Running a successful medical practice is no easy feat. While providing quality care to your patients is essential, it’s also important to ensure that your practice is thriving and attracting new patients. Knowing how to increase patient volume can be a challenge, but with the right strategies in place, it’s definitely achievable.
In this blog post, we’ll explore some effective tactics to help you boost patient volume in your medical practice. From optimizing your online presence to implementing targeted marketing campaigns, we’ll cover everything you need to know to attract new patients and keep them coming back. So if you’re ready to take your medical practice to the next level, read on!
How to Increase Patient Volume in Medical Practice
These tips for building your patient base are extremely easy to do. Start with focusing on your current patients, and you’ll be well on your way to finding new ones.
Hire Excellent People
The best way to increase patient volume exponentially is by making sure that existing patients stay, making your other acquisition efforts more impactful. It will come as no surprise that having a great staff will encourage your current patients to stay in your care. The people at your front desk are the face, the brand, of your practice. If patients have a pleasant experience at intake and billing, they are going to be more likely to schedule follow-up appointments. Hiring friendly and professional people will also make your day run more smoothly.
Related: Personal Branding for Doctors Made Simple
Utilize Technology
There are several ways that using online resources and phone apps can increase your daily patient volume.
- Use monthly email newsletters to inform your patients about current medical topics or even news around the office. Interesting articles might just be forwarded to patients’ family and friends.
- Send email reminders for annual check-ups and screenings.
- There are convenient phone apps (like Healow or ChartSpan) that not only create a patient portal for your patients to check their health information but also make it easy for potential patients to search for your practice.
- Provide your patients with a clear and attractive web presence. This means your website should contain not only your business contact information but also pictures and bios of you and your staff. This helps to create a welcoming environment for any new patients that might find you through the internet.
Improve Your Online Reputation
When it comes to reputation management for doctors, there are several factors that can have a significant impact. First and foremost, the professionalism and friendly attitude of both you and your staff are crucial. Patients appreciate a warm and welcoming environment, and positive interactions can go a long way in building trust and loyalty. Additionally, factors such as short wait times and ease of scheduling an appointment are also highly valued by patients. However, even if you already have satisfied patients, it’s important to actively encourage them to leave good ratings or reviews. Many people simply forget or may not realize that their feedback is valuable to you. Consider asking for ratings on appointment reminder cards or including a request in your online newsletters. By actively managing your online reputation, you can ensure that potential patients see the positive experiences others have had with your practice.
Referral Cards
In addition to your business and appointment reminder cards, you can also create referral cards for your patients to give to family and friends. Depending on your type of practice, you could also offer incentives to your patients to hand out these cards. For example, for every successful referral of a new patient, you could give 10% off a skin treatment or perhaps an entry into a raffle for a special prize.
Related: 8 of the Best Business Cards for Medical Professionals
Find Your Community
It’s important to target your brand’s optimal demographic. Who exactly are your desired patients? If you are a family practitioner, you’ll want to make yourself known to the families in town. You can have your staff set up tables at events such as public health fairs or school carnivals. Whomever your desired patients are, you need to find them at local events and let them know about your practice.
So the bottom line is, in order to grow your practice you must provide a happy and welcoming experience so that they will be more likely to refer others to your care. At the same time, be mindful of your brand presence online and in the surrounding community so that people can find you when they need you. Hopefully, you’ll be able to implement some of these tips and begin to see some new patients soon.
