practice. Truly.

• Develop a “Care to Share” program. This is an internal referral development tool that can become an excellent source of referrals.  It is a brilliant way to reward your current patients for referring their friends and family as well as the patient they have referred.  It encourages them to refer as they get credit for referring people and so do their “referrals”.  For more information on the “Care to Share” program you can read about it HERE.

• Send a personal note to an existing patient when they refer someone to your practice.  It just takes a minute to do, and the recognition will often encourage them to keep referring their friends and family. Consider including something simple in the card, like a $10 Starbucks gift card – people will remember that and they’ll think of you with each latte they drink.

• If your patient has just completed a difficult procedure, make sure to call them at home that evening just to see how they are doing and answer any questions they might have.  This is something that always impresses your patients.  I know you are busy – and it doesn’t have to be the doctor, you can have the assistant that worked with that patient or your treatment coordinator call – whoever they know and can associate with.  This is very meaningful to your patients. Start doing this TODAY!

• Have the treatment coordinator send a note to your patient after a consultation, thanking them for coming in and enclosing a business card – making sure they know she is available for any questions they might have.

• Listen to your patients.  This seems like a “no brainer” right?  Well if you think about it, how many times do you walk in an operatory, sit down, do an exam and TELL the patient what they need?  Next time before you start your exam ask the patient if they have any dental issues that they wanted to talk to you about.  You will be amazed at the information you hear.  They may be ready to get started on the implants you talked about at their last visit, or want to know more about whitening their teeth, or if you could do something about those crooked teeth in the front.  If you listen to them instead of telling them, you may get cosmetic treatment that you might not have mentioned during your exam.

• For your patients that have extensive procedures, have a “goody bag” ready for them when they leave.  For our patients that have implants, extractions,  or new dentures we have nice bags printed with the office logo that contain things that are helpful after their procedures.  Things like Ensure if the patient just had extractions or implants, pudding cups, cup of soup, ibuprofen as well as post operative instructions, extra gauze, an ice pack.  Your patients will love this and will be so appreciative.

• Treatment completion letters.  When your patient has completed treatment, a large case, or even just a few fillings send them a note of congratulations.  On larger cases you can give them a “coupon” for a free prophylaxis for their next 3 or 6 month visit, saying “The next one is on us.”

• If you are running late and your patient has had to wait over 10 minutes, give them a gift certificate to a local coffee shop for $5.  You can give it to them as they check out, saying something like “We realize that your time is valuable and want you to know that we appreciate your patience today.”

• Have your hygienist send a personal note after her patient completes their periodontal treatment.

• Have your hygienist call patients after their scaling and root planning appointments – just to check in and make sure they are doing okay and see if they have any questions or concerns.  Resolve any issues within 24-48 hours.  If your patient has a problem, make sure you get it taken care of within that time frame.  Do not let this be a reason for them to leave your practice.

Why should you do any of this?

• Existing patients accept treatment recommendations 33% more then new patients
• Referrals from existing patients that are happy result in higher case acceptance sooner – “If Mary trusts you then I trust you”
• Word of mouth marketing use zero marketing dollars.

What to watch out for: Indifference and insincerity.  Patients can easily detect this and will simply leave your practice.  Long term patient loyalty and trust is a continuous effort that you need to work on every day.

If you liked this post please share it with your friends and dental associates!  I appreciate your comments and would love to hear from you!

What are you doing in your office that helps to develop trust and patient loyalty?

Have a great day!

Make it a Great Day!

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