A useful retention review asks why care stopped
A lower session count can reflect completed care, a planned transfer, an agreed pause, or an interruption. Those situations call for different responses. This review keeps them separate instead of assuming that every person who stops attending should return.
Start with one group who attended a first visit, and assess each person at the same point after starting. Someone in their second week shouldn’t be compared with someone who has already had several months of care.
Make the remaining gaps understandable
Confirm the care status
Check whether an ending, transfer, or pause was agreed but not yet recorded.
Understand the interruption
Where follow-up is appropriate, ask whether appointment times, payment questions, or another barrier got in the way.
Respect the next step
A client may want to resume, change providers, or stop. Use the review to understand that choice and the appropriate next step.
Make room before inviting someone back
The optional appointment plan shows the openings needed over the next four weeks for the people who may resume. Enter a realistic number and the frequency of visits you would need to accommodate.
A sufficient count of openings is only the first check. The clinician, appointment time, and type of care still need to fit. The calculator doesn’t increase session length or attach a revenue target to a return.
Common questions
Why doesn’t this calculate extra revenue from longer therapy?
The main question is whether care is continuing as agreed and whose status needs a check. Planned endings, transfers, and pauses are not counted as failures. The optional scenario checks appointment space only.
How do I decide whether someone is continuing?
Use the care plan and agreed appointment frequency. A client who is appropriately attending once a month should not be treated as missing because they did not attend weekly.
What if I don’t know why someone stopped?
Leave them out of the continuing, planned-ending, and agreed-pause categories until you know. They will appear in the unplanned or unexplained gap count, which is a starting point for reviewing their status.
Does everyone with a gap need to come back?
No. The review helps you understand the situation and decide whether follow-up is appropriate. A return depends on the client’s choice and clinical need.
Why use the same review point for everyone?
Clients need comparable time to attend, finish, transfer, or pause. Choose a point after the first visit and include only clients who have reached it.