Patient acquisition cost (PAC) encompasses all the dollars your practice spends to find and acquire new patients. These costs are robust-factoring in everything from marketing to overhead expenses-and they add up quickly.

PAC = (sales and marketing costs) / (number of new patients)

Patient acquisition cost eats into your potential profitability-so it should be significantly lower than your patient's lifetime value (PLV), or how much they'll spend during their lifetime as a patient. To keep your practice going strong for the long haul, widen the margin between the two-aiming for a 3:1 PLV to PAC ratio.

PLV = (average revenue per visit) × (number of visits over lifetime)

So how can you get everything to line up properly? Tag along as we look at how to reduce patient acquisition costs and increase lifetime value through the lens of healthcare marketing.