What Is Patient Acquisition Cost?
The total cost to acquire one new patient, including advertising, staff time, and technology, critical for healthcare practice profitability.
Patient Acquisition Cost Explained
Patient acquisition cost (PAC) is the healthcare-specific version of customer acquisition cost. It measures how much a practice spends to bring in each new patient, including advertising, referral programs, front-desk staff time, and technology costs.
The national average for patient acquisition cost ranges from $150 to $400 depending on specialty. Dental practices average $200 to $350 per new patient. Med spas and cosmetic practices range from $250 to $500. Primary care practices are typically lower at $100 to $200 due to insurance-driven referrals.
The calculation should include all costs: Google Ads spend, website maintenance, review management software, call tracking, front-desk labor allocated to handling new patient inquiries, and any referral incentives.
The metric matters most when compared to patient lifetime value. A dental patient worth $3,000 over 3 years can justify a $300 PAC. But if your PAC is $400 and patients average only $800 in lifetime value, your growth is unprofitable.
Why Patient Acquisition Cost Matters
Healthcare practices that do not track PAC cannot determine which marketing channels are profitable. A practice spending $5,000/month on Google Ads needs to know if those ads produce 15 patients ($333 PAC) or 50 patients ($100 PAC). The difference determines whether to scale or cut.
How to Calculate Patient Acquisition Cost
PAC = Total Marketing & Acquisition Costs / Number of New PatientsRelated Terms
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
The total cost to acquire one new customer, calculated by dividing all sales and marketing spend by the number of new customers acquired.
Cost Per Acquisition Benchmarks by Industry
Average costs to acquire one customer across different industries, used to evaluate whether your marketing spend is competitive or wasteful.
Missed Call Revenue Impact
The quantified revenue lost when a business fails to answer incoming phone calls, typically $200 to $1,000+ per missed call in service industries.
Practice Valuation Multiples
The multiplier applied to a healthcare practice's earnings or revenue to determine its market value, varying by specialty, size, and growth rate.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average patient acquisition cost for dental practices?
Dental practices spend $200 to $350 per new patient on average. This includes Google Ads ($150-250 per new patient), website and SEO costs, review management, and front-desk time. Practices with strong organic presence and referral programs achieve PAC under $150.
How do you reduce patient acquisition cost?
Improve Google Business Profile (free local visibility), implement a patient referral program, optimize website conversion rates, use AI receptionists to capture every call, and invest in SEO for long-term organic traffic. The biggest quick win is usually capturing missed calls.
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