As patients continue to shop around for their healthcare, healthcare organizations need to consider patient engagement strategies that will improve patient retention and customer loyalty.

Employing patient engagement strategies may improve patient retention rates. From getting patients in the door, to ensuring a quality and cost-effective payment experience, healthcare organizations should be mindful of patient satisfaction and engagement in order to maintain patient loyalty. 

Here are some of the strategies you can use to increase Patient Retention: 

Digitizing Marketing and Outreach  

Transitioning from traditional advertising to a more modern advertising platform is today’s norm. Instead of breaking the bank with billboards and radio ads, opt for digital techniques such as pay-per-click and targeted Facebook and social media posts. 

Being open to inquiries online is also a must to create a patient-provider bond. 

These strategies can yield new knowledge of consumer preferences, helping your practice to continually engage with your patients. 

Patient satisfaction efforts to improve retention 

Patient loyalty boils down to three things:  

• patient-provider communication 
• provider empathy 

• care coordination 

When practice leaders keep track of their patient satisfaction levels and online reviews, they can get a better idea of how to grow their community influence. The modern patient expects to see blogs, articles and helpful health care news when they log on to their provider’s website. It is not enough to have a website; a practice’s site must be a resource for health care to make a lasting impression.  

Patients want to understand that we actually care for them. Our ability to be empathetic in our delivery of care is incredibly important to patients. 

Patient portal implementation 

Patient portals are also helpful in improving patient-provider relationships. Through secure direct messaging, patients can communicate with their physicians between care visits. This is crucial in forging a relationship, especially for patients who are only in the office a few times per year.  

Allowing patients access to their health data and message with their providers through a patient portal will also help improve patient loyalty, engagement, and satisfaction. 

Patient-centered billing for efficient revenue cycle 

Patient payment collection strategies also have implications for patient satisfaction and ultimately, patient loyalty. If patients can’t easily manage their out-of-pocket costs, they may not return to the provider for another care encounter. 

You can start by making things easier for the patient by automating things a little bit more, just to streamline and create more efficiency. 

One of the strategies most practices utilize is working with third party companies that offer full service medical billing, like Park Medical Billing.  We handle the patient statement process for our clients where our dedicated staff will explain their bill to your patients, answer all their questions and perform patient-friendly payment collection. 

Contact our medical billing company today at 201-585-7306 for more information about our services that will benefit your practice.