How to Reactivate Lapsed Chiropractic Patients: A Step-by-Step System

Understanding Why Patients Lapse

The most common reasons patients lapse are: the presenting complaint resolved and the patient didn't see a reason to continue care; the patient felt better after a few visits and didn't understand the value of completing the care plan; life got busy and scheduling became difficult; or the patient had a negative experience they didn't communicate. Understanding the reason for lapsing determines the appropriate reactivation message.

The Reactivation Message Sequence

An effective patient reactivation sequence has three messages, spaced over two to three weeks. The first message is a simple, personal check-in. The second message, sent one week after the first if there has been no response, provides a reason to return. The third message creates gentle urgency and makes booking as easy as possible.

Pryme Practice's patient communication system supports automated reactivation sequences with personalization based on the patient's clinical history. Reactivation messages can reference the patient's last visit date, the condition they were being treated for, and the provider they saw.

Measuring Reactivation Success

Benchmarks for well-designed reactivation campaigns are: open rate above 40%, response rate above 10%, and reactivation rate above 5%. A reactivation rate of 5% on a lapsed patient list of 500 patients produces 25 reactivated patients per campaign. At an average of 8 visits per reactivated patient and $80 per visit, that's $16,000 in revenue per campaign — from patients already in the practice's database, at essentially zero acquisition cost.