Let’s explore how to collect data, use it to understand patient preferences, and implement related marketing efforts to bring more patients to your practice.
When looking to increase patient volume and inflow, medical practices must contend with staggering competition and ever-evolving expectations. While trying the latest innovation or trend in patient care may be tempting, practices of all sizes and specialties find better results by beginning with a data-driven approach that allows them to better understand patient behavior and preferences. With the right information at hand, practices can better plan, execute, and refine marketing campaigns to increase patient inflow.
Let’s explore how to collect data, use it to understand patient preferences, and implement related marketing efforts to bring more patients to your practice.
How to Best Collect Patient Data
First things first: How do you collect relevant data to get to the heart of what makes your patients tick? You may have more patient data available to you than you realize. Consider the following channels as resources for data collection:
- Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
- Email campaigns
- Website analytics
- Social media
- Patient surveys
As you aggregate this data, you can find information about demographics, preferences, and behaviors. For example, analyzing your social media engagement can tell you which topics are most interesting to your patients and prospective patients. Reviewing website analytics, such as keywords, can reveal what people are searching for that leads them to your pages. You may also review EHRs to get a better understanding of your patients’ typical demographics.
Data collection will undoubtedly reveal areas for improvement for your practice, as well as its strengths. These insights are themes that differentiate your practice from the rest—lean into them to inform messaging within your marketing efforts. You can even follow up with positive feedback from patients and see if they would allow you to use the comments for public testimonials.
As you collect data, consider your data management system. If you have several disparate data sources, you may want to invest in a centralized database. That way, you can achieve greater visibility into your data, uncover insights, and use those insights to drive decision-making around your marketing activities to bring in more patients.
Combining Data with Personalization for Better Results
As you build out your marketing efforts to attract new patients, lean on the power of personalization. The data you’ve collected can give you insights into the common demographics of your patients and the services they may be looking for. Target those patient segments and interests through your marketing campaigns with high-value, engaging content.
Consider what questions these patients may have about relevant services, care, and your practice. You can create content to answer these questions and showcase your expertise. Segment this content across your website, social media, and email marketing channels. As you do so, continue to harness the power of data. Track how well your marketing efforts perform by following key performance indicators (KPIs). These metrics will vary based on your goals and channels, but some useful KPIs to monitor include click-through rate, engagement rate, website traffic, and open rate.
Using Data to Prepare for Increased Patient Volume
Your targeted marketing efforts will increase patient inflow, so your practice must be prepared. The good news is the same data you’ve collected likely contains critical information about how to do just that. By taking a data-driven approach to patient-centered care, you can pinpoint areas of your practice that can be optimized to raise efficiency.
Some areas to examine include:
- Average and peak wait times
- Peak appointment times
- Rate of reschedules and no-shows
- Average length of appointment by appointment type
- Use of scheduling channels (portal, text message, phone, etc.)
This information will help you better plan and allocate resources and can be used to inform staffing and scheduling decisions. For example, you may schedule more front desk staff members on peak appointment days and better prepare for reschedules by maintaining a waiting list of patients who want to be seen earlier than their scheduled appointments.
Turn Your Data Into Actionable Insights
If you’re looking for a way to increase patient volume through data, RXNT’s Advanced Reporting feature can help. This dynamic tool turns data into customizable reports that bring powerful insights to life. You can review scheduling trends, missed appointments, appointment types, and more to track demand and refine your services as needed. The interactive dashboard makes it easy to comb through data and make smarter decisions for your practice. To learn more about the Advanced Reporting tool, contact our team.
