How to Gain and Retain More Patients

Recently, I had to accompany a family member to a medical appointment and the service we received was worse than expected. First of all, it would’ve been easier if Google Maps had the right images and location of the place. When we finally arrived, the doctor’s assistant seemed to be more interested in finishing her tasks than helping us out, and even though we arrived early, we had to wait for around 2 hours to receive attention. However, the doctor was very kind and gave us proper service with his diagnostic and treatment plan, so we, as consumers, just had to follow the instructions.

My story may sound ordinary or mundane, especially considering that the industry is so played down that we expect bad patient experiences. Nevertheless, the experience can be improved using processes from within the value chain that can be applied easily with the proper technology. Medical service models already demand a direct connection with the patient at any given moment, which helps the healthcare centers in case of an emergency, as they can be contacted immediately.

Direct communication with the patient not only improves trust but also helps to provide a better service and, by definition, medical attention. As patients, we are consumers since we are purchasing a service or product. However, as technology moves forward, consumer habits are being redefined, and we can’t rely on our old value chain model. The reality is that patients today expect customized, quality service that isn’t a hassle to acquire. It doesn’t matter how we reach them, they just want their needs met.

To gain more patients, we need to do more than just release our services to the market; we need to add value and show the market how big or unique our promise to the customer is. A common strategy is to increase the perceived attractiveness of our products so the patient will be willing to buy them. On the other hand, it’s also important to focus on time efficiency as an added value; it’s already too hard to reach new patients to waste the opportunity and lose them because of bad service. Strategies to keep our current patients are more relevant than those to reach new ones.

Healthcare centers can’t just keep offering services like they always have. Not only is this not enough, but it can also kill their competitiveness in the short run. Connecting with patients is essential if they want to stay relevant for years.

But how can they do this? How can a healthcare service integrate the patient’s journey, from asking for information to getting a solution? How can it develop an internal process that solves the problem? How can it stay relevant to the patient?

It’s crucial that healthcare centers focus their strategy on service, from the first contact to the final service, trading the traditional model for a modern, experience and quality-based model. Currently, many healthcare centers are organized around delivering services with traditional and digital marketing without considering how patients make decisions online. There are some ways direct-to-patient platforms can help turn those decisions into medical appointments.

Updating the service model means accompanying the patient at any moment and migrating to a holistic attention cycle to ensure the service.

New health centers must offer experiences that make patients fall in love with them, offering patients a more direct focus to build a strong, lasting relationship. Let them take full control of their decisions and gain the confidence to acquire a medical service to solve their needs. New health centers must create new business models and new strategies to gain more patients. As a result, healthcare organizations need to refine their patient attraction processes and improve how they will create a digital ecosystem to retain patients.

To adjust to a direct to patient model, healthcare organizations must seek to improve care and create products and services that debut online. That means streamlining the patient journey to gain patients online and retain patients within a digital platform. For example, making online bookings and reminders efficient so there are fewer delays or cancellations so patients as consumers can be in control of their decisions.

If you want to remain relevant, I highly recommend listening to and understanding the patient’s needs before arriving at the center, and then solving those needs. Never break the experience,  providing a complete medical experience from beginning to end.

The cost of patient acquisition has never been higher. Competition is increasing, so try to make things easier for patients and take the proper measures to add value to their future interactions. This, without a doubt, will create loyalty from your patients and secure your business' competitiveness.

Modern direct-to-patient platforms as a healthcare technology and switch marketing departments to a new era of patient experience departments have completely changed how marketing in the healthcare industry is practiced. Now that conversion to direct-to-patient platforms is largely complete, new innovations will focus on making these platforms more connected to patients so health systems can use big data to create better digital patient experiences.