Better Retention, Increased Revenue

The Challenge

Patient retention is a priority for every provider, but for a chain of Midwest Office-Based Opioid Treatment (OBOT) clinics providing medication-assisted treatment, it’s not just clinical, it’s financial. In a business built on razor-thin margins, every patient who drops out early represents lost revenue and poor outcomes. At the same time, clinic staff had no capacity to do more to reduce patient drop-outs.

The Solution

The MAT chain implemented CHESS Health’s Connections recovery support app in March 2025 to give patients 24/7 access to peer support, meetings, and recovery tools, in order to help patients bridge the unsupported time between clinic visits. Within months, discharge data showed the app was working: patients with the app were staying in treatment longer, but the number of patients getting the app was low. Clinic staff reported they didn’t have time to offer the app to every patient.

An automated fix — no added staff time. The organization and CHESS implemented auto-enrollment, where every patient is automatically invited to get the Connections app through EHR integration. Every patient was sent a text message invitation to get the app immediately upon admission, with zero staff effort. In addition to auto-enrollment, the MAT chain, with CHESS’s marketing assistance, displayed branded promotional materials in their clinics and offered a $15 incentive to patients for app engagement.

The Impact

In the first six months after auto-enrollment was implemented, the organization saw the following results:   

• Increased retention. 83% of new patients using the Connections app are still in treatment, compared to 61% of new patients not using the app – a 36% relative increase in retention.
• Longer length of stay = more revenue. Discharged patients using the Connections app remained in treatment for an average of 105 days versus 66 days for non-users. This equals 39 additional days, a 59% increase, which translates to an estimated  $425–$900 in additional revenue per patient.*
• Fewer no-shows: No-show rates for therapy visits are 16–24% lower among Connections app users, across all clinic locations.
• Faster time to support. New patients start using Connections just 4.2 days after admission on average – more than half within 2 days, many before their first intake visit – meaning patients get connected to recovery support before they’ve even had their first clinical touchpoint.
• Greater patient adoption. Auto-enrollment doubled (100% increase) new patient app engagement, with zero added staff workload.

All of this was achieved without any added staff effort. By putting Connections into every patient’s hands automatically, this MAT chain didn’t just cut drop-outs and improve outcomes — it unlocked incremental revenue from longer lengths of stay.

*Estimate is based on calculations from the CMS Office-Based OUD Treatment Billing.