Episode 89: 5 Tips to Fix Patients That Ghost

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Have you ever scheduled a date with your patient only to be stood up? In this episode, Dr. Lara Salyer tackles the perplexing trend of patient ghosting with wit and wisdom, offering five key strategies to keep your patients as engaged in their appointments as they are with their social media feeds.

The conversation starts by debunking the myth that ghosting is just a patient problem, urging healthcare providers to look at their own systems and practices.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the action plan Dr. Salyer proposes:

Smart, piercing reminders that ensure your appointment doesn’t get lost in the inbox shuffle.
Consistent, compelling communication through newsletters and texts that turn your clinic into a health hub for your patients.
Streamlined access with a single digital touchpoint for all patient services.
Active solicitation of patient feedback to refine your services and foster patient loyalty.
The creation of a judgment-free zone that normalizes health struggles and strengthens patient-practitioner trust.

Dr. Salyer she shares real-life transformations from her own practice that testify to the power of these strategies.This episode provides a toolkit for healthcare providers to strengthen their relationship with patients, ensuring that no appointment goes unfilled.

About The Catalyst Host, Dr. Lara Salyer:

I worked as a family physician for 15 years until burnout changed the trajectory of my career. I realized I wanted to start a holistic functional medicine practice in my rural hometown and made it happen. In addition to practicing functional medicine, I now mentor practitioners who are looking to change their paths in healthcare by using what I refer to as the “Catalyst Roadmap”. I share each step of this framework with listeners so that they may apply it to their careers, relationships, personal goals, and projects.

In This Episode I'm Talking About:

A toolkit for healthcare providers to strengthen their relationship with patients, ensuring that no appointment goes unfilled
5 key strategies to keep your patients as engaged in their appointments as they are with their social media feeds
Real-life transformations from my own practice that testify to the power of these strategies

Quotes:

“90% of ghosting is because of the practitioner’s systems.” – Dr. Lara Salyer (00:01:45)
“I quickly saw the gamut of behavior that packages encourages. First of all, you’ve got those patients that forget they bought the package. It happens. And six months later, they’re messaging you saying, oh, I forgot. Can I just get a refund? I never came, I never cashed in on any of my advantages or visits. Or the opposite, you have a really motivated patient who, instead of taking six months to achieve goals, they’re better in two. So now what do you do? I felt unethical keeping their money? That just is not the kind of medical services I wanted to provide.” (2:40 | Dr. Lara Salyer)
“I would invite you to dig deep in this episode and go over the five ways that you can make your ghosting percentages go down, and how you can make your clinic services the most welcome and inviting place for patients to get care.” (5:16 | Dr. Lara Salyer)