Competition in Healthcare is on the Rise. Three Ways to Get Patients to Choose Your Health Center.

Competition is inevitable, let it improve your health center, not derail it.

🗣️I've talked to a lot of health center CEOs over the last six months, and they all mention dealing with more competition than ever before. While it's true that many healthcare practices are opening, if you're running a good operation, you won't lose patients to the competition. The key is to become the sought-after healthcare provider in your community so that people choose your health center first. 🗝️

So, how do you get noticed and ensure new patients come to you? Here are a few tricks I used with my health center that still hold true today. Patients don’t really care about the nuances that differentiate your health center from another medical practice; they just want high-quality care at a reasonable cost. Your goal is to give potential patients a reason to choose you over your competitors.

Here are three ways to do that:

1️⃣ The riches are in the niches

It's challenging, especially for a community health center offering various services, to avoid trying to be everything for everyone. This approach doesn't work unless you are a large hospital capable of handling huge volumes of patients across several specialties. Find the services they can’t offer but you can, and become the go-to expert in your area for that service. Do you offer integrated behavioral health? Do you have a unique facility? Do you focus on making things easy for your patients? Be excellent at something and be known for that.

2️⃣ Provide value beyond price

FQHCs already have lower prices than most healthcare providers and operate on thin margins. So, find other ways to provide value besides price. Engaging in a price war is a race to the bottom. Your value comes from offering comprehensive services under one roof or your amazing, mission-driven staff who know their patients personally. Ask your existing patients what they specifically like about your health center, and then promote those strengths.

3️⃣ Build the Know, Like, and Trust Factor

I recently had to see a specialist for an issue with my leg. The first time I met him, he treated me like he had been seeing me for years. He established his expertise and earned my trust. I've been to him several times since. You can probably think of a healthcare provider who you immediately liked and trusted and are still their patient. Conversely, if your patients don’t know, like, and trust your staff, they won’t come to your health center anymore. Train everyone on customer service skills and ask patients for testimonials and reviews to build trust and credibility.

✅Combine these tips to strengthen each other. You'll build an excellent reputation for offering high-quality healthcare, and patients will appreciate all the ways you improve their lives.

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