Patient loyalty: Encourage them to keep coming back

Neil Baum, M.D.

Why do patients return to practices and the same physician? The top experiences that get patients to return are:

• Helpful and knowledgeable employees
• Friendly employees
• A practice that is accessible
• Returns phone calls and emails in 24-48 hrs.
• Personalized experience where patients receive customized care
• Empathy and compassion

The decision to return could include any one of these or a combination of items on this list—or anything else that the patient experiences the first or last time they interacted with the practice. It’s not the experience itself that drives loyalty—it’s the memory of the experience that determines loyalty.

This subtle but powerful distinction explains why some practices enjoy loyalty while others have patients leaving for another doctor or practice. The patient’s memory creates an emotional connection that transforms a simple office visit into a return appointment or a repeat and/or loyal patient. There is evidence that the memory of a positive experience can increase dopamine levels in the brain, resulting in patients being more likely to trust and remain with the practice. Dopamine is a “feel good” neurotransmitter that the brain releases that makes patients feel good. This chemical release of dopamine happens twice: during the actual interaction with the practice and when the patient recalls the interaction later.

Other businesses and industries focus on creating a positive experience that the customer recalls initially and then later. For example, Chewy, the online pet supply retailer, sends birthday cards to its customers’ pets. The cards are often personalized with the pet’s name. Starbucks sends its customers a free drink or food item for their birthday. It also celebrates “coffee anniversaries,” reminding customers of when they first joined its rewards program. Netflix sends a “What We Watched” summary of what its subscribers have watched in the past year. This same process of creating an initial positive experience that is recalled later can be implemented in a medical practice.

You don’t have to be a Fortune 500 company or a recognizable brand to accomplish the same impact on your patients. Any medical practice can do the same thing with this five-step process:

1. Create the positive experience: First, you must deliver an experience that is positive and worth remembering. This process begins with the patient scheduling an appointment within a few days or immediately if they have an acute problem. Then, the patient must be seen within 15-20 minutes and wait in the reception area or the exam room for a prolonged period.
2. Identify key contact points with the practice: Map the patient journey and identify the key contact points that could have the highest impact. These are instances when the patient calls the office for an appointment, when the patient is in the exam room with the medical assistant, nurse, PA, or physician, and when the patient checks out and makes a follow-up appointment.
3. Enhance the key contact points: Once you’ve identified the impactful interactions, try to make those interactions memorable. For example, Trader Joe’s, the grocery store chain, trains its employees to interact with customers when they check out, enthusiastically commenting about what’s in the customer’s cart. This last impression leaves a lasting impression. You can train staff to be helpful and engaging by smiling, being courteous, and using the patient’s name during conversations with them.
4. Design a follow-up process: Design a campaign like Chewy, Starbucks, or Netflix that reminds the customer why they enjoy doing business with you. These include birthday cards, congratulations when a patient has successfully completed an arduous or lengthy therapy, and a thank you when a patient refers a family member or friend to the practice.
5. Measure the impact: Ask or survey your patients to ensure you’ve created the “Remember When” experience that will generate a long-long patient. When patients are excited about their experience, they say, “I’ll be back.” Taking it to the next level involves doing something that prompts the patient to recall the experience, creating a “Remember When” dopamine reaction moment. That reinforces the original (or last) experience the customer had.

Bottom Line: By deliberately creating experiences worth remembering and then helping patients recall those memories, you increase the chances of the patient returning. And the more they come back, the more likely they are to become a loyal patient.

I would like to hear from you, doctorwhiz@gmail.com, if you have suggestions for creating positive experiences for your patients.

Neil Baum, MD, a Professor of Clinical Urology at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. Dr. Baum is the author of several books, including the best-selling book, Marketing Your Medical Practice-Ethically, Effectively, and Economically, which has sold over 225,000 copies and has been translated into Spanish.