Drop-off Rates
Treatment plan completion rates and patient attrition data across allied health.
70%
of physical therapy patients do not complete their full course of care
Industry-accepted benchmark in physical therapy. International (US) data.
20%
of patients drop out after just 3 visits
A further 20% drop out before their seventh visit, meaning ~40% leave within the first 7 sessions. International (US) data.
23–33%
likelihood a patient will miss an outpatient appointment (no-show rate)
Systematic review across outpatient healthcare settings. International data.
70%
increased likelihood of disengagement after a single missed appointment
Even one missed appointment substantially increases the risk of a patient never returning. International (US) data.
55%
self-discharge rate among chronic pain patients in physical therapy
Study of 200 patients found 73% attendance rate but 55% self-discharged before completing treatment. International (US) data.
Cost of Attrition
Revenue impact and lifetime value data for patient retention.
$300–$1,000
average cost to acquire a new patient
Varies by specialty. Retaining an existing patient costs only $35–$85 by comparison. International (US) data.
43%
of healthcare organisations lose more than 10% of revenue to poor retention
19% report losing more than 20% of revenue. International (US) data.
25–95%
profit increase from a 5% improvement in retention
Frederick Reichheld research. Healthcare sits in the middle to upper range. International data.
$10,000+
revenue lost per practitioner annually from just 2 weekly no-shows
Based on $100/session with 2 no-shows per week. In Australian allied health at $100–$150/session, this equates to $10,400–$15,600 per year.
Re-engagement
Recall campaign success rates and communication channel effectiveness.
38%
reduction in no-shows from SMS appointment reminders
PMC systematic review found a weighted mean 34% relative reduction in non-attendance from SMS reminders. International data.
42%
click-through rate on healthcare SMS messages
Analysis of 1 million healthcare text messages. Compared to 2–3% CTR for healthcare emails. International (US) data.
34.6%
average open rate for healthcare emails
While open rates are reasonable, email CTR is only 2–3% compared to 42% for SMS. International (US) data.
15–25%
of lapsed patients successfully re-engaged by targeted recall campaigns
Most practices see ROI within 3–6 months of launching recall campaigns. International (US) data.
97–99%
successful contact rate for SMS reminders
SMS reminders achieve near-universal delivery compared to 80–90% for phone calls. International data.
Benchmarks
Industry average and top-performer retention benchmarks.
60–70%
chance an established patient will rebook their next appointment
For new patients the figure is much lower at 5–20%. International (US) data.
5–20%
chance a new patient will schedule a second visit
Compared to 60–70% for established patients. First-visit experience is critical. International (US) data.
48%
average patient churn rate across healthcare
The average healthcare entity has a 45% growth rate but a 48% churn rate. International (US) data.
50%+
rebooking rate benchmark for well-performing clinics
Clinics with rebooking rates above 50% enjoy improved revenue stability. Top performers target 80%+. International (US) data.
80%
of marketing budgets spent chasing new patients instead of retention
Despite retention being 5–25x cheaper, most practices over-invest in acquisition. International (US) data.
Sources
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