Episode 13: Update on COVID Related Employment Law Issues from Paul Martin

Eyes Wide Open, Podcasts

Paul Martin, founding partner of Wilton Martin Litigation Lawyers, updates employment law issues as clinics and employees start to reopen from the COVID-19 mandated practice shutdowns.

About the Guest

Paul is a founding partner at the law firm of Wilton Martin Litigation Lawyers. Paul provides civil litigation representation and advice in a broad range of matters to both businesses and individuals, with a particular emphasis on employment/labour, commercial litigation, professional discipline and health law. Paul devotes a large part of his practice strategizing with his clients to ensure that they avoid the litigation process altogether. However, when litigation is necessary, Paul will work tirelessly to protect his clients’ interests.

Episode Notes

Host Glen Chiasson explores hot button topics surrounding COVID back to work issues with lawyer Paul Martin (Wilton Martin Litigation Lawyers).

While the federal talking-point around 10 days paid sick leave is an apparent hot new button, Paul explains why the issue is not likely to be of any immediate consequence.

Paul delves deeply into the issue of unpaid leave and how the new “Infectious Disease Leave” provision impacts employers. He also suggests how this new provision may unfold as various legal interests start to challenge the regulation on behalf of employee clients.

They explore a number of legal issues around getting employees back to the clinic, including the implications for practice owners wanting to selectively hire back employees. Paul discusses various scenarios around employees who, for any number of reasons, may not want to return to the workplace.

Throughout Paul articulates how the Employment Standards Act (Ontario) legal framework and common law framework apply to various situations, and underlines the need for sound employment contracts with every employee.

A great overview of labour legal issues as clinics re-open.

Resources

Dr. Glen Chiasson

Dr. Glen Chiasson is a 1995 graduate of the University of Waterloo School of Optometry. He owns and manages two practices in Toronto. In 2009, he co-hosted a podcast produced for colleagues in eye care, the “International Optometry Podcast”. He is a moderator of the Canadian Optometry Group, an email forum for Canadian optometrists. As a host of “Eyes Wide Open”, Glenn looks forward to exploring new new technologies and services for eye care professionals.

Dr. Chiasson enjoys tennis, hockey, and reading. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.

Dr. Chiasson splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Roxanne Arnal.

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Insight with Ken Barbet

Insights

Experienced C-Suit Executive

Previous positions in the Beverage Industry

CEO of Eye Recommend for an 8 year period from 2009 to 2017

Believes that Optometrists deserve a more rewarding professional career and a better personal lifestyle

Ken Barbet

President and CEO, Vision Alliance Partnership

University of Calgary and Queen’s University

Describe your favorite vacation destination?

I love to travel and explore new destinations and old favorites, especially when I travel for what I call “Festival Travel”. This is when you travel to experience a “once in a lifetime festival” that showcases experiences that cannot be replicated anywhere else. I have experienced quite a few of these festivals (New Years Eve at Times Square, Octoberfest in Munich, Running of the Bulls in Pamplona Spain, the last day of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, etc.) and am always looking for other ones to experience in the future.

Favorite TV Show / Netflix Series?

Ozark has been my latest Netflix passion – waiting for the next season to start and then binge-watching every episode until the season is complete. I enjoy movies and series where I really cannot guess what twist or turn is coming next. It gives it a freshness and a reality to the characters and their predicament.

Favorite past-time/hobby?

I enjoy playing golf as often as I can. Golf is one of those activities that allows you to spend 4 or 5 hours with people you enjoy on golf courses in some of the most beautiful and secluded environments around. Once you start playing, everything else melts away so that you can focus on the game.

What metrics do you track in order to gauge your success?

Metrics are critical to business success. By choosing and tracking the right metrics, you can identify when things are off track or going off track.

These seven metrics can be used alone to quickly and easily monitor the business or if one of the metrics seems off track, then each can be further broken down into more metrics to help you zero in on the issues that need to be addressed:

Appointment Book Efficiency – used to ensure a proper blend of appointments are made that optimizes the doctor’s time
New Patient % – used to understand the effectiveness of the practice marketing (for both word of mouth and your website/digital marketing)
CL Sales % – used to ensure a balance of new fits and re-orders
Conversion Rate – measures conversions from appointment to other purchases
Revenue per patient – measures what each patient contributes to your revenue
Labor Cost % – measures the adequacy of staffing levels
Net Income % – measures the profitability of the practice and your return on investment (Note: should be calculated after all doctors and owners have been compensated)

How do you choose who to hire in your office?

I think hiring is the most important skill a leader needs to develop – nothing gets done without having an incredible team around you, and it all starts with hiring.

I think a blend of current industry skills, passion and personality is what makes for the best employees. So, I look for the passion and personality first and then see if the industry skills that the candidate has are enough to start with. This often means that I am hiring people who need to learn the eyecare portion of the business, this is okay with me as I really enjoy training people and watching them grow and advance from within.

What habits make you a successful person?

My success comes from the people and teams I have worked with over the years – I cannot think of one thing I did all myself. This means doing things that make the people and teams part of the strategy:

Success comes from creating a new path despite the naysayers who want to always do it like it has always been done
Being successful means taking responsibility when things go wrong and giving credit to the team when things are successful
Taking care to hire the right people with passion and personality
Having the team accountable to each other as well as the leader
Spending more time listening what my team thinks than telling them how we are going to do it

What advice would you give a new grad today?

You have spent 4 years learning to hone your chosen profession, now spend some time learning the fundamentals of business and how to lead and manage people.

Over the years, I have interacted with hundreds of brilliant optometrists who are best-in-class at providing exceptional eye care to their patients but who struggle with the hiring and management of staff, practice leadership and business principles. In fact, from my perspective only about 10% of optometrists can do both at the same time. Those able to do both are often the most professionally satisfied and well-compensated optometrists in Canada.

Many new grads confuse being the individual who defines and implements the medical and clinical standards for the patients with practice ownership.

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How to Build Your Leadership Skills: The Difference Between a Manager and a Leader

Human Resources, Managing Others

If you want to become a leader in the workplace, you’ll need to change more than just your outlook. Becoming a true leader isn’t as simple as managing a team and delegating tasks. You need to learn how to handle stressful situations with ease and make sure that everyone in your team feels valued.

Instead of just supervising a group of people and getting the work done, you need to inspire them to do better every day and step out of their comfort zone. Your focus needs to be on building relationships with your employees and getting them to trust you.

Let’s take a look at what sets a leader apart from a manager and how to develop leadership skills in the workplace.

1. Be Open-Minded and Innovative

Leaders are always open to new things. They have a passion for creating, and they don’t shy away from experimenting with new ideas. They don’t believe in sticking with tradition and are always looking for better opportunities to explore.

They’re unafraid of the challenges that come their way and encourage their employees to think outside of the box. Managers, on the other hand, believe in sticking to what they know. They aren’t open to new changes and like to stay within their comfort zone.

2. Take Risks

Leaders are all about taking risks every time an opportunity presents itself. They understand the importance of risks and are eager to learn from their failures. They believe that risks bring forth a realm of possibilities for any business and help a company grow.

They aren’t scared of failing because they realize that every failure is a blessing in disguise. They exude an aura of positivity and create a sense of hope and curiosity in their employees.

Managers avoid taking risks because they don’t feel comfortable in newer and unforeseen territories. They believe in following tried and tested ways to solve all their problems and don’t appreciate disruptive thinking in the workplace.

3. Stand Out from the Rest

Leaders are driven by their need to stand out and be unique. They’re aware of themselves and aren’t scared of owning up to their shortcomings. They’re willing to take their business to new heights by deviating from established procedures.

They value different opinions and encourage their team members to share and explore new ideas.

Managers like to emulate their predecessors. They replicate what they’ve been taught and don’t feel comfortable with the idea of standing out. They aren’t always eager to accept responsibility for their mistakes. For them, their employees are just individuals who work for them and are expected to complete the tasks they’ve been assigned.

Bottom Line

Now that you’ve learned what makes a leader different from a manager, you can also become a great leader in the workplace by changing your way of thinking. The next time you’re faced with a challenge, you need to be willing to take risks and have an open mind to increase your chances of success.

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

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Episode 12: HOYA Advice for a COVID Rebound

Eyes Wide Open, Podcasts

Ahmos Henry, Hoya Canada president, in discussion with podcast host Dr. Glen Chiasson, offers insights and advice to Canadian eye care professionals in order to bounce back even stronger in the COVID rebound.

About the Guest

Ahmos Henry is a professional healthcare business and operations executive with extensive global experience with many multinational firms. He has held a wide range of executive positions (GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol Myers Squibb, Procter and Gamble, ratiopharm and ESSILOR). In 2014 he was appointed as the president of Hoya Vision Care Canada.

Before joining Hoya Canada, Henry was Regional VP of Atlantic Labs, Essilor, for 8 years. Prior to the optical industry her worked for 18 years in the Pharmaceutical industry in different sales and management positions across Canada and internationally. Henry holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Medical Sciences (1987) and an Executive Masters of Business Administration (2008).

Episode Notes

Ahmos Henry, president Hoya Canada provides a brief history of the company. He provides a comprehensive outline of all the activities that Hoya is undertaking to help eye care professionals weather the COVID storm and resources that have been made available to help practices emerge even stronger.

He provides tips, garnered from the Hoya experience world wide, to address the stress that both staff and patients will be facing as practices reopen across the country.

Ahmos advocates that practitioners prepare to increase the “capture rate” to a level much higher than that which was observed prior to the COVID shut-down by implementing an effective, efficient and safe , “one-stop” patient experience combining the eye health exam and eyewear purchase.

A key tenant of his message is that the business bounce back needs to be strongly and deliberately focused on increasing patient satisfaction and practice revenue.

A Key Take-away: “Even patients that have been with a practice for 10 years, will be seeing everything for the first time through a new set of eyes.”

Resources

Dr. Glen Chiasson

Dr. Chiasson enjoys tennis, hockey, and reading. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.

Dr. Chiasson splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Roxanne Arnal.

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How a Leasehold Agreement and its Clauses can Impact Your Exit Strategy

Buying-Selling A Practice, Finance|Wealth, Practice, Real Estate, Resources

A client of mine is having anxiety about her expiring premise lease. She wants to stay – it’s a great building and she invested almost $1 million in leasehold improvements and non-moveable fixtures. But the landlord is inserting a building demolition clause in all the renewal leases. For someone who’s three years from retiring and planning her exit strategy, moving isn’t part of the plan.

As I explained to my client, a landlord wants AAA tenants – those who have a solid track record and pay rent on time – particularly a successful professional like her. However, all landlords also have contingency plans to sell a building and they want the right to relocate you within the building (RELO) or terminate your lease and deliver the property vacant, should the new owner want to reposition the building or demolish it (DEMO).

These clauses and rights favour landlords by making a building more valuable. Tenants hate these clauses; landlords and their realtors love them. This doesn’t discount the fact that full occupancy and high rents are still the main priorities for a landlord. But a RELO and/or DEMO clause makes the property more valuable and/or saleable to multiple interested buyers, which is another high priority of the landlord.

As a tenant, you won’t know the details of the DEMO clause specific to your lease until the renewal lease proposal arrives. My client’s current lease says that her landlord does not have to provide the renewal lease proposal until precisely six months before the current lease expires. This give tenants very little time to plan for relocation and a savvy landlord knows that. Landlords have the upper hand in these situations.

In working with my client on her exit plan, we want at least 10 years of tenancy from the date she sells in order to obtain 10-year-term financing for the buyer. Ten-year-term financing allows for increased practice sale prices. But it’s more likely that we’ll get three to five years of secured tenancy, after which the DEMO clause (or “threat”) will arise. Assuming my client sells in about three years, as per her plan, the new owner will then have as little as one or two years before being forced to move. And this, of course, will substantially reduce the sale price of any practice.

There’s the option to move and purchase a property. But that means starting the hunt for a business space now. For my client, that means about one year to find a nearby property, buy it and design/build a new office. It’s tight but it can be done. And buying real estate is always a good move, even if it is a long-term investment (think 10 years or more) and her career exit plan is three years.

It may seem to be a conflict, but don’t attach career to a real estate investment. These are
separate decisions with differing commitments and timelines. Real estate can generate income for you and your family for many years. Your practice only generates income for you while you own it and to a lesser extent, if/when you become an associate with a new buyer.

The alternative is to stay and gamble that the landlord will not evoke the DEMO clause (a 50/50 probability) until 2023 or 2024, based on what might be happening in the surrounding real estate area. Or there’s the option to sign a new lease in a neighbouring building, move and custom build another office (as my client did 20 years ago). To do so means abandoning the leaseholds of the current suite (estimated value in the hundreds of thousands of dollars) and getting a bank loan to build the new office – and be at the whim of another landlord.

Landlords will always position their holdings for resale and will not accommodate tenants who occupy a relatively small portion of their building (like my client’s practice, which is just 3% of the entire property). And so, as I suggested to her, buying her own property may be the best move (quite literally). The alternatives for professionals in leasehold agreements – who are also planning their exit strategy and career retirement – are limited.

Find something in the area you want and secure a long-term real estate investment. The bonus is that it’ll become a second retirement income once the practice is sold. As has been said by a billionaire oil tycoon, “If it appreciates, buy it. If it depreciates, lease it.” Don’t let your practice depreciate.

TIMOTHY BROWN

is Chief Executive Office of ROI Corporation Canada’s national professional practice and brokerage firm.

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Episode 11: Vision Therapy with Dr. Virginia Donati

Eyes Wide Open, Podcasts, Practice, Resources, Specialty Practice

Glen Chiasson discusses all things Vision Therapy with Dr. Virginia Donati, president of Vision Therapy Canada.

About the Guest

Dr. Donati attended the Pennsylvania College of Optometry where she first learned about vision therapy by becoming a patient herself and graduated in 2006. Upon returning to Canada she brought her passion for vision therapy to her own patients and to the profession at large as the founding VP of COVT&R and the current President of its successor organization, Vision Therapy Canada. She is an Instructor of the Optometric Extension Program’s Clinical Curriculum in Vision Therapy and the lead instructor for VTC’s Practical Vision Therapist Accreditation Program (PVTAP). She lectures across North America in the field of binocular vision and is keenly interested in the education and training of new and existing Vision Therapists and Optometrists.

Episode Notes

Virginia Donati shares her personal story of how a life changing experience while studying at PCO cemented her intense interest in and passion for Vision Therapy.

Glen plays devil’s advocate around some of the professions perceptions of vision therapy, including on “the science”, and the perceptions of expense to patients.

Donati, of course, stands her ground, and opines as to why the medical profession, and even many in the optometry world including optometric educators, do not take VT as seriously as it deserves.

She outlines the challenges facing the sub-specialty and encourages ODs to think about their future role with Vision Therapy being a part of their practice and how Vision Therapy can help differentiate their practice.

Lastly, Dr. Donati outlines specific steps that can be taken by ODs to learn more and become a VT specialists if they so desire.

Key Quote: “Demand is there, patients are there but this may not be recognized”.

Resources

Dr. Glen Chiasson

Dr. Chiasson enjoys tennis, hockey, and reading. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.

Dr. Chiasson splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Roxanne Arnal.

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Insight with Dr. Virginia Donati

Insights

Practicing optometry in Peel since her residency in 2005. She was born and raised in Brampton.

Founding Vice President of COVT&R, now know as Vision Therapy Canada (VTC), now President of VTC.

Lead instructor for Practical Vision Therapist Accreditation Program (PVTAP).

Dr. Virginia Donati

Optometrist, FCOVD

University of Waterloo, Bachelor of Science

Optometry, Pennsylvania College of Optometry

President of Vision Therapy Canada

Why did you choose your field?

I actually decided that I was going to be an optometrist when I was 10 years old. I remember the day very clearly. My mother took me to the optometrist (my first visit since pre-school) and I was in awe of all of the machines and lenses and knobs. When he was done, he put a trial frame on my face and I almost cried. To me, he was a hero! That afternoon, I asked my mother to take me to the library so that I could research what I needed to do to become an optometrist like him. Many years later, he also gave me a summer job at his front desk, an extern position for high-school co-op, and wrote a reference letter for me for optometry school. A special thank you to Dr. R. Lapienis!

What is currently the most exciting thing in your field to help patients?

The most exciting thing for me is the Vision Therapy scope. When you see patients who are incredibly symptomatic, or those whose struggles they didn’t even know were due to a vision problem, and intervene with treatment that provides relief, it is an incredibly rewarding experience. In our profession, Vision Therapy remains underutilized and under-prescribed. My wish and hope for our profession is that more optometrists learn about what it is that Vision Therapy can provide for patients and that more optometrists start to provide Vision Therapy in their practice. We need many more providers across the country!

What advice would you give a new grad today?

I would say that new grads shouldn’t be satisfied to sit around and refract all day. Find a niche, a “specialty” area of our profession which you are passionate about and educate yourself. Whether that’s Vision Therapy, low vision, contact lenses, dry eye, etc. Find something that you find mentally stimulating, fun and that brings you joy. When you do that, every day is different and every patient a new adventure. You will never work a day in your life!

What is something you believed to be true for a long time only to find out you were wrong?

I believed that “the” prescription was what you measured in the phoropter. In reality, it’s really a negotiation between what you measure and what you know the patient is truly asking for. It’s a mix between the patient’s vision system and your expertise. There’s a certain amount of artistry and individuality to it. To ignore this fact is to become a living auto-refractor and to become obsolete.

What is one thing you own that you probably should throw away but never will?

I still have my first pair of glasses from 1989. They’re small, weak, dated and scratched beyond belief, but I can’t bring myself to throw them out. For me, they are a reminder of the awe I experienced that day at my optometrist’s office and a reminder of why I decided optometry was the profession for me. After all, who doesn’t want to feel like somebody’s hero? They are also pretty darned cute!

Tell me something few people know about you.

I actually had a very difficult time in my first year of optometry school. A binocular vision problem caused me to struggle to keep up with all the reading and studying that was required. I sought treatment at my school’s pediatrics department. It was my first experience with Vision Therapy. That intervention allowed me to not only improve, but thrive! It gave me the passion for Vision Therapy that I carry with me today. Looking back, I actually feel very lucky to have had that struggle!

What is your favourite past-time/hobby?

I find it incredibly relaxing and therapeutic to crochet. It’s something I taught myself to do when I was expecting my first child and something I continue to do. Some of my earliest work, with all of it’s dropped stitches and uneven tension, is work that I am the most proud of. When I look at it, I see someone who was not distracted by failure. At this point, I wouldn’t say I’m an expert at it, but good enough that I won first prize at my town’s fall fair two years in a row!

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Managing a Productive Remote Workforce

Human Resources, Managing Others

With growing measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), a large number companies across the globe have had to suddenly tell their employees to work from home.

For many employees, this is something they’re happy to embrace – once they’re setup with the right tools, they will stay productive and continue with business as usual from a home office environment.

However, for some, the directive to work from home can spell disaster if management doesn’t fully recognize what’s required to help those individuals continue to thrive in a changing, more isolated environment.

Easing the Transition:

So, with no choice in the matter, how do we make this prompt transition to a home office as smooth as possible for everyone, regardless of their workplace preferences or personality?

First, ensure you’ve addressed any technical roadblocks by outlining a clear list of what is needed for each individual to get setup at home. Help fill in any hardware gaps, such as:

Loan of a laptop or desktop screens
A comfortable office chair
Desk phone and headset
Some extra printer cartridges

As well, make sure everyone is comfortable with remote file sharing on such platforms as:

Google Drive
Dropbox
MS OneDrive
OneHub

Next, help employees understand working hours and scheduling requirements whilst away from the daily office structure. Assist them with creating a sharable task schedule or tracking system, using such tools as:

Trello
Monday
SmartSheet
Jira
Toggl

Also, suggest that they build their own ‘Family Schedule’ with the other family members who are stuck in the house. This will minimize distractions and anxiety as everyone in the household has established guidelines and boundaries during work hours.

Stay Connected:

Once everyone is set up remotely, keep in mind that there is only so much you can communicate through text and group emails. Overtime, not working with people face to face can sometimes make it difficult to guide them or fully gauge their emotions, intentions and well-being – especially at this time when we are all dealing with a lot of change and unknowns in our daily lives.

When in a standard office environment, studies show that many employees rely on the morning team meeting to gain positive energy and feedback from the others in order to get their day started. And, during breaktime, workers often look forward to the social aspect of pouring a cup of coffee and engaging in spontaneous chatter about news, sports, or movies.

So, if you haven’t already, start by implementing an efficient messaging app (such as Slack) to make back and forth online discussion much faster and easier. But don’t stop there. Get your remote team in the habit of replacing some of those messages and emails with phone calls instead, even doing some of your calls via FaceTime. And for your team discussions, maintain a cohesive group feel by doing video meetings using Skype or Zoom on a regular basis – seeing faces and sharing screens can go a long way towards morale and productivity.

Extra Tools to Help You Manage:

With the long-term outcome of this pandemic still very much unknown, people may have to continue working remotely for quite some time. As this plays out, business owners and managers need to feel confident that they can maintain a motivated, engaged workforce from afar.

Consider tools such as the PXT Select suite of behavioural, engagement or leadership assessments to help you continue the alignment and understanding of your team’s strengths, weaknesses, and abilities – giving you more power to coach and develop your people to their full potential during this unprecedented time in the workplace.

Reassurance:

No matter what, make sure your team knows that you’ve got their back. ‘Social distancing’ does not mean anyone will be sent home and forgotten about – everyone should feel trusted, valued and looked after for as long as they’re working remotely and beyond.

Want to discuss more about this topic?

Get in touch to share your thoughts and discuss more options to help keep your staff engaged:
info@fitfirsttech.com
1-800-513-7277

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Staying Connected in Uncertain Times

Human Resources, Managing Others

The past couple of weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic have brought more unfortunate “firsts” than most of us care to think about. With so much uncertainty, everyday decisions become harder to make.

Most ODs have now officially laid off their staff, save for the one or two members needed to answer calls and emails, reschedule appointments and other administrative tasks.

Now at home, with little work to do, the challenge is to figure out a way to maintain a sense of purpose and hope.

There are actually a number of ways that you can stay connected and support those around you.

One way I am doing this is by continuing to support local businesses. For instance, I have ordered eggs, sausage, and canned goods from a local family owned store. They are offering delivery twice a week during this time. Not only am I looking forward to that delivery of food today, I feel good about the fact that I am helping another family keep their business going.

Socially, I am starting to feel disconnected, so my friends and I have embraced the concept of remote “gatherings”. Once a week, we are setting ourselves up with a computer, remote access and our favourite beverage. This week, everyone has been challenged to dig up some old pictures from high school to share.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have also been part of remote meetings with some of my clients and their teams. I am struck by how much they enjoyed this face-to-face interaction. These are people who normally spend a large portion of their week together, but suddenly they aren’t seeing each other at all!

There was genuine joy to see each other and share how their experience has been so far. I encourage you to consider doing something like this with your team. Keep it social, share how everyone is staying active and busy – and give your teams a chance to stay connected.

Another way to create purpose right now is to look for ways to give during this time. I have seen lots of opportunities to foster animals. What a great time to do this! You will have time to give that animal lots of attention.

On a professional front, I had a client reach out yesterday to ask how he could help me with my business – he has time on his hands and believes in what I do. Incredible! Who can you reach out to and offer a helping hand? Letting someone know that they are not alone could be all the help they need.

It will take some time to settle into a new normal on the other side of this, but we will get there and we will be better for it.

KELLY HRYCUSKO

is the co-founder and managing partner of Simple Innovative Management Ideas (SIMI) Inc. and expert Practice Management contributor for Optik magazine. She can be reached at info@simiinc.com.

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Episode 10: The New ULTRA Multifocal for Astigmatism Contact Lens

Podcasts

Dr. James (Jim) Hoffman, an early trialist of B+L’s new ULTRA Multifocal for Astigmatism contact lenses, shares his experience and best practices with this new contact lens for presbyopes with astigmatism.

About the Guest

Dr. Jim Hoffman graduated from the University of Houston College of Optometry in 1981 and was awarded fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry in 1985. Dr. Hoffman excels in pediatrics and advanced contact lenses and often lectures to his peers in USA and Canada.

Dr Hoffman is an independent practice owner with two practices in Orange Park Florida (south of Jacksonville), where he practices with his wife Dr. Karen Larson.

Episode Notes

Dr. James (Jim) Hoffman shares his experience with the new ULTRA Multifocal for Astigmatism Contact Lens from Bausch + Lomb. Dr Hoffman was among the earliest ODs to work with the lens. He’s been impressed with the lens and explains how it has helped him maintain an innovative edge in a competitive market environment.

He reveals his pre-marketing strategy for the lens including identification of which specific patient types are best, and which to avoid. Jim relays his experience in fitting the lenses and offers up advice to get the most out of this innovative new product, particularly for patients that have been frustrated with the challenge of finding a great solution for presbyopes with astigmatism.

He explains why the B+L fitting guide is important and shouldn’t be ignored.

Jim explains his approach to different patient types, including CL drop-outs, in the exam room conversation and shares his experience with adaption and patient follow ups. He reveals his “go-to” question to open the conversation on contact lenses in general.

Key Advice: “Don’t use your past experience to fit a lens that’s never been made before.”

Resources

ULTRA Multifocal for Astigmatism

Dr. Glen Chiasson

Dr. Chiasson enjoys tennis, hockey, and reading. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.

Dr. Chiasson splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Roxanne Arnal.

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