What Do You Do When Patients Request Their Files?
Dear Dr. Hayes,
About eight months ago, an associate left my practice on less than good terms to open an office about 25 miles away.
I just found out that he called many of the patients he was seeing in my office to let them know he was leaving and a number have decided to follow him.
I would say we are getting about 10 requests per month to transfer records to his practice.
Should I try to do anything to keep those patients? It’s starting to take a bite out of my revenue as they were spending about $500 per visit.
I was thinking about contacting the patients to ask if I did something wrong. Or, maybe send them a postcard offering $100 - $200 if they return to our office for materials.
What do you think about either one of those ideas?
Thanks for your advice,
Karl Parks, OD
(name changed on request)
Dear Dr. Parks,
This is an interesting situation and one that I'm sure occurs fairly often.
Exit surveys are generally a good idea. But in this case, I think it would be a mistake to ask these patients if you did something wrong. You already know why they are leaving.
You hired a doctor to provide care in your practice and they liked him. Give him credit for making a connection with the patients who decided to follow him.
As for offering a $100 -- $200 discount on materials to stay with your practice? I wouldn't do it. It just doesn’t hit me right.
Should you do anything to try to keep these patients? Absolutely!
Instruct your staff to be as friendly and as helpful as possible when patients request their records. Use this as an opportunity to demonstrate outstanding customer service.
While the normal temptation is to make it difficult for patients to switch to another doctor, you are going to create ill will if you throw up needless roadblocks.
Of course, you don’t want them to leave. But if they do, you want it to be on good terms.
Have your staff make it very clear to anyone requesting their records that you will truly miss seeing them and they will always be welcome if they decide to come back.
Take a lesson from highly successful companies like Amazon and Zappo’s. They make it extremely easy to return a purchase that wasn’t as expected.
While this may be sound counterintuitive, research clearly shows that consumers gravitate to ‘hassle free’ providers.
Here is a chance to put that philosophy to work in your practice.
I hope this helps.
Best Regards,
Jerry Hayes, OD
PS: To my readers: What do think about Dr. Park's idea of offering patients a cash discount to stay in his practice? Great idea? Or, does it sound like a bribe?
Click the red 'Discuss' link below to share your thoughts on our forum. Or, click here to email me your thoughts.
Disclaimer: The information and opinions contained on this site are for discussion purposes only and are NOT intended to serve as legal, accounting or investment advice. ©2010 Jerry Hayes, OD. Not to be reproduced without written permission of the author.
Back To Top
Bribe...
Just sounds like a bribe...just give good service, it will all come back to you in one way or another.
Dr Hayes advice is right on
I think giving a discount like that will hurt you in the long run. What if the patient decides to play this game again the following year?
If they like the other doc, no matter what, you will not be him, so let them go with "should things change we'll be available to help you anytime in the future".
They may have liked him while he was working for you, but when you own your own business, especially new, that has a habit of changing our views of business. They may not love him as much after doing business under his new model, as opposed to yours.
Discount
I feel it is not fair to your loyal patients to offer discounts to someone who wants to leave. Wish them well, offer a welcome for future care if they choose to return and work on the management of your practice. Twenty five miles is a long way to go and I think many will be back anyway.
DEPARTING PATIENTS
HOPEFULLY MOST OF THESE PATIENTS ARE ONES THAT WERE ADDED TO YOUR PRACTICE THROUGH THE ASSOCIATE'S PRACTICE BUILDING EFFORTS. IF SO THEY HAVE HAD LITTLE OR NO CONTACT WITH YOU, SO THEY ARE FOLLOWING THEIR DOCTOR...25 MILES?..THAT IS LOYALTY..OR WERE THESE PATIENTS GEOGRAPHICALLY CLOSER TO THE NEW DOC'S OFFICE.
DaRN ALL CAPS AGAIN.
Patients will leave for many reasons. Just keep in focus the patients who continue to trust their and their family's eye health and vision to you.
$500 per patient is a healthy return on each patient. This provides you an opportunity to continue rethink policies and to continue to build your own practice base.
If you do find another associate look at a "covenant to compete", ( it does not approach restraint of trade issues and allows you to recoup your facility and promotional costs incurred by you to present the new doctor to the community)with reasonable geographic distance.
Include a a per patient development fee to be charges to the newly relocated doctor as patients ask for their records located in your office. Do this for a reasonable time frame..2 years..or whatever your exam cycle time is.
Forgive the typing and misspelling..I am an incompetent typist and not currently inebriated.
Doc Bison
discount to keep patient
By offering a large discount, I believe you are setting a precedent and the patient will expect that discount each time they return.
Is offering a dollar incentive to keep patients a bribe?
yes, I do think it sounds like a bribe.
I like Dr. Hayes philosophy on this and if you think about it, it just goes back to the Golden Rule.