How Your Allied Health Clinic can Boost its Revenue During Seasonal Slumps

Like the seasons—winter, spring, summer, fall—your clinic’s performance will naturally go through cycles.  In fact, its trends are particularly well-defined due to decades of patient data and treatment patterns.

Why Understanding The Allied Health Clinic ‘Seasons’ is Crucial

Being aware of these cycles helps you:

• Proactively manage staffing, recruiting, scheduling, marketing, and operations.
• ‘Buck’ a trend. During times when other clinics experience downturns, you can strategically boost demand and revenue.

Let’s explore 4 key ‘seasons’ in the physical rehab industry and how you can capitalize on them.

Start of the Year (January)

After the end-of-year rush to use up health benefits, many clinics experience a slowdown in January. Combine that with staff returning from vacations or catching up after the holidays, and you have the perfect recipe for a revenue dip.

But here’s where you can turn the tide.

January is all about New Year’s resolutions, and while many industries (like fitness) leverage this mindset, clinics often miss out. Why? Because their marketing doesn’t align with what people are thinking about: making a change.

Messaging such as “Is this the year you finally address that shoulder pain?” or “Why let another year pass with discomfort?” speaks directly to potential patients who have resigned themselves to living with pain.

Align your January marketing with this resolution mindset, and watch how your clinic’s demand can change.

Actionable Tactics for January:

• Reactivation Calls: Reach out to former patients and check in on their health goals for the new year.
• 'New Year, New You' Programs: Offer a limited-time program to motivate previous patients to return and invite friends or family members who may also need care. With Juvonno’s easy-to-use, mobile-friendly patient portal, you can manage all program registrations and payments in one place, making it simple for patients to sign up and pay seamlessly.
• Train Your Front Desk: Ensure the front desk staff actively promotes your ‘New Year, New You’ initiative to every patient who calls or visits.
• Clinician Engagement: Encourage clinicians to promote your initiative on their social media, leveraging personal connections.
• In-Clinic Visuals: Use posters and flyers to reinforce the message in your waiting area.
• Email Campaign: Send an email blast to past patients, reminding them of your programs and how this is the year to take care of long-standing issues.
• Community Facebook Groups: Launch a 'New Year, New You' initiative within your clinic’s local Facebook community or group, encouraging interaction and engagement.

Remember, your target isn’t general resolutions like losing weight. You’re speaking to those suffering from chronic pain or injury—those who’ve accepted their discomfort as a norm. The message should empower them to prioritize their well-being this year.

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Spring Growth (March, April, May)

As the year progresses, clinics generally experience a rebound in patient volume from March through May. This period is marked by the gradual return of patients who have started new routines or health goals but may have delayed their care. It’s also a time when many injuries from winter sports or poor weather conditions start to surface, bringing more patients through your doors.

Key Strategies for Spring:

• Target Winter Sports Injuries: Promote specialized treatment for common issues stemming from winter sports or activities, such as skiing or snowboarding injuries. Use social media, email campaigns, and clinic signage to highlight these services. Check out this example from Ottawa Physiotherapy & Sport Clinics who did an entire series of posts on Hockey specific injury prevention
• Spring Wellness Initiatives: Many people take the opportunity to start fresh in the spring. Position your clinic as part of their overall wellness plan. Offer seasonal wellness checks or free consultations for new patients.
• Post-Holiday Pain Management: For patients who are still feeling the effects of post-holiday stress or lingering injuries, create special pain management programs to encourage continued care.

By taking advantage of this period of renewed health focus, your clinic can continue to grow revenue steadily during the spring months while preparing for the summer slowdown.

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Summer Slowdown (June, July, August)

Just as business picks up during spring (March through May), it tends to drop off as the warmer months arrive. People are more focused on outdoor activities and vacations than booking clinic appointments.

Here’s how to keep your revenue steady during the summer months:

Focus your marketing on seasonal activities. Whether it’s evening walks, gardening, or local pickleball leagues, your messaging should connect with the popular outdoor activities in your community. Make it relevant to how physical health can improve their summer fun—whether that’s helping them walk longer or play without pain.

Foundation Physiotherapy got right into the swing of things by promoting their Golf Better Physio Program

Strategies for Managing Clinician Vacations:

Staff vacations can add another layer of complexity during the summer. Here’s how to prevent staffing gaps from negatively impacting revenue:

• Pre-set Vacation Request Deadlines: By setting deadlines for vacation requests at the beginning of the year, you’ll have plenty of time to plan ahead for coverage.
• Patient Care Continuity: Review each clinician’s caseload to determine which patients need to wait for their clinician to return, which can be seen by assistants, and which should be referred to another clinician.
• Incentivize Coverage: Offer clinicians a higher revenue split or other incentives for covering a colleague’s caseload while they’re on vacation.

With the right planning, you can avoid any surprise drops in staffing and ensure your clinic stays consistent throughout the summer.

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Insurance Benefits Season (October, November, December)

As the year comes to a close, clinics typically see a spike in demand as patients rush to use their health insurance benefits before they expire. This is usually the busiest season for allied health clinics—but with the right strategies, you can make it even more profitable.

It starts with clinician buy-in. Hold a meeting to get your clinicians on the same page. Remind them that this is the time to make up for any slowdowns earlier in the year. Encourage them to consider shifting vacation plans to January or another quieter period. Offer tangible incentives for working extra hours, such as weekend shifts or taking on additional cases.

Key Tactics for End-of-Year Success:

• Clinician ‘Wake-Up’ Call: Have an open discussion with your team about how this busy season can help them achieve personal financial goals. Whether it’s saving for a home, paying off student loans, or affording a dream vacation, attach their extra work to a clear benefit in their lives.
• Shift Vacation Timing: Suggest that clinicians consider taking vacations in January instead of during this high-demand period. This option may be more appealing to younger clinicians or those without children.
• Weekend Shifts: Offer higher revenue splits for weekend shifts to make it more appealing for clinicians to work extra hours during the rush.
• Cross Referrals: Ensure that you have a streamlined cross-referral process for patients who can benefit from seeing multiple clinicians, further boosting overall revenue.
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The Takeaway

Just as the seasons shift, so should your clinic’s mindset and strategy. When you take a proactive approach to your clinic’s marketing, staffing, and scheduling, you’re not just reacting to seasonal downturns—you’re driving success. By staying in tune with the natural cycles of the physical rehab industry and aligning your operations accordingly, you can create opportunities where others see slowdowns.

With the right focus, you’ll see your clinic thrive year-round, even when others are experiencing a dip in demand.