Finding patients for a new medical practice: 9 steps and the threshold for each one
Finding patients for a new medical practice runs through three rings: being seen, being reached and bringing patients back. Each ring has 3 steps, and each step has a threshold to hit. All 9 steps stay inside Turkey’s health promotion regulation.
Before the steps, do one sum: what does an empty consultation hour cost you? Divide monthly fixed costs by monthly consultation hours. The result is what each empty hour takes out of the till.
In what order does finding patients for a new practice work?
The order starts with being seen, continues with being reached and ends with patients coming back. Nobody calls a practice they cannot see. These are suggested starting targets; adjust them to your capacity. Check the regulation and your provincial medical chamber for your own case first.
| Ring | Step | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Be seen | 1. Google profile | 14 days before opening, 6 fields filled |
| Be seen | 2. Specialty pages | 1 page per specialty on the permit |
| Be seen | 3. Opening announcement | The 30 days after opening |
| Be reached | 4. Phone | Answered within 3 rings |
| Be reached | 5. Appointment request | Reply in 24 hours, slot within 3 working days |
| Be reached | 6. Directions | 1 message with the confirmation |
| Come back | 7. Follow-up visit | Date booked before leaving |
| Come back | 8. Reminder | 24 hours before the visit |
| Come back | 9. Utilisation rate | Every Monday, 12 weeks |
A threshold is a floor
Once a step meets its number, count it done and move on.
Same table for a solo office
A single-doctor office uses it too; only total hours shrink.
Which 3 steps make the practice visible?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- 1. Google profile: 14 days before opening
- 2. Specialty pages: 1 per specialty
- 3. Opening announcement: the 30-day window
Being seen means the profile, the specialty pages and the opening announcement, in that order. None goes live before the activity permit is in your hands. The profile comes before opening; the announcement waits for it. Without them, you are a shop with no sign.
1. Google profile: 14 days before opening
Verify the profile, fill the six fields and enter the opening date. How category and name match the licence is covered in medical practice Google Business Profile.
2. Specialty pages: 1 per specialty
Three specialties on the permit means three specialty pages. Each shows the doctor, patient days and a booking button. No page for a specialty that is not on the permit.
3. Opening announcement: the 30-day window
The regulation lets a new health facility run sponsored promotion during the first month after its opening date, within the rules. Fit the announcement into those 30 days. Examples: opening announcement for a medical practice.
Which 3 steps make the practice reachable?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- 4. Phone: answered within 3 rings
- 5. Appointment request: reply in 24 hours
- 6. Directions: 1 message with the confirmation
Being reachable means a patient can say “I called, I got a slot, I found the door”. The three steps are the phone, the appointment request and directions. In Beşiktaş, Kadıköy or Çankaya, a selective patient will not wait a week for a slot. That is why this ring is measured in hours.
4. Phone: answered within 3 rings
During opening hours, pick up within 3 rings. Return out-of-hours calls by 10:00 the next working day.
5. Appointment request: reply in 24 hours
Reply within 24 hours with a proposed day and time. The first free slot should be within 3 working days.
6. Directions: 1 message with the confirmation
Send floor, entrance and parking or valet details in a single confirmation message. Only to the number and channel the patient approved.
Most common mistake: Texting a “check-up offer” a few weeks later to numbers collected for appointments. The regulation bans both unsolicited messages and campaign information. One bulk text can bring an inspection in month one.
Which 3 steps bring patients back?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- 7. Follow-up visit: booked before leaving
- 8. Reminder: 24 hours ahead
- 9. Utilisation rate: every Monday
In a new practice, the second visit is worth as much as the first. A patient the doctor wants to see again books before leaving, gets a reminder a day ahead, and the utilisation rate is written down weekly. None of this is promotion; the patient is already yours.
7. Follow-up visit: booked before leaving
A patient told to return leaves reception with a date. A threshold anyone can check.
8. Reminder: 24 hours ahead
Send one message 24 hours before with day, time and address. Log no-shows separately.
9. Utilisation rate: every Monday
Divide booked consultation hours by total consultation hours. This rate sums up all nine steps.
What does an empty consultation hour cost?
The formula is one line: monthly fixed costs ÷ monthly consultation hours = each hour’s share of fixed costs. Every empty hour leaves that share uncovered. Fixed costs include rent, staff and equipment instalments. The figures below are hypothetical; say you have opened a three-doctor polyclinic.
| Item | Example | Yours |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fixed costs | TRY 300,000 | …… |
| Monthly consultation hours (3 doctors × 6 hours × 22 days) | 396 hours | …… |
| Fixed-cost share per hour (300,000 ÷ 396) | about TRY 758 | …… |
| Empty hours at 40 percent utilisation | about 238 hours | …… |
| Cost left uncovered by empty hours (300,000 × 0.60) | TRY 180,000 | …… |
| Cost covered by each 10-point rise in utilisation | TRY 30,000 | …… |
Solo offices feel it more
With one doctor, each hour’s share grows, so one missed call costs more.
The rate tells you which step to revisit
Few profile searches: go back to steps 1–3. Many calls but few bookings: steps 4 and 5 are weak. Bookings but empty chairs: look at steps 6 and 8.
Which shopkeeper tactics are closed to a medical practice?
Most ways a neighbourhood shop finds customers are closed in healthcare. The regulation bans fees, discounts, campaigns and promotions, unsolicited calls and messages, and turning patient satisfaction into advertising. Sponsored promotion is limited to the first month after opening. Six examples:
- Address, hours and specialties instead of an opening discount.
- Consented appointment confirmations instead of bulk texts.
- A plain reply to organic reviews instead of gifts for reviews.
- Photos of the waiting area and exam room instead of patient thank-you videos.
- Google profile, specialty pages and health articles instead of constant ads.
- The doctor’s academic title instead of a “best” claim.
How do you fill in the 12-week utilisation card?
The card has 5 columns: week, total hours, booked hours, utilisation rate and no-shows. Fill one row every Monday. For the general numbers to check after month one, see six numbers to check after month one.
| Week | Total hours | Booked | Rate | No-shows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | …… | …… | …… % | …… |
| 2 | …… | …… | …… % | …… |
| 3 | …… | …… | …… % | …… |
| 4 (month average) | …… | …… | …… % | …… |
| 8 (month average) | …… | …… | …… % | …… |
| 12 (month average) | …… | …… | …… % | …… |
To set up the profile, mobile page and visitor tracking in one go, the Website Recipe in the Get Visible Online campaign covers all three. TRY 36,000 + VAT, paid upfront at a fixed price for 3 months. Details are on the campaign page.
The card’s first lesson
If utilisation stalls, the problem usually sits in one step. Fix that step.
Quick Summary
- Finding patients has three rings: be seen, be reached, bring them back.
- The Google profile is ready 14 days before opening.
- The sponsored announcement window is the first month after opening.
- Answer the phone in 3 rings and requests in 24 hours.
- Hourly fixed-cost share: monthly fixed costs ÷ monthly consultation hours.
- Fill the utilisation card every Monday for 12 weeks.
Short Glossary
Utilisation rate: Utilisation rate is the measure used to see booked consultation hours as a share of total hours.
Fixed-cost share: Fixed-cost share is the calculation used to find what one empty consultation hour costs the practice.
No-show: A no-show is the record used to track slots left empty without notice.
Next Step
To set up the profile, a mobile booking page and visitor tracking within the rules, apply for the Get Visible Online campaign. Fill in the needs form to get a recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sık Sorulan Sorular
Sponsored routes like Google Ads and Meta Ads are squeezed into the opening month for health facilities. So build the profile, mobile page and tracking first.
The regulation permits information that protects and improves health. Articles without fees or steering fit that line.
Reception keeps it; a doctor reads it weekly. The broader plan is in first 90 days of a new practice, and the full path in the new medical practice promotion guide.
A reminder through the channel the patient approved, carrying only appointment details, is a service notice. The regulation bans promotion through unsolicited messages, so add no campaigns, offers or new service news.
There is no single right rate. You set the target by looking at what empty hours leave uncovered. Watch the 12-week direction.
No. The package is TRY 36,000 + VAT, fixed and paid upfront; at 20 percent VAT that is TRY 43,200, so check the current rate on your invoice. If the Google Ads or Meta Ads Recipe is chosen, the budget is paid to the platform separately; in healthcare that route is limited to the opening month.
Updated: October 2026