Wouldn’t it be great if patient retention relied only on one action? Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

Retention depends on the relation-ships you build, how well you educate your patients, your attention to detail, your ability to follow through with your promises and your staff’s attitude and behavior toward your patients.

First impressions are paramount and your staff has the responsibility to make sure the first moment of contact is a positive one. Regardless of your skill as a chiropractor, if a staff member does not speak and act professionally, you are losing patients even before you get the opportunity to meet them personally.

Nothing will turn a patient away faster than being “abused” by office staff. Negativity, moodiness, rudeness or any other kind of unprofessional behavior turns patients away. Nip all of these in the bud.

Likewise, a staff member who is ignorant about chiropractic cannot project confidence in it. Each of your staff members must understand and believe in the power of chiropractic. Set aside time every week to educate your staff on specific chiropractic topics.

Assuming your staff’s attitude and confidence levels are “up to par,” let’s examine some of the other ways your staff impacts patient retention:

• Patient tracking. Once a patient commits, your staff must work diligently to help her keep to the commitment by making reminder and follow-up calls. Train your staff in using non-threatening procedures. Remember, patient tracking is a service to the patient and should not be viewed as an unpleasant task.

• Scheduling. Keeping a firm schedule serves your patient, your staff and you! A well-run schedule eliminates stress and helps you and your staff to stay focused. It also frees up time for you (and them) to focus on reports, paperwork and the other aspects of your practice.

• Confrontations.Your staff may find some situations — such as keeping appointments or paying for services — difficult to talk about with patients. Train your staff that confrontation does not have to be unpleasant or hard to do.

To help them, develop scripts for your staff to use in the many difficult scenarios facing them. For example:“As a convenience to you, we offer advanced scheduling. That way you will get the appointments that are most convenient for you and your appointments will be easier to remember.”

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