6 Strategies to Reduce Churn and Boost Patient Retention

Whether you're a healthcare provider like a dentist or family doctor, or you offer wellness-focused services such as chiropractic care or cosmetic dermatology, keeping the patients and clients you have is likely one of your key priorities. After all, patient retention means you can build trust and better understand your patients' long-term health issues and goals. It also means you don't have to invest as much in attracting new patients and clients.

But many providers struggle with patient satisfaction and turnover. A 2024 report by McKinsey & Company found that Americans are spending more money on health and wellness than they did in the past but are still unsatisfied with the overall healthcare experience. It also found that patients are behaving more like consumers, including shopping around for providers more than they did in the past.¹

Providers can be proactive by adopting strategies to improve patient retention.

What Is Patient Retention and Why Is It Important?

You can think of patient retention as the number of patients or clients who keep coming back to your practice or business. When someone leaves a provider, it’s called attrition, churn or patient turnover.

Keeping patients long-term facilitates continuity of care, an approach in which the patient or client sees the same provider over time. Research shows that continuity of care is linked to better patient outcomes.² And better health outcomes can lead to lower costs and less strain on healthcare systems.

At the same time, it may cost your clinic more to acquire new patients or clients than it does to keep the ones you already have. For that reason, improved retention may benefit your practice financially, which allows you to provide the best care for your patients or clients. For example, in other industries, experts have discovered even a small increase in customer retention can produce higher profits.³

What all this means is that patient retention benefits both the provider and the patient or client.

How to Calculate Your Patient Retention Rate

Before you make any changes, it's important to know how many patients or clients you currently retain. Use this formula to calculate your current patient retention rate:

[(Total number of patients at the end of the period – New patients gained during the period) / Total number of patients at the beginning of the period] x 100 = Patient Retention Rate

For example, if your practice started the year with 2,000 patients, finished the year with 2,100 patients and saw 1,000 new patients during the year, you would calculate your retention rate like this:

[(2,100-1,000)/2,000] x 100 = 55% patient retention rate

Once you know your current patient retention rate, you can use that information to measure your progress as you make changes to improve patient loyalty.

6 Patient Retention Strategies to Apply to Your Practice or Clinic

The great way to build loyalty is to deliver excellent care and a great patient experience or client experience. A recent survey found that 65% of healthcare consumers expect more convenience, and 70% expect more responsiveness from providers than they did three years prior.⁴ And don't underestimate the importance of bedside manner — studies have found that practitioner empathy improves patients' satisfaction with their care.⁵

Beyond providing high-quality care, there are other things you can do to improve the patient or client experience, reduce churn and boost retention:

1. Improve communication

From confirming appointments to providing instructions for follow-up care, clear and effective communication with patients can reduce frustration and boost satisfaction. It can also increase patient compliance, potentially leading to better outcomes. Try these tips to improve communication in your practice:

• Offer multiple ways to reach you. Younger people may prefer email or text, while older patients may be more comfortable picking up the phone. No matter which communication channels you use, ensure you have the patient’s express permission to contact them and stay mindful of policies governing patient communication, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

• Adopt a patient engagement platform. This type of software helps create an online environment for your patients to access accurate health information and education. Many patient engagement platforms include features like message boards and chat options to help your patients build a community around your brand.

• Connect online. Use your clinic's website and social media accounts to engage in patient education and share information relevant to your patients or clients.

• Invite questions. Don't forget the importance of person-to-person communication. At the end of each visit, remember to ask patients or clients if they have any questions and set aside enough time to hear their concerns.

2. Focus on the patient experience

Improving the patient experience can go a long way toward increasing satisfaction, reducing attrition and making your patients or clients more likely to stay. One recent study found that long wait times to get an appointment were the top complaint of patients in the United States — outranking even the cost of care.⁶

Use technology to reduce wait times through self-scheduling and contactless check-ins, and streamline the patient experience by integrating your EHR, patient portal and payment systems. Make sure your offices are comfortable and inviting, and consider offering a separate area for symptomatic patients to wait. Even something as simple as making sure you have sufficient convenient parking can make a difference in reducing patient frustration and turnover.

3. Provide staff training

Your employees play a critical role in ensuring a positive patient or client experience. Make sure staff receive adequate training and keep their clinical skills up to date. At the same time, spend time coaching all of your employees on things like good communication and customer service, patient experience, effective conflict resolution and how to handle sensitive conversations, such as conversations related to cost and financing.

4. Offer virtual care

The pandemic introduced patients to telehealth and virtual care, and many people now prefer the convenience of these options, especially for shorter visits that don't require an in-person examination or procedure. If your office isn't already doing so, consider adding telehealth or virtual care — and then make sure your patients or clients know this option is available.

5. Ask for feedback

One of the best ways to learn what patients want is to ask. You can gather feedback informally, such as by asking patients about their experience at the end of a visit, or conduct patient surveys to get a larger sample size and ask more focused questions about the patient experience.

Online ratings and reviews can be another source of feedback. Although it can be stressful to see negative reviews, try to look at complaints objectively and consider whether you can use the information to improve your practice. Make sure to always respond professionally to online reviews, both positive and negative.

One study found that providers who are receptive to patient surveys and reviews may increase patient satisfaction, so try to look at patient feedback as an opportunity for improvement.⁷

6. Focus on the patient payment experience

Confusion surrounding payments and billing can drive nervousness and frustration and may contribute to a poor patient experience. The best way to deliver a consistent patient payment experience is by listening to your patients or clients and offering the right types of payment solutions.

Here are a few tips to improve the payment process:

• Start the conversation about payment early. Because patients are increasingly responsible for paying more of their medical bills, it’s helpful to give them as much information as possible, ideally before their appointment, about how much their care will cost.

• Implement digital payment options. A streamlined digital payment system may enhance the patient experience, improve patient retention rates and minimize accounts receivable and administrative burden.

• Offer flexible financing. Today, many patients are experiencing financial hardship.⁸ Financial uncertainty, along with rising health prices and higher levels of patient responsibility, means it’s a good idea to consider partnering with a company that offers promotional financing with features like digital and contactless payment.

Offer Flexible Financing at Your Practice

If you are looking for a way to connect your patients or clients with flexible financing that empowers them to pay for the care they want and need, consider offering CareCredit as a financing solution. CareCredit allows cardholders to pay for out-of-pocket health and wellness expenses over time while helping enhance the payments process for your practice or business.

When you accept CareCredit, patients or clients can see if they prequalify with no impact to their credit score, and those who apply, if approved, can take advantage of special financing on qualifying purchases.* Additionally, you will be paid directly within two business days.

Learn more about the CareCredit credit card as a financing solution or start the provider enrollment process by filling out this form.

Author Bio

Pamela Cagle, R.N., has extensive experience in a range of clinical settings, including ER, surgical and cardiovascular. For the past decade, she has leveraged her nursing experience in writing for health and technology publications such as AARP, VKTR, National Council on Aging and others. She is passionate about blending her medical and storytelling expertise to bring authenticity to health and wellness topics.

Ilima Loomis is a freelance writer with more than 18 years of experience in journalism and B2B content marketing. With a background in writing about science and technology, she has a knack for taking on complex subjects and helping readers understand not only what is going on but also why it relates to them. She specializes in writing about healthcare, health tech and medical research.

Healthcare payment and financing solution

The CareCredit health and wellness credit card helps improve the payment experience for patients and clients, and your financial performance.

Get Started