Every month, millions of people search for healthcare providers on Zocdoc. That means every day, with their clicks, patients are telling us what they want from their mental health providers. The good news is that patients who are looking for new providers on Zocdoc want to find providers they can keep seeing in the long run. In fact, 80+% of Zocdoc patients rebook with the same provider when rebooking in the same specialty.
The most valuable patients are those who return again and again. We analyzed Zocdoc’s rebooking data from 2022 and 2023, with rebookings defined as initial new patient visits who later booked again with the same provider in the same specialty. Here’s what a loyal mental health patient looks like:
Which mental health patients are most loyal?
65% of mental health patients who rebook with the same provider are female; 35% are male.
Younger mental health patients are the most loyal rebookers. One out of three mental health rebookers are between the ages of 18-26 and half are millennials (ages 27-42).
Mental health rebookings are relatively consistent across all types of insurance and self-pay, which shows that patients want to find providers they like.
Why are mental health patients loyal?
Prioritizing the patient experience from the first visit is key to unlocking loyalty. Across the board, patients rebook with the same providers for the same initial visit reasons as well as to establish routine care. This underscores that they want to find providers they can keep seeing.
For instance, when booking an initial appointment with a psychiatrist for a consultation:
- 58% of patients rebooked again for a psychiatry consultation
- 12% of patients rebooked for a psychiatry follow-up
- 9% of patients rebooked for depression
When are mental health patients loyal?
The “New Year, New You” slogan holds true in the mental health space, too. In fact, January sees 14% more rebookings compared to the average month.
What do loyal mental health patients want?
Speed to care is an important factor for mental health patients. Patients book 32% of virtual mental health appointments on Zocdoc within 48 hours and 47% within 4 days, showing that urgency is important. Mental health providers with well below average availability see 31% lower rebooking rates than those with average availability. Providers with above average availability see 4+% higher rebooking rates compared to those with average availability.
Patients prefer to see providers in-person for mental health visits with psychologists. Compared to virtual-only rebookings, practices with in-person visits have an 11% higher rate of rebookings. For psychiatrists, the rate of rebookings is consistent for both in-person and virtual-only providers.
Patients want flexibility when it comes to booking appointments via both mobile and desktop. Mental health patients were loyal to providers who offered a seamless mobile experience, with 64% booking and rebooking via mobile device.
Patients are discerning and every person coming in for an initial mental health visit has the potential to become a loyal, long-term patient. Speed to care, a user-friendly mobile booking experience and availability are just a few of the factors that matter most to mental health patients. Download our whitepaper on patient loyalty for more insights into how you can turn new patients into regular rebookers.