Patient LTV
LTV (lifetime value) is all the revenue a patient brings the clinic over the whole relationship: the first treatment, return visits, routine check-ups. It shows what keeping a patient is really worth.
≈ ltv · lifetime value · patient lifetime value · customer lifetime value
How to calculate LTV in a clinic
The simple way: multiply average transaction value by the average number of paid visits per patient per year, then by the average number of years a patient stays with the clinic. The more accurate way: take a group of patients who first came in during the same period and add up everything they have paid since. For that you need a CRM or practice management system where every payment is linked to the patient record.
LTV changes how you look at new patients. Judge advertising by the first visit alone and it often looks expensive. Look at the full patient history and it becomes clear that the main loss is not an expensive lead, but a patient who came once and never returned.
Where clinics lose LTV
- The patient leaves without the next appointment booked.
- There are no reminders for check-ups and hygiene visits.
- Nobody calls back after a no-show or a cancellation.
- A treatment plan was issued but nobody followed up, so the patient finishes treatment elsewhere.
- Reception does not know the patient's history and speaks to them as if they were new.
What to do: set a firm rule that nobody leaves without a next appointment, call patients who have not been in for a long time on a regular basis, and compare LTV with patient acquisition cost. When LTV is clearly higher than acquisition cost, the clinic has room for both marketing and service.