E#18 - Clinic SOPs, Follow-Up Debt, Your Clinic CRM Doesn't Have a User

In this episode of The Business of a Clinic, we unpack the operational realities behind SOPs, follow-up, and patient retention — and why most clinics unknowingly leak patients long after treatment, consultations, or enquiries.We discuss why SOPs are rarely fully documented, how critical context lives inside people’s heads instead of systems, and why this creates risk when clinics attempt to automate or scale.The conversation also introduces the concept of follow-up debt — the slow accumulation of missed follow-ups, stalled patients, and unresolved issues that quietly undermine growth and patient trust.Topics covered include:What SOPs actually mean in a healthcare settingWhy intake SOPs get attention — but recall and issue resolution don’tHow undocumented nuance breaks automation and AI workflowsThe difference between complaints vs bad feedback — and why escalation mattersWhy CRM systems struggle with real patient journeysTransactional vs relational patient communicationThe limits of rules-based automation in healthcareWhere AI helps — and where human ownership is non-negotiableThis episode is essential listening for clinic owners, operators, and healthcare leaders who want to understand why patients drift, why recall fails, and how operational debt quietly builds inside growing practices.