In this blog post, we’re going to explore 4 different ways to measure patient satisfaction. Keeping a pulse on your patient satisfaction is key to your success as a chiropractor. Happy, satisfied patients make the best advocates.
1. Patient Retention
A common way to measure patient retention is by the number of visits. The industry average is around 12 visits. There are a handful of factors that influence patient retention like:
- A patient’s experience at your practice
- A patient’s healthcare needs
- A patient’s financial situation
- A patient’s health insurance
- A patient moving out of the area
When you account for factors that are out of your control how are you performing when it comes to providing the best patient experience and health care? There will always be natural attrition due to moving, life, or financial changes. So don’t be too hard on yourself when it comes that patient loss related to areas out of your control. Instead, focus on what you can control.
If you can get an existing patient to stay with you longer, their lifetime value increases. And that value is definitely going to be worth the work to retain them as a patient.
We recommend sending an email to patients who haven’t scheduled a follow-up appointment in a long time to remind them to schedule their next appointment. If you don’t get any replies after a year, then you can send them a questionnaire asking them questions like:
- If they want to continue services
- If they’ve moved
- If they found another chiropractor
- If they decided chiropractic wasn’t for them
Or whatever options you want to include. Also, give them the chance to elaborate on their decision. Don’t expect a huge response rate, but any information will be useful in helping you improve your patient experience.
It might also be a good idea to explore patient retention programs like offering discounted pricing for routine visits or a reduced rate for cash transactions.
2. Patient Referrals
Another indicator of satisfaction is when your patients start referring your practice to their friends and family. How many patient referrals do you currently get? It’s a good habit to ask your new patients how they heard about your practice. If you notice that more patients are being referred by existing patients, then you know you’re doing a great job!
3. Patient Survey
The best way to know if your patients are satisfied is just to ask them. Conducting a patient survey is a great way to get some data on patient satisfaction. Here are some ideas for how to collect responses:
- Share a survey after each visit to get the patient’s experience. This could be as simple as a written form they drop in a box in your office or you could email them a short survey.
- Conduct quarterly surveys to see how satisfied your patients have been in the past few months. These could be a little more detailed surveys going into depth in different areas.
We recommend making the survey and feedback process part of your normal operations, so that way you are always checking in with your patients.
4. Patient Reviews
It’s a good idea to check out your patient reviews on a regular basis. Google yourself and see what sort of reviews you have on Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, and other review sites. New patients will likely read these reviews as well while doing their due diligence on your practice. If they come across negative or bad reviews, then they will be more likely to give their business to a competitor.
If you have the option to respond to a patient review, we highly recommend doing so. You might be able to recover or at least soothe an unhappy patient. Your replies also show that you care about your patients.
If you want help managing your review process, check out our Online Review Building.
