For your optometric practice success, it’s essential that you maintain a steady stream of patients scheduling appointments and purchasing from your frame boards.

However, many factors drive your existing patients from your optometric practice, increasing your patient churn rate. Many of these reasons could be out of your control, but there are some ways to reduce churn rate. This post identifies three reasons patients leave your optometric practice that you can address.

3 Factors That Increase Patient Churn In Your Optometric Practice

Lack of Products

Effectively managing the inventory in your optical shop is important for increasing your optical capture rate. But, an inventory that doesn’t reflect the wants and needs of your patients could also cause them to purchase frames from an online retailer or another local practice. If another practice is able to meet the patient's wants and needs, there’s a chance that they will become a patient at that practice.

Leveraging conversations you have with the patient during their exam and keeping a pulse on fashion trends can help you align your frame boards to your community, which will increase your optical capture rate and patient satisfaction.

Slow to Modernize

Advanced technology continues to pressure industries to adapt. The eye care industry isn’t immune to these pressures. In the digital age, your patients demand quality care delivered in half the time. In order to meet those needs, you must modernize your practice with new technology that will streamline your office workflow, increase your claim reimbursements, and maximize practice growth. This could also mean upgrading your medical equipment to reduce exam time and enhance the comfort of your patients. Check out your competition to get a good idea for what's working and what's not.

Missing Convenience

Online retailers have tapped into your patients' requests of a convenient way to purchase frames. Unfortunately, many of these retailers fall short in delivering quality products. As your patient’s eye care provider, you must identify ways you deliver quality products to your patients. Operating your practice at convenient times that work with your patients schedules will get them through the door, but then you also have to accelerate the delivery of their frames. Utilizing an online optical ordering platform can help you deliver orders faster than other methods.

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Originally Published: March 2018