As the economy slows and veterinary practices report an average of a 10% decline in patient visits, now may be the best time to add a Patient Reactivation Specialist to your team.
What is patient reactivation?
It’s the process of reaching out to pet owners whose pets have not visited a practice for a certain amount of time.
What are these pets due for?
. Physical exams.
. Preventive care, such as vaccinations, parasite control, dental cleanings, etc.
. Blood work for chronic conditions (seizures, thyroid).
What are the options for patient reactivation?
. Sending personalized reminders via email, text message, or snail mail.
. Offering incentives or discounts for scheduling appointments.
. Implementing automated (translation: impersonal) phone calls to remind pet owners when their pet is due for a service.
. Following up with pet owners who have missed appointments to reschedule and address any concerns they may have.
The Chronos approach is slightly different. An experienced “Patient Reactivation Specialist” calls clients by phone to explain what their pet is due for.
What’s the purpose of a Patient Reactivation Specialist?
The mission of a Reactivation Specialist is to improve compliance for pets who have lapsed.
There are countless reasons for a missed yearly wellness appointment: email glitches, reminder platform issues, (email) address change, death of the patient, and most of the time, the busyness of life…
So a Reactivation Specialist will call clients to get inactive patients back on track, or “reactivate” them.
How do we know this even works?
Everything we do in Chronos has been tested in our practice, then others.
We are so convinced that it works, that we offer a money-back guarantee !!!
What does a Patient Reactivation Specialist do?
It all starts with extracting data from your practice management software.
. Together, we determine how far back we should go to collect the contact information for patients who have been inactive for a pre-determined amount of time.
. The Reactivation Specialist will call these clients.
. They will educate your client and explain the benefits of proper pet care. The patient may have missed a wellness appointment, blood work before a medication refill can be authorized, dentistry, etc.
. An additional benefit is that the Specialist can update clients who have moved and pets that have passed away.
What doesn’t a Patient Reactivation Specialist do?
This is NOT a pushy, intense, high-pressure sales pitch to make your client feel bad about being a terrible pet owner!
What are typical results?
Although past performance is no guarantee of future results, here is an example of a group of 3 small animal practices:
. Over a month, 44 appointments were scheduled.
. Chronos generated an additional $12,000 in revenue in one month. All things remaining equal, that’s an additional $144,000 annualized in revenue – a large proportion of which goes to the bottom line!
. Total expense for 1 month: $3,000.
. Conclusion: that’s a terrific ROI!
Reactivation calls are not easy. They require a lot of diplomacy, experience, and patience. This is why a specialist is assigned to a practice. It takes years to craft this level of understanding, expertise, and know-how.
. Outsourcing these time-consuming calls saves time and energy for your in-house team.
. The Patient Reactivation Specialist is the patient’s advocate by promoting the best care YOU recommend.
. An inactive patient is a lose-lose-lose situation: for the pet, the owner, and the practice.
The mission of a Reactivation Specialist is to turn it into a win-win-win situation.
. This position is ideal for practices that care deeply about compliance.
. Once a client gives the green light, the Reactivation Specialist can schedule the appointment in your practice management software and set up appointment reminders.
If you would like to learn how Chronos can improve your compliance and your bottom line, please reach out to us. Simply click on the Discovery Call button above or visit www.ChronosVet.com
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Phil Zeltzman, DVM, DACVS, CVJ, Fear Free certified
Co-Founder of Chronos LLC