Hidden Revenue Opportunities for Dermatology Practices

By Blakely Roth | February 20, 2023

Patient demand is increasing, yet so are costs. Considering that less than two-thirds of medical practices hit their revenue goals in recent years, and labor costs are increasing by 30% year-over-year, high-growth practices are leaning into technology to scale for growth. 

Is it time to make similar adjustments at your practice? Ensure you can compete for high-value dermatology patients and capture growth potential this year. Here are the top considerations high-growth practices use to uncover hidden revenue opportunities: 

How well are you driving premium service patients, and at what cost? 

Forward-thinking dermatology practices are using their digital check-in workflows and other patient communications to increase interest in premium services, outside of standard exams.  

Today, your staff may be responsible for asking the patient if they are interested in a premium service, such as a facial or other cosmetic procedure. However, your front-desk staff may be too busy or forget to ask about premium services. Front-desk staff may also feel uncomfortable asking about a premium service like Botox, which can sound offensive to patients who may not have been thinking about it.  

Instead, practices are increasing premium service revenue, without increasing costs, by adding targeted questions to their check-in workflow. Adding custom questions can be quick, simple and private with the right patient engagement software – meaning your patients may answer more honestly and indicate their interest in Botox or other premium dermatology services. A custom question asked at check-in also ensures that patients will be aware of that premium service, enabling you to track interest and market to that patient until they convert, by signing up to have that service done.  

With a smart digital patient engagement solution, you can customize workflows in a way that targets the ideal demographic for certain premium services. For example, Botox is often targeted toward individuals between the ages of 30-50, with women making up 90%. Using that knowledge, dermatology practices can add a custom question to their check-in workflow for only the patients who fit the right profile. This approach can help you capture premium service leads, at no additional cost. 

We’ve seen practices drive success with this approach: 

• Mann Eye Institute captured nearly 300 interested leads, at no additional cost by adding custom questions to their digital check-in platform. Read their story here. 
• Thomas Eye Group increased LASIK revenue by $400K after adding targeted elective service messaging to their digital check-in platform. Read their story here. 

How many empty appointment slots did you leave open last year? 

Missed appointments due to last-minute cancellations, rescheduling or no-shows can lead to significant revenue leakage. Research shows that 52% of patients who missed their appointments simply forgot, and 30% of patients with one or more no-shows don’t return to the same practice.  

Minimize these missed revenue opportunities with automated digital tools that drive impact. Reminders that work are key to reducing no-shows and increasing patient loyalty. Not all patient reminder tools work the same, and some can cause more work than they’re worth. One practice administrator recently shared the impact an ineffective patient reminders tool had on their practice, leading to patient, provider and staff frustrations, along with revenue leakage. 

While no-shows can seem inevitable, there are steps you can take to significantly reduce your no-show percentage. 

In addition to reducing no-shows, take action to effectively fill last-minute openings in your schedule, without burdening your staff. Approximately 26% of online appointment bookings are for same-day or next-day appointments. Add an automated waitlist to your practice to fill these last-minute appointment openings and increase patient acquisition, all without your staff having to intervene. See how you could use a waitlist to maximize provider schedules and realized revenue. 

How easy is it for new and existing patients to access care? 

Today’s consumers want to seamlessly book appointments for healthcare needs and 89% of US adults state that “Ease of Access” is a major factor when choosing healthcare providers. Review your appointment booking options. Dermatology practices are adding online appointment booking options to make it simple and quick for patients to schedule their next visit. Smart digital scheduling solutions help these patients select the right provider and time and can even enable the practice to verify insurance eligibility. 

If you’re not offering digital appointment booking options, it’s time to reconsider and provide new and existing patients with the ease of access to appointment bookings that they require.  

As you review online scheduling tools, keep in mind that a patient request for an appointment is different from providing patients with the ability to actually book an appointment. Smart scheduling solutions will enable you to allow patients to book appointments and update your practice’s schedule in real-time, while also integrating with critical systems like your PMS/EHR. If you choose a tool that only sends a request for an appointment, this extra step will create additional work for staff and patient confusion.  

Dermatology practices that use real-time scheduling solutions can significantly improve patient acquisition. The practices we work with have filled appointment gaps through online scheduling, one pediatric practice now sees nearly 61% of their last-minute openings booked online. 

What type of marketing do you leverage to acquire new patients? 

Marketing may be an obvious revenue-driving opportunity, yet many practices have seen mixed results with their investment in marketing efforts. The key to driving revenue with your marketing approach is to find low-cost options to increase patient awareness around your practice and then capitalize on that interest with easy-to-book scheduling options.  

We’re seeing practices overcome economic uncertainty and increased competition through these marketing efforts. See the patient acquisition tactics these practices are using to grow revenue at a lower acquisition cost. In a recent webinar, experts discussed the strategies high-growth practices are using to successfully bring in more patients in a competitive healthcare landscape.   

Halfway through the discussion, see the patient acquisition strategy in action and the results practices are driving. 

If you have a call center, is it performing in alignment with this year’s revenue goals? 

Medical call centers are a vital part of healthcare organizations. Keeping them as efficient as possible benefits your patients and delivers a better experience. If you’re growing practice locations or adjusting your goals, you may decide to increase center volume or demand certain performance expectations to ensure ROI. Consider the best ways to optimize call center performance, and see what’s working for similar practices.  

One ophthalmology practice expanded their locations, with no increase to call center volume or FTE costs, and patient call-time length decreased by 70% – meaning more revenue with less overhead. Learn more about this practice’s success in this webinar on Position Your Practice for Growth in 2023. 

Consider the revenue impacts you could drive by implementing a similar smart-scheduling approach to your call center, one you may not have even known is needed, but could drive significant results. 

Lay the Foundation for Revenue Growth

Execute against these hidden revenue opportunities and unlock your dermatology practice’s growth potential. A proven patient revenue platform™ can help you take action against each of these key revenue opportunities. Invest in the solution that will help you enable faster time to revenue and provide a top-line patient experience. Learn more about Clearwave Core.