Chiropractic Patient Acquisition and Retention eBook

1. FROM THE FIRST IMPRESSION TO POST-VISIT A Success Toolkit for Acquiring and Retaining More Patients © 2021 zHealthEHR, Inc. All Rights Reserved

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS From the First Impression to Post-Visit: Your Success Toolkit for Acquiring and Retaining More Patients 03 Introduction Patient expectations are growing Unified patient acquisition and retention strategy 05 Patient Journey Understanding patient journey map Why you should know about it 06 Patient Acquisition Strategies Build a practice website and claim GMB Be active on social media and build referrals Patient Retention Strategies Improve online presence Automate scheduling and send reminders Reduce wait times and provide an online patient portal Send automated feedback survey and offer telehealth 11 19 Conclusion Embrace technology or you may lose About zHealthEHR References Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 2

3. Introduction Today, patients have more options than ever when it comes to healthcare decisions. It’s important to provide a positive patient experience to keep them coming back to your practice and bring more word-of-mouth referrals. Technology has improved a lot of processes and procedures in chiropractic practices, driving a wedge between providers and patients in their interactions. Practices that know how to communicate proactively and convey the right information clearly are able to enhance patient satisfaction, foster trusting relationships, and build a thriving practice. While many practices continue to remain focused on what happens when patients are physically in the office, most successful practices are taking steps to maximize patient engagement and retention efforts before, during and after patient visits. Modernizing the way you communicate and engage patients makes sense as it costs 90% less to get current patients to return for future care than it does to attract new ones.¹ Patient Expectations are Changing and Growing Patients want practices to offer simple, convenient and on-demand services with better coordination, accessibility and affordability. Patients now expect an exceptional care experience from the moment they start searching for their provider, all the way through the post-visit and beyond that. Patients want communication to be a two-way street. Whether it’s about scheduling an appointment to providing their post-appointment feedback, patients want practices to provide two-way communication channels. They want more control over their personal health and expect practices to actively show that they care about their choices. Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 3

4. If you want to grow your practice, increase retention, bring more patients as well as provide quality care, patient communication and engagement can’t be an afterthought left to the front office staff. We created this success toolkit to help chiropractic practices like yours implement a high- touch patient engagement plan that will increase patient volume, while maintaining a positive relationship with patients. Your Key Acquisition and Retention Goals Unified Patient Acquisition & Retention Strategy For the past couple of years, practices are adapting to changing regulations, reimbursement laws, and patient data privacy rules, but the most pressing challenge is acquiring new patients, while retaining the existing patient base. Increase in NewPatient appointments Chiropractic practices need a unified patient acquisition and retention strategy that works synergistically, providing you with a constant stream of new customers and a growing patient base. Before we learn the tactics to bring more patients and retain them longer, you must understand the patient journey from finding your practices to visiting your practice again and again. Increase Existing Patient volume _ _ _ _ _ _ Your Success Toolkit _ _ Strategies to bring more new patients including: 1. Building and maintaining a website 2. Managing online reputation and inactive patients 3. Being active on social media and building a referral network Understand the patient journey Retain more patients through: 1. Online appointment scheduling 2. Patient portal and self-check in 3. Post-appointment feedback End Results = More revenue and profits Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 4

5. Before you head to the strategies for attracting and retaining patients, it’s important to understand the Patient Journey. Patient Journey is the entire sequence of events that a patient experiences within a practice, beginning with the search for a chiropractic practice and concluding with recall visits and beyond that. 4 1 After the Visit The Search Process Patient gets a recall message & reminders Patient searches for chiropractors online Patient experience is positive; refers others Patient chooses your practice Patient posts positive review online Patient visits your website to book an appointment Patient receives Post-Appointment Feedback Survey PATIENT JOURNEY Patient books an appointment with scheduling software Patient pays through credit card, cash, or insurance Patient fills the Intake Form online Patient gets the treatment from the provider Patient visits your practice Patient checks in online through a kiosk 3 During the Visit 2 Before the Visit Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 5

6. Bring More New Patients Attracting new chiropractic patients is an ongoing challenge for many practices, but it’s vital if your practice wants to succeed in an increasingly competitive landscape. Chiropractic practices are local businesses, which means you have to rank at the top of local searches in your area. If you have given little attention to marketing your chiropractic practice, it’s time to adopt practical practice marketing strategies for getting new chiropractic patients in the digital era. Strategy #1 - You must have a practice website Search engine giants like Google have changed everything—from the way we research to how we book an appointment with a provider. Your practice needs a website if want someone searching for a chiropractor to find your practice and choose you. The website must be optimized for the search terms new patients use to find a chiropractic provider. Your website should be professional and modern in design. It must include the following pages: An About Us Page: It should include a thoughtful bio of your practice and providers with your chiropractic expertise and experience. 57% website referrals 43% 57% A Services Page: Build multiple services pages, each focusing on a specific treatment your offer. Apart from patient referrals, website referrals (57%) and social media referrals (38%) are the majority of sources from where new chiropractic clients came from.² A Locations Page: If you have multiple locations, list down the address and information for each location on this page. A Testimonial Page: Build trust with patients and create social proof with real reviews from real patients. Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 6

7. Strategy #2 - Claim Your Google My Business Listing People look online for chiropractic services before they make an appointment. You don’t want to miss the chance of getting found first. Your practice’s Google My Business (GMB) Listing gives you the fastest online wins. Claim your listing and fill in your practice details. Link it through to your website. 9% 25% 25% more clicks 91% read reviews 75% 91% 91% of consumers look at reviews when searching for a local business online. And, 84% of consumers put as much trust in online reviews as they do personal recommendations from family and friends.³ If you want more new patients, you need more 4-star and 5-star reviews. Local practices with 5-star reviews get 25% more new patient inquiries than businesses with 3-star rating.⁴ The next step is to manage your online reputation with a GMB listing. Patients read reviews when deciding whether or not to select a new chiropractor. How do you get more 5-star reviews? Send a post-appointment feedback survey to encourage happy patients to leave positive reviews online. When you have so much to do in your practice, doing it manually will waste your valuable time. Automate the review collection process with the right technology partner. Your Technology Partner zHealthEHR’s Review Automation tool is a great way to improve your online reputation while gaining valuable feedback from existing patients. Our tool automatically sends your patients feedback text/email post their appointment. As they take the survey, our technology will determine the patient’s level of satisfaction and encourage those who are happy with their visit to leave a review on popular online review sites like Google and Yelp. Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 7

8. Strategy #3 - Be Active on Social Media People are more likely to pay for a service when they have an established connection with the service provider. Social media channels are the best tool in allowing your potential patients to learn more about your practice and establish relationships with your existing patients. For your chiropractic practice, consider using these social media channels as a line of communication and a way to share, educate, and inform your patients. Be Active on These Social Media Channels Strategy #4 - Build Referral Sources When asked: Chiropractors, what is your best source of referrals and how do you generate more?⁵ Chiropractors replied: “Word of mouth is great, do a good job and the referrals will come” - Provider, BS, DC, CME “Referrals from your own satisfied patients will always be the best.” Provider, DC “Patient referrals and patient word of mouth is the best for me.” - Practice owner and provider Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 8

9. Word of mouth referral is the clear winner. Apart from word of mouth marketing, there is another way to grow your referral network. Your practice can connect with partners within the healthcare space and request them for referrals. Potential referrals partners are primary-care physicians, local gyms, fitness trainers, sports centres, and local online influencers. Strategy #5 - Reactivate the Inactives You’ve been in practice for years, decades or longer. You might have a list of inactive patients. It’s time to reactivate the inactives. There could be three types of inactive patients in your practice: “B” patients “A” patients These are “borderline” patients who might visit your practice because of a musculoskeletal problem, a car accident or a work- related injury. These are great patients who have not visited your practice for a while and are most likely to be back under active care. “C” patients These are those rare patients who didn’t follow your care recommendations and are less likely to return. Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 9

10. SURVEY SAYS: 38% of chiropractic practices“never” contacted patients who hadn’t visited their practice in 6 months or more.⁶ Keeping in touch with inactive patients can be easily accomplished through the use of patient newsletters and birthday greetings. Asking your front office staff to find inactive patients and send them messages manually could hinder their productivity and waste valuable hours. Automate the patient recall process with the right technology partner. Your Technology Partner zHealthEHR Patient Plus is an automated communication tool that helps you engage and reactivate patients with automated missed appointment notifications, recall messages, and birthday reminders. You can send the right message at the right time. It not only helps you re-engage inactive patients with recalls, but you can also show your patients that you care and reduce patient no-shows with missed appointment notifications. Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 10

11. Retaining Existing Chiropractic Patients Financial Policy Checklist Converting potential patients into paying customers is a challenging process. However, your efforts can pay off if you focus on patient retention. Loyal patients who are satisfied with your services will come back for your services. You need to offer them the best possible experiences or you will be losing a lot of money. A patient’s likelihood of coming back to your practice is impacted by all of the interactions and engagement they have with your staff, care, services, and providers. Delivering quality care can satisfy your patients, but providing a positive patient experience during the entire journey can convert them into loyal customers, which translates into higher revenue and greater savings over time. Let’s delve into patient retention strategies that are critical to your practice’s long-term success. 12-15 percent of patients who are loyal to a single practice represent 55-70 percent of appointments⁷ 80 percent of patients would switch providers for convenience factors. They rank ‘convenient, easy access’ ahead of insurance coverage and quality of care.⁸ 20 percent of patients change health care service providers because of considerable wait times.⁹ | Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 11

12. Strategy #1 - Improve Online Presence You need to make a good first impression at the very beginning of your provider- patient relationship. That’s where you need a unified patient acquisition and retention strategy. A professional online presence - including an up-to-date website and Google My Business Listing with a good number of 4-star and 5-star reviews - will have a memorable impact on new patients. Strategy #2 - Automate Scheduling & Confirmation The first appointment booked by a patient with your practice could be your real chance to “win” them over for a lasting relationship. Turning the new patients into returning customers is easier when the process for appointment scheduling is automated and streamlined. 49% of patients 49% of patients 49% 49% 51% 51% look for online appointment scheduling when seeking a new provider.¹⁰ want the ability to check-in or complete health forms/ appointment paperwork online before an appointment.¹¹ Nearly 6 in 10 U.S. patients (58 percent) would like to have more online access to their healthcare provider. Providing an automated appointment booking option for patients can make it easier for patients to choose your practice before contacting a competing practice. For that, you need appointment booking software that gives your patients the power to book anytime and manage your appointments anywhere. Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 12

13. Your Technology Partner zHealthEHR is an all-in-one EHR and practice management software for chiropractors. We offer easy-to-use online appointment booking software for both you and your patients. When you use our appointment scheduling tool, your patients get to book appointments online 24/7, 365 days a year. Your calendar will show the patient appointment details. You can then manage your day-to-day appointments, book recurring appointments, send automated appointment reminders, check them in, change availability, and more. Strategy #3 - Send Appointment Reminders Consumerism has reshaped the healthcare landscape as well. People want the same service-oriented features from practices as they experience in the banking and retail sectors. Patients get busy in their work and they expect chiropractic practices to remind them about their upcoming appointments. In a 2017 McKinsey & Company survey, the majority of respondents said they wanted digital solutions when it comes to appointment booking and reminders.¹² This means communicating using digital tools, such as automated text and email reminders, is an effective way to engage patients and build a trustworthy relationship. 48% of patients 48% 52% prefer text appointment reminders. That’s compared with 21% who prefer an email reminder.¹³ Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 13

14. Your Technology Partner zHealthEHR is chiropractic practice management software that has integrated scheduling, reminder, billing, and other automation tools. Using our online appointment scheduling tool allows you to send automated patient appointment reminders. Our tool sends two appointment reminders to patients; the first appointment reminder is sent one day prior to the appointment day and the second reminder is sent 30 minutes prior to the appointment time on the day of the appointment. Sending text and email reminders automatically with zHealthEHR can streamline processes, reduce staff workload, and decrease the likelihood of no-shows while giving patients the experience they want. Strategy #4 - Provide the Ease of Online Paperwork Offering a convenient experience to your patients will set you apart from the competition. Filling out intake forms while waiting for the provider in the waiting room is not something that the majority of patients want today. Automating your intake process can dramatically improve patient satisfaction. This gives the patients the power to fill out their paperwork online from anywhere. They feel at ease filling in the details using a Patient Portal. They provide accurate details as they have time to fill in details as compared to filling them at your office during their appointment slot. An online tool for intake forms also reduces wait times and eliminates labor and resource costs associated with paper-based systems. You want to make sure you are complying with regulations (HIPAA). That’s why you need a technology partner that is compliant with HIPAA and provides secure messaging. Your Technology Partner At zHealthEHR, we make the intake process as smooth as possible. Our At-Home Patient Check-in feature allows patients to complete their new patient intake forms from home with all submitted information going directly into the subjective part of your fully customized SOAP note. When a patient books an appointment with your practice using our scheduling software, they receive an email with a link to complete your new patient intake forms and they can do so right from the comfort of their home. No need to print any forms or manually enter any data. Automation at its finest! Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 14

15. Strategy #5 - Reduce Wait Times Patients see longer wait times as poor office management. While some wait times are unavoidable, but practices can properly manage schedules and their offices to reduce the waiting time. Ensuring that patients have a positive experience when they are physically in your practice and receive the care they need quickly is incredibly important for your practice growth. 30% of patients have left a practice before being seen because of the wait time.¹⁴ 1 in 5 patients switch providers because of long wait times.¹⁵ Ways to Reduce Wait Times Give patients the option to self-check in online to reduce workload for staff and streamline patient flow in the waiting room. Leverage automatic text messages and email appointment reminders to decrease late arrivals and no-shows. Remind patients through text and email to check in for their appointments ahead of the appointment time to streamline their arrival. Give patients a tablet and kiosk check-in tool at the practice to capture their data automatically and integrate it with your EHR tool. Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 15

16. Your Technology Partner zHealthEHR is your practice growth solution that automates and streamlines every aspect of practice management, including wait times, check-in, scheduling, reminders, billing, and more. Our quick check-in feature lets patients check themselves in using a tablet at the front desk improving efficiency and productivity. Our automated appointment reminders reduce late arrivals and no-shows. Our At- Home Patient Check-in tool lets patients complete their intake forms from home, saving time when they arrive at the office. Strategy #6 - Spend More Time Interacting with Patients With changes in how insurance companies reimburse you for your rendered services and the government pay for Medicare, providers increasingly spend more time in documenting their care on the electronic health record (EHR). Good chiropractic care depends upon creating an environment that motivates providers to spend more time interacting with their patients. You need technology to enable you to serve your patients better rather than distracting you from having a good conversation with patients. Your Technology Partner zHealthEHR offers a fully automated EHR and practice management solution. We have customized SOAP note templates to meet your specific needs with the unique speech-to-text recognition capability. Chiropractors can choose to dictate a SOAP note by using our next generation voice-to-text technology, allowing you to complete SOAP notes in under a minute with just a few clicks. Once you’re done providing the treatment to the patient, enter in codes in our billing software. With auto- populated code results, enter the correct procedural and diagnosis codes and your invoice will be ready in a minute. | Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 16

17. Strategy #7 - Send Automated Feedback Surveys It is important to follow-up appointments with a feedback survey. It serves two purposes - you can gauge patient satisfaction levels and get more reviews from satisfied patients. Surveys are a powerful communication tool and can help improve the relationship between providers and patients. The easiest method to send feedback surveys is to use an automated tool that sends carefully timed patient satisfaction surveys and post the reviews automatically to review sites. Your Technology Partner zHealthEHR offers a review automation tool - Review Plus - that allows you to drive online reviews and get valuable patient feedback through text follow-up messaging. Patients who respond with 4 stars or 5 stars for your service are automatically sent with the review link. The software also sends review reminders if patients don’t respond to your feedback survey message. The regular stream of feedback will help you provide better care, measure the performance of your practice, collect more positive reviews, and work on improvement strategies. Strategy #8 - Adopt Patient-Centered Communication Effective patient-practice communication is the key component of patient-centered care. It requires a consistent and deliberate effort to weave best communication practices in the practice culture. Keeping patients engaged regularly through emails and text messages is likely to be effective in retaining patients. Use automated patient communication and recall system to engage patients without any effort. Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 17

18. Your Technology Partner zHealthEHR is more than just an EHR software for chiropractors. zHealth’s automated patient communication solution allows you to send birthday messages, missed appointment notifications, and recall patients after a set period of time. You generate more bookings, retain more patients, and more revenue. Request a free demo of Patient Plus to learn how this patient-centered communication software can accelerate your practice growth. Strategy #9 - Implement Patient Engagement Solutions The global patient engagement solutions market is expected to reach $19.3 billion by 2025.¹⁶ This is largely due to the active participation of patients in their own healthcare decisions. Gadgets encourage patients to take a more proactive approach to their healthcare, but there is more to it. A number of practices have started to use Telehealth services to provide remote care to patients, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world. Telehealth solutions allow providers to improve care coordination and patient engagement when patients are not able to visit the practice physically. Your Technology Partner zHealthEHR is all-in-one practice management software for chiropractors. zHealth’s add-on Telehealth solution allows you to provide remote care to patients and keep them engaged even when they are not able to visit your practice. You can set two options - 'Telehealth Visit' and 'Telehealth Follow- Up Visit’. When patients choose one of the options, our system will send an email to the patient with a link to join the call. Request a free demo to know more. Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 18

19. Embrace Technology or You May Lose If you want to increase patient volume and grow your practice, you need to embrace technology. Managing your patients’ experience manually - from the moment they find you to the time they leave your practice - is a difficult task to handle. Partner with an EHR technology vendor to automate the entire patient journey with your practice. You will have to spend less time managing administrative tasks and you can spend more time with patients. Using an integrated EHR and practice management software solution can help you create a strong synergy between patient acquisition and retention strategies and drive revenue. Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 19

20. Automation Intelligence Software for Chiropractic Practices zHealthEHR is an integrated chiropractic practice management software that has been designed in a way so you can run your entire practice online. We have added all features in our chiropractic EHR software – from booking, scheduling, SOAP notes, invoicing, telehealth, reminders, billing, review to patient recall – to better serve chiropractic practice Call: +1 (800) 674-2908 Visit: www.zhealthsoftware.com Connect with us at: Most Trusted EHR and Practice Management Software Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 20

21. References 1. https://www.healthcareitnews.com/blog/strategies-maximize-patient- engagement-retention 2. https://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/digital/index.php? i=1248&a_id=58330&pn=38&r=t&Page=38 3. https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/ 4. https://www.brightlocal.com/research/review-search-click-through-study/ 5. https://www.alignable.com/forum/chiropractors-what-is-your-best-source-of- referrals-and-how-to-you 6. www.dynamicchiropractic.com/ 7. https://www.practicebuilders.com/blog/8-proven-patient-retention-strategies-that- work/ 8. https://nrchealth.com/resource/healthcare-2019-trends-and-predictions/ 9. https://www.vitals.com/about/posts/press-center/press-releases/9th-annual- vitals-wait-time-report-released 10. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210520005327/en/National- Survey-Shows-Online-Access-and-Telehealth-are-Keys-to-Patient-Loyalty 11. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210520005327/en/National- Survey-Shows-Online-Access-and-Telehealth-are-Keys-to-Patient-Loyalty 12. https://healthcare.mckinsey.com/enabling-healthcare-consumerism 13. https://www.phreesia.com/2018/10/01/blog-appointment-reminders-which- methods-do-patient-prefer/ 14. https://patientengagementhit.com/news/long-appointment-wait-time-a- detriment-to-high-patient-satisfaction 15. https://phreesia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/High-Cost-of-Wait-Times- infographic.pdf 16. https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/patient-engagement- solutions-market-105975994.html Patient Acquisition and Retention Guide zHealthEHR 21