How can Chiropractors increase patient engagement?
The issue of patient self-discharge in the clinical world is detrimental to the profitability of a clinic. Self-discharge occurs when patients fail to complete a plan of care and fully regain their prior level of functioning. According to Strive Labs, “20% of patients drop out of care in the first 3 visits. Another 20% will drop out before their seventh visit. That’s 40% of the patient population that is dropping out prior to completing their course of care” [1]. These unexpected dropouts indicate that patients are not satisfied with their treatment or lack the understanding of their stage of condition. Because of this unfortunate truth, there is a demand for better communication tools in delivering chiropractic care.
Patients are the number one source of referral and new patient acquisition for chiropractors. A patient evangelist is similar to a walking billboard for a clinic. However, reaching this reputation with a patient doesn’t come easily. In order to create raving fans, two factors must be reached; a remarkable patient experience and maximum patient engagement. In doing so, there is an increased likelihood that the patient follows through with the plan of care, stays on maintenance, and ultimately drives referrals for the clinic. In a Strive Labs case study, they show that improving Patient Retention Rate (PRR) from 85% to 88% across a 14-site clinic led to over $150,000 in new revenue.They accomplished this by diligently monitoring their patients’ experience and rapidly intervening when they identified a patient at risk of dropping out [1].
Most of the technologies currently used by chiropractors to increase PRR rely either on the features provided through EMRs/EHRs (e.g. text messaging) or assessment and monitoring tools at the point of care (e.g. Thermal and Surface EMG scanning). There are not many tools available to empower and engage patients in the gap between visits. Bodiometer is uniquely positioned to fill this gap using a mobile motion-capture solution that objectively assesses joint mobility and informs patients of their stage through visual progress indicators. By connecting the Bodiometer clinical app to the Bodiometer home app, patient engagement is tracked throughout the entire patient journey. In this way, patients can access the scans taken at the clinic on their phone and self-assess and monitor their improvement in postural alignment at home.
These are three main ways Bodiometer increases patient engagement:
1) Patients that are able to see postural improvement over time are more likely to complete their care plan and stay on maintenance.
2) Through daily journaling on pain and mobility-related progress, patients are able to get a more realistic picture of how the care plan is performing and thus are more likely to complete the care plan and stay on maintenance.
3) By being able to view their improvement and postural alignment, they are more likely to share their results with others which will lead to app downloads, self-assessment and ultimately booking new appointments.
The additional revenue potential Bodiometer brings to a clinic is north of $6,000 per month in a clinic with ~$40,000 in monthly revenue. This revenue would stem from a traceable improvement in patient retention rate of approximately 30% with the use of Bodiometer’s subtle but significant visual progression indicators, and new business that patient referrals will bring to the clinic. Bodiometer is currently looking for a select group of chiropractors eager to participate in a 3-month pilot to further validate the increases in clinical revenue. You could sign-up for this study here: https://bodiometer.com/pilot