On average, medical practices saw a 60% decrease in patient volume since the beginning of COVID-19, according to the Medical Group Management Association. Many patients delayed or canceled preventive care, follow-up visits, screenings, and nonurgent procedures. Now that states have been lifting stay-at-home orders and reopening their economies, patients are re-engaging with their providers as well. However, one question remains: will patient volumes eventually increase to pre-pandemic levels?
Perhaps, but not automatically, says Rob Klein, MA, founder and CEO of Klein & Partners, a healthcare research and consulting firm in Chicago. “If doctors want to get patients back, they need to be very proactive, and they need to adapt,” he says. Klein, whose research conducted in early May focuses on how COVID-19 has impacted consumer perception and behaviors, says providers who prioritize the patient experience will be most successful in terms of re-attracting patients to the practice as well as weathering any additional waves of the virus. He provides these five tips to rebuild patient volume in the short- and long-term.
1. Outreach patients proactively. Healthcare is a service industry, and as with any service, customers want to feel valued, says Klein. How can healthcare providers ensure this? Call patients to let them know the practice values their business and that it’s safe to come in, says Klein. Start with those who have upcoming appointments and then focus on patients who are overdue for physicals, vaccines, and more. During these conversations, focus specifically on what the practice has already done to keep patients safe—not what it hopes to do in the coming weeks—and what patients can expect when they come into the office. Practices can also post this information on their websites or social media pages as well as via secure text or email or even direct mail.
2. Provide training for front-office staff. “Never before have front office staff been so important in terms of helping maintain patient loyalty,” says Klein. “They aren’t just schedulers. They’re quasi-therapists. Schedulers are key to getting people back in.” With that said, these individuals may need additional training in empathic communication because they’re likely interacting with patients who may have lost their job or a loved one due to COVID-19 or who might be facing a whole host of other pandemic-related challenges. If front office staff don’t engage patients effectively during a time of extreme emotional vulnerability, they risk losing business.
3. Accommodate patients as quickly as possible. Now that practices are reopening, patients may not want to wait months or even weeks for an appointment, says Klein. Thirty percent of consumers say they would switch providers if another provider could see them more quickly, according to Klein’s research. Other top reasons for switching? Their current provider lacks empathy (21%), another provider is willing to work with them on out-of-pocket costs (20%), and another provider has demonstrated better safety and cleaning procedures to protect patients from COVID-19 (19%). Consider extending office hours or offering weekend hours to meet consumer demand, says Klein. Also present patients with the option of seeing a nurse practitioner or physician assistant instead, he adds.
