Cutting edge equipment, up-to-the-minute techniques and a staff that knows every patient by name. These are all crucial parts of a thriving practice. But let’s face it: For even the savviest office, patient recruitment and retention can be a mystery. Getting and keeping patients is one of the biggest challenges—and expenses—chiropractors face.

But how many of you are ready to cancel your yellow pages ad, quit photocopying fliers, save your postcard stamps for vacations, and stop promising discounts to lapsed patients?

While high-tech recruitment and retention programs won’t make these traditional marketing methods obsolete, they do offer new solutions that can help attract patients and keep them coming back--with less effort and less money. The idea is to use technology efficiently and effortlessly.

With high-tech options, you can streamline your billing process, offer educational programs to attract new patients, ensure compliance with government and insurance regulations, and communicate with your patients easily and affordably.

Plus, new programs are more accessible, making them simple for even the most tech-phobic doctor to manage.

Gearing up: Find the tool that fits the job

Even the least expensive technologies are an investment, so you’d better know what you need before you buy or subscribe.

Do your patients stop coming when their pain subsides?  Are you having difficulty getting new patients through the door? Or do you have lists of inactive patients that you haven’t seen in years? 

Pinpointing your retention and recruitment objectives is the first step.

“Doctors are generally taught there are things they can do to a patient to make them stay,” says. Miles Bodzin, DC, founder of Cash Practice, Inc. “There’s nothing I can do to theoretically force a patient to stay. All I can do is meet their values and remove obstacles in their way.”

Your patients may value convenience, easy payment options, or not having to deal with insurance forms. Identify what they're looking for, and you’re well on your way to attracting long-term patients--then choose a technology solution that helps meet those needs. Resist purchasing the coolest application, unless you’re certain that it will solve your specific retention and recruitment problems.

Showing off: Jump-start your education efforts

One way to attract new patients is by teaching them exactly what chiropractic is.  But if you depend only on wall posters or brochures, you are missing out on one of the great benefits of technology—interactive and engaging educational tools.

“The majority of chiropractors are pretty good about educating inside their offices,” says Scott Stephens, DC, co-founder of Educhiro. “But they’re not always good public speakers.”

That's where stunning videos, Power Point presentations, and DVDs come into play--they can show patients why chiropractic is a good option for them without you having to give presentations over and over. 

DVDs and computer-generated animations can be a novel addition to health fair booths and screenings or in the reception area—generating questions and appointments. Sending customized DVDs to prospective and current patients and streaming video on your Web site can capture prospective patients’ interest, encouraging them to set an appointment. 

“It’s one thing to talk about what’s happening,” says Anthony Schwartz of Forte Systems. “It’s another to show them.”

Checking out: Focus on treatment, not payment

Since many of your patients initiate treatment to ease pain, retention means convincing patients to stick with a wellness care plan even after they’re feeling better.  And education is not enough.

Given the long-standing trend of discounts for continued care, you might think that money is the big obstacle to wellness care.

But according to Bodzin, “The biggest obstacle is not money; it’s the handling of money. The business model is the biggest influence of retention.”

In other words, when your patients have to think about the money they’re spending, they may choose to keep it in their wallets. You can encourage patient retention by making payments easy.

“Stop asking the patient to sign up for care,” Bodzin advises. “Every time you give the patient the opportunity to make a decision [about continuing care], some will and some won’t.”

That’s the benefit of using programs that integrate with billing and scheduling software. Using an online interface, doctors can create care plans that outline the length of the treatment, discounts and payment plans, and then the program generates a four-page contract.

When considering a program such as this, look for auto-payment options and credit-card swipers.   Also consider how the program will interface with other software, which can save administrative time by avoiding manually inputting payments. 

Following the rules: Stay compliant with ease

Compliance presents unique problems for retention and recruitment—especially when a practice uses discounts and specials to attract patients and keep them coming back.

“The higher the deductable, the more risk the providers take being creative” with discounts and payment plans, says Dave Klein founder of PayDC.

Complex insurance plans and inconsistent discount programs are a bad mix for meeting federal and insurance regulations.

When compliance issues are taken care of through technology, providers can use innovative payment structures and discounts without worry. Plus, discounts are applied at the time of payment, rather than as a lets-make-a-deal sales tool--freeing you up to focus on treatment.

These programs help patients understand what they’re getting and why, which is another incentive to stick with a care plan. “It forces the provider to outline all the details of care,” Klein says. “It makes the patient feel more confident because they know what they’re going to pay.”

Patients don’t like the sales pitch, he continues. Technology can allow the staff and doctors to have separation from care and sales.

Keeping in touch: Send your message home

Any experienced salesperson will tell you that connecting with customers over and over again is key to creating loyalty. For decades, huge companies have depended on this simple concept to encourage first-time and repeat purchases. Not surprisingly, this concept works for service providers like you, too.

In the past, following this basic guideline has come with a hefty price tag. Marketing through television, radio, newspaper or simple fliers is often expensive and time consuming. E-mail and the Internet have changed all that.

Maintaining an up-to-date e-mail list is one of the most efficient ways to stay in touch with current and prospective patients.

Any practice can manage their own e-mail list, but there are companies that specialize in and can handle this work for you. Newsletters, articles and birthday wishes can be sent out on a regular basis. Topics can be tied to seasonal events, like backpack safety at the beginning of the school year.

“It’s a good way to keep your name in front of inactive patients,”says Shane Amburgey, national sales director for Learning Curves. Because e-mails are easy to send along to friends and family, these articles have the potential of reaching far more people.

And no matter how you manage e-mail campaigns, they’re inexpensive. “The cost per e-mail is vastly lower [than direct mail or advertising], and it’s specially targeted,” Amburgey says. E-mail campaigns can also drive traffic to Web sites, which makes the most of an online presence.

Tech-savvy doctors and administrators can also take advantage of less comprehensive programs to develop e-mail campaigns. These services offer easy-to-use tools for managing e-mail lists and communications. But you’ll have to provide the out-going message and manage the software.

There’s no doubt about it. Technology has gained a foothold in marketing and retention efforts. Chiropractors who take advantage of the information age will likely see an increase in their patient base, while saving money and time.

“Simply handing out business cards with your phone number and Web address—that’s not marketing,” Amburgey says. “There’s not a defined strategy behind that.” 

While new technology may be intimidating or challenging to understand, the investment can pay off in new and returning patients.