Patient Retention Plays Critical Role In Patient Engagement ROI

You’ve probably heard the old adage it costs more to get a new customer than it does to keep on you already have. How much more varies depending on what study you look at, but the sentiment is certainly true. A new guide looks at the return on investment from your patient engagement and digital front door initiatives. The first area to look at, and one that is often missed, is patient retention. In other words, what it costs when you lose patients versus being able to retain them.

According to one source, “acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing customer. Increasing customer retention by 5% can increase profits.” While we don’t think of “selling” to patients in the traditional sense. We do think about activation and referrals. And it is easier to keep a patient and get them to come back over and over again then it is to get a new patient. Each patient has a lifetime value to your organization, and its important to retain that.

It’s estimated that the loss of a patient due to dissatisfaction, can result in the loss of over $200,000 over the  lifetime of the patient. That is why when thinking about the return on investment for patient experience and engagement, patient retention should play an important role.

 Ensuring patients are satisfied and engaged today, means thinking about the digital experience.

• 60% of patients expect their digital healthcare experience to mirror that of retail
• 50% of patients say that a bad digital experience with a provider ruins the whole experience with the provider
• 26% said they would switch to a new healthcare provide for a better digital experience

Digital engagement is a strong predictor of loyalty, according to an Accenture report that said, “Nearly 80% of highly digital people are likely to stay with their providers.” 

Clearly, a high-quality digital experience is a critical piece of any patient engagement strategy, but what are patients looking for more specifically? According to new research, conducted by Gozio Health, they want a single platform to manage their healthcare experience that is accessible on their smartphone. They want a user-friendly mobile-first digital front door, if you will.

Thirty percent of patients report switching providers last year. If a health system could retain even a portion of those with a better digital patient experience, the cost benefit would be substantial.

To learn more, download the complete guide about where to find the return on investment in your digital front door.