How ODs Will Be Affected By 5 Digital Transformations in Healthcare

Differentiation | Business Strategy, Practice, Technology

|

0
(0)

Technology has been changing our practices for a long time, and will continue to do so. Here are five “digital transformations” spotlighted recently in Forbes magazine, and how we think our own industry will be impacted.

Healthcare is changing with the introduction of telemedicine; mobility and cloud access; wearables and the internet of things; artificial intelligence and big data; and empowered consumers.

Telemedicine
Eighty percent of doctors surveyed in 2015, believed that telemedicine is a better way to manage chronic disease than just seeing patients through a traditional office visit. As the Baby Boomers age the amount of chronic disease that we manage will increase significantly. Having the ability to utilize telemedicine to help manage chronic disease will be a great benefit to the patients we see. Through telemedicine the patient is not limited to the geographic location of the doctor’s office. With an internet connection and a smartphone, telemedicine will enhance the doctor-patient relationship.

With the camera feature of today’s smartphone, it will be easier to triage some patients between the categories of urgent and emergent. It may also help make the decision whether the patient should go straight to the hospital, or instead come to the eye doctor’s office.

Online refractions hold the potential of helping to manage patients with out-of-control diabetes, who have rapidly changing refractions, or those young patients who are rapidly growing and have changing refractions.

Telemedicine will also give us the ability to transmit to other doctors from whom we are seeking consults, information in real time about the patient who may be sitting in our chair. This may help us triage the difference between categories of patients such as urgent and emergent.

Mobility And Cloud Access
For the doctor, both mobility and cloud access can help deliver better patient care. The doctor can access patient records on the home computer or on the smartphone while on-call. This has the potential of delivering both better and faster care while on-call. It also gives the ability to answer questions from a specialist about a patient whom you’re sharing care with if you happen to be out of the office.

Cloud access is the computing platform of the future. Because of its superiority, eventually it will be used by everyone.

Wearables And IoT
Wearables are here to stay. Just count the number of Google or Apple watches on people’s wrists. Every year the number is getting higher. Even eyeglass frames are beginning to utilize wearable technology. Frames are being designed to identify if the patient has fallen and not gotten up.

Wearable technology in eyeglass frames includes activity tracking technology (e.g.: Level Smart Glasses ) that does things such as step counting, calories burned and distance traveled. 3-D displays and facial recognition are two of the more exciting things (or incredibly scary things) that will be incorporated into glasses in the near future. By the way, if you misplace your glasses, with wearable technology in your frames, you can easily find them.

Contact lenses are being developed with built-in technology. Google scientists have created the contact lenses that can measure the blood sugar in your tears.

The Internet of things (IoT) is really about the inter-connectivity and inter-operability of all of our electronic devices within the internet infrastructure. IoT is going to expand exponentially over the next decade. It will become the way that we do everything. Everyone we know who has seen Tony Stark’s computer J.A.R.V.I.S. wants one. It’s just a matter of time. This will change the way we do business in the office, as well as changing the way we do things at home.

Artificial Intelligence And Big Data
Artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting technological changes that will help doctors in dealing with patients. Differential diagnosis and interactions between both prescribed drugs and other chemicals patients are putting into their bodies are just two of the significant ways that artificial intelligence can contribute to the eye examination and treatment plans of the patients we see.

Artificial intelligence offers the ability to review the patient’s chart and suggest differential diagnoses that we may have overlooked. It has the ability to analyze all medications and all substances consumed by the patient looking for both positive and negative interactions with the drugs we are considering prescribing for the patient.

Big data also has a role in improving patient care. Once we are all linked together electronically, we can see the results of every treatment plan prescribed to every patient everywhere. This will give us much better insight into evidence-based medicine. It will also quickly identify those patients who are not best served by standard protocols, and instead would benefit from some other form of treatment. Subtleties and nuances will not be overlooked.

Empowered Consumers
Knowledge is power. If you haven’t read about the “Empowered Consumer,” then read this article from Forbes. The Empowered Consumer is already in our offices. These patients exhibit the following:

• With smartphone in hand they are driven by their ability to try before you buy, return at will and click their way to new options and choices.

• They check sources before making a decision, using sources such as Amazon comments and their social network of friends.

• They expect you to understand their needs, their history and everything, from the way they engage, to what they’ve done in the past. (Do you track your patients this closely? Starbucks does. Most major retailers do.)

The Forbes article recommends that we do the following:
• Connect with consumers on the tech platform of their choice.

• Provide a brand-safe platform.

• Drive contextual content relevance.

• Utilize analytics-driven decision making.

• Maximize engagement.

The future is now. Take this week to review how your practice is preparing for the changes coming soon to healthcare.

References
i. http://www.leveltechnology.com/
ii. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/diabetes-google-develops-glucose-monitoring-contact-lens-012314
iii. https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenrosenbaum/2015/07/16/the-new-world-of-the-empowered-consumer/#1eb60e664aab

 

MARK WRIGHT, OD, FCOVD

Dr. Wright is the founding partner of a nine-partner, three-location full-scope optometric practice. As CEO of Pathways to Success, an internet-based practice management firm, he works with practices of all sizes. He is faculty coordinator for Ohio State’s leading practice management program.

CAROLE BURNS, OD, FCOVD

Dr. Burns is the senior partner of a nine-doctor full-scope optometric practice that she built with her husband, Dr. Wright. She is also the COO of a state-wide nursing care optometry practice. Dr. Burns lectures nationally on practice management and staffing issues. Dr. Burns authored the Specialty Practice section of the textbook, Business Aspects of Optometry.

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Networked for Success

Finance|Wealth, Practice, Resources

|

0
(0)

By Kassandra Shaw, OD. St. Paul Eyecare

Editor’s note: Kassandra Shaw left Saskatchewan to study Optometry at Waterloo with the full intention of returning to her prairie roots. Raised by owners of an independent small-town business, Kassandra knew exactly what she wanted to do and where she wanted to do it. In January 2017 she opened an independent practice in St. Paul, Alberta and is about to add a second OD. She was able to achieve her goals through experiential learning as a student intern, as an associate optometrist, and with the help of her network, Optometric Services Inc.

At the time of entering Optometry School at Waterloo, I already knew where and what type of practice I wanted. By graduation in 2013, I had intentions of living somewhere in a rural area, which I thought would be best for raising a family in the future. I grew up in rural south-east Saskatchewan, and knew that a prairie setting was something that I wanted to come back to. Given that my parents were owners of an independent retail business, I had a strong drive towards a consumer based business model.  Wanting to enter the health care field, Optometry presented a perfect match for me.

I targeted an area that could accommodate another one-to-two OD practice, not wanting to stray too far from my roots. My research pointed to St. Paul Alberta; a growing community large enough to support a new optometric practice.

While I already planned to own my own business from before graduation, I set out to gain experience prior to implementing my goal. I wanted to see how other optometrists managed their clinics and what could be learned through the experience. I did my internship in a private practice in St. Paul and joined the practice as an associate after graduation. In the following two years, I gained strong marketing and customer service experience at a major optical retailer to complement what I had learned from independent optometry.

Support from My Network

I opened the doors of my dream independent practice on January 17th of 2017.

It would be lovely if a wonderful manual existed with all the information needed to open and operate a practice, with all the options and aspects to consider, but there isn’t. A colleague suggested I look at OSI (Optometric Services Inc.) as a network to support my goals. OSI had a very good reputation in the region, and that definitely came through when I met with Hannah, the Regional Account Manager.

Hannah was there to answer all of my questions and spent the time to ensure everything was properly set up. Moving forward with OSI has been incredibly beneficial. They held seminars with my staff who were new to the industry before we even opened our doors. They’ve continued to hold seminars in areas that we need help.

OSI also offers leadership management courses. I can honestly say that this was the most impactful development tool I have encountered. The courses were like a manual for analyzing an independent optometry clinic—how to look at it from every perspective: from tracking the financials and all the different Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), all the way to staffing and scheduling.

The OSI national summit at Lake Louise was affordable enough even as a first-year practice. I was able to take my staff along for an educational and fun weekend of networking with great speakers.

Virtues of Independent Practice

I think that independent optometry is a great thing. Owning your own business offers a great opportunity to grow something shaped around your own ideals and values. The entire idea behind being an entrepreneur is very rewarding and it allows you to offer to your patients exactly what you want to offer; to practice optometry in the way you want to practice it.

There’s a lot of great resources out there and many people willing to help.  There’s always resources that are specifically set out to help you, and so it’s not something that’s outside of anyone’s reach even if you believe you don’t have the background with the business aspects of independent practice.

Now that I’ve put in all the work to make my own business successful, I would tell anybody to do the same. It’s definitely worth it!  We are in an industry where we are very lucky to have a lot of resources to work with and to help us along the way.

One year in, I couldn’t be happier with the progress we’ve made. The biggest challenge in moving forward is that I’m going to be needing to hire more staff.  My brother graduates from Waterloo this spring, and he will be joining me in the practice. Once I’m not seeing patients five days a week I will have a couple extra days to be training and working with new staff. And I am confident in the future knowing that OSI will be along for the journey.

 

This article is supported by Optometric Services, Inc.

 

KASSANDRA SHAW, OD

Dr Kassandra Shaw is the owner of St. Paul Eye Care, in St. Paul Alberta.  She opened her doors in January 2017.  Dr. Shaw is a member of Optometric Services Inc. (OSI).

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

15 Stress-Reducing Actions to Take

Human Resources, Practice, Resources

|

0
(0)

Physicians are pressured to both serve patients and keep up with the demands of an evolving healthcare system. Keeping yourself in the right frame of mind, while maintaining productivity, is essential to providing excellent care, and maintaining a profitable practice. Here are key ways to assess your stress level, and how to keep your workload, and life responsibilities, manageable.

WHAT IS STRESS?
One of your staff just called in sick. Your first patient is 20 minutes late. The electricity just went out, and the electric company does not know when it will be restored. An angry patient just walked through your front door wondering out loud where her glasses are and why did your staff not call to let her know that they would be late. Your stress levels are just about maxed out.

So, what is stress? Here’s a definition:“Stress is defined as an organism’s total response to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied in the 1950s, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures. More recently, however, the word “stressor” has been used for the stimulus that provokes a stress response. One recurrent disagreement among researchers concerns the definition of stress in humans. Is it primarily an external response that can be measured by changes in glandular secretions, skin reactions, and other physical functions, or is it an internal interpretation of, or reaction to, a stressor; or is it both?”

Stress is part of life. Some stress is good, most stress is bad – especially chronic stress. We all respond to stress in different ways. Because of the variability in types and causes of stress, scientists have had a difficult time agreeing on definitions and even measurement tools. Very few of the measurement tools for stress have been validated.

We found an interesting web site that makes a good effort at measuring stress. This web site gives multiple stress measurement tools. We’ll just highlight two of them. The 360 Assessment looks at lifestyle, occupation, attitude and diet to determine overall stress, then provides tips and resources based on your score. The AIS Workplace Stress Survey serves as a simple screening measure determining the need for further investigation with more comprehensive assessments.

Once you’ve identified that you have stress that is negatively impacting your life, then you need to positively manage the stress. Here are 15 scientifically backed ways to de-stress. You can read more about each of these techniques, and more, by going to the article.
1. Go for a 10 minute walk.
2. Breathe deeply.
3. Use the power of “guided imagery” to elicit a relaxation response.
4. Eat a healthy snack
5. Buy yourself a plant.
6. Step away from the screen.
7. Kiss someone.
8. Turn off your phone.
9. Put on some music.
10. Use a web-based stress management program.
11. Chew gum.
12. Watch a viral video.
13. Use progressive muscle relaxation.
14. Spend time with your best friend.
15. Eat a banana.

Everyone has different ways to deal with stress. If your way is not working, then try something new from the list above.

 

MARK WRIGHT, OD, FCOVD

Dr. Wright is the founding partner of a nine-partner, three-location full-scope optometric practice. As CEO of Pathways to Success, an internet-based practice management firm, he works with practices of all sizes. He is faculty coordinator for Ohio State’s leading practice management program.

CAROLE BURNS, OD, FCOVD

Dr. Burns is the senior partner of a nine-doctor full-scope optometric practice that she built with her husband, Dr. Wright. She is also the COO of a state-wide nursing care optometry practice. Dr. Burns lectures nationally on practice management and staffing issues. Dr. Burns authored the Specialty Practice section of the textbook, Business Aspects of Optometry.

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Webinar: The Perfect Fit

Human Resources, Managing Others, Talent Acquisition, Webinar

|

0
(0)

On Monday March 5th 2018 Canadian Eye Care Business Review hosted a panel discussion entitled The Perfect Fit, Finding and Keeping Great People. Drs. Jeff and Tina Goodhew, independent practitioners from Oakville, Ontario, guide the discussion of current best practices with three subject matter experts in the HR field. Jan van der Hoop and Tim Brennan of Fit First Technologies and Kelly Hyrcusko of SIMI (Simple Innovative Management Ideas Inc.) share their views on the subject. The webinar is rich in practical tips and advixe for eye care professionals on a wide array of topics from candidate screening to best practices in onboarding a new employee into your team. New data driven objective decision models are discussed which can help in providing better insights into candidates and improve hiring success rates.

The webinar was sponsored by eyeployment.com, Simple Innovative Management Ideas, and Optik Magazine.

Click to watch the video recording, or listen to the audio below.

 

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Five Hiring Myths That Cost Your Practice Money

Human Resources, Talent Acquisition

|

0
(0)

In this two part series, Jan van der Hoop and Tim Brennan of Fit First Technologies bust popular hiring myths to help you avoid making costly mistakes. Check back on March 21st for part two.

Myth #1: I need to hire people who have experience (usually at least 3-5 years) in this job.     

The sad truth is that in the vast majority of cases, organizations find themselves hiring for experience and firing for job fit. We bring people in to the practice because they have the right blend of education, credentials, and work experience… and then we terminate them because they can’t get along well with their manager, their coworkers or your customers.

Far better to find people who fit. Candidates who can work productively with your people and your patients, and who have the ability to learn what they need to know quickly.

Myth #2: A solid résumé and a crisp, focused and well-written cover letter define the best candidate.

When you consider that most candidates don’t even write their own résumés, and factor in all the statistics around embellishment and outright falsification of information on résumés, it’s hard to believe that we are still accepting these documents as the primary admission ticket for candidates into any credible organization’s hiring pipeline.

When you layer on top of that the realization that there’s no correlation – none whatsoever – between what’s in the resume and how well people will perform or how long they will stay, you have to concede that relying on a resume to help you find the right candidate gives you about the same odds as buying a lottery ticket. The difference is that getting it wrong costs you a whole lot more that the buck you spent on the ticket.

Instead, screen first for the things that are predictors of retention and productivity – then look at their background.

Myth #3: Finding the right person is a numbers game. To improve my odds of finding the right person, I need to broadcast my opening using the big recruitment boards, the niche boards, and selected papers and publications.

The odds that candidates who post their resume online or who respond to an ad will be the right candidates for you to invest time in are pretty slim. At any given point, only about 20% of the workforce has an up-to-date resume… and they have and up to date resume because they are actively looking for work. When you think about it from that angle, these folks are typically are not the top performers you want to speak to.

There’s a huge difference between quantity of candidates and quality of candidates. The best quality candidates are usually not actively looking for work. They don’t hang out on the job boards or read the ads, and they don’t have an up-to-date resume. You want to target the 60% of the workforce who aren’t actively looking for work but who also aren’t in love with their current job.

Most of us don’t realize that requiring people to give you a resume is actually a barrier to
finding the right talent for our business. When you do away with that requirement, and set up a process where better people can apply without that inconvenience, you win.

Myth #4: First impressions are everything. A candidate needs to impress me in the first five minutes.

Yes, first impressions are important. And the statistics continue to show that most managers decide at an unconscious level whether or not they want to hire a candidate in the first three minutes or so of the interview. The other 57 minutes are basically a charade aimed at gathering information – positive or negative – to support whatever that decision was.

Really good managers are aware of that tendency… and they work to counteract it. One important way they do that is to be clear on the desired outcome… that they are looking for a top performer, not a top candidate. This difference is critical… top candidates have a great resume, show up on time and look the part, and so on… and these cosmetic factors we’ve been taught to value have no bearing at all on how long they will stay or how well they will work out. The list of attributes that are predictive of top performers is a completely different list.

Top performers share a very distinctive set of attributes and attitudes. They learn fast. They take responsibility. They build solid relationships. They think and act differently, and they fit differently in your business.

Myth #5: We need to offer top pay and top of the line benefits if we have a hope of attracting and keeping top performers.

Research and experience continue to show that pay and benefits are among the weakest ties. There’s no question you need to offer a package that’s in the right ballpark… but so long as these factors are roughly right, others become much more important.

The factors that attract the right candidates and keep your people focused and productive are what researchers refer to as the four critical aspects of fit. Fit with manager is the most important; it will make you or break you. The other three are fit with the job, with the team, and with the practice. It’s surprisingly easy to filter people in to a conversation with you on the basis of these aspects of fit, and yet remarkably few organizations have figured out how to do it reliably.

 

JAN G. VAN DER HOOP

Jan is the co-founder and president of Fit First Technologies, a company that applies its predictive analytics to the task of matching people to roles. Those algorithms drive platforms such as TalentSorter, FitFirstJobs and Eyeployment.com, which are relied upon by organizations to screen high volumes of candidates for “fit” in their open positions.

TIM BRENNAN

is Chief Visionary Officer with Fit First Technologies Inc, the creators of Eyeployment, TalentSorter and Jobtimize.

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Insight with Dr. Abraham Yuen

Insights

|

0
(0)

Having just graduated in 2017, Dr. Abraham Yuen is the youngest Optometrist we have profiled to date.

He was very active at the School of Optometry in Waterloo serving as Vice President of CAOS.

In addition he has volunteered with CNIB and Orbis International.

Dr. Yuen continues to be passionate about Optometry and is a frequent contributor on COG.

Dr. Abraham Yuen

Associate Optometrist at 3 locations in the GTA

Doctor of Optometry, University of Waterloo, 2017

 

Where do you see our industry going in 10 years?

I think our industry is going to look quite different in 10 years. Just as AirBnb and Uber have revolutionized their respective industries, disruptors such as Warby Parker or Sightbox are poised to make a big splash in the optical industry if they haven’t already. Change is inevitable- telemedicine and disruptive technologies are here to stay. The key is to get ahead of the game and be the disruptor so that we are at the forefront of change rather than behind it. Of course, measures need to be put in place to ensure that the public is well protected and that eye care professionals carry the same professional standards of care.

What changes to eye care do you see coming down the pipe?

I see individualized eyecare as the BIG thing coming down the pipe. Consumers want to receive care that is personalized to their needs. Already, we see the advent of individualized eyecare through technologies such as custom wavefront LASIK making a splash in refractive surgery. The advancement in 3D printing technology may one day make personalized eyewear a same-day service in our dispensaries. Lastly, nanotechnology will play a role in personalized medicine, delivering cell-specific therapy in treating diseases.

What is something you plan on implementing in your business this year?

I want to incorporate slit lamp photography routinely into my patient care. The implementation of EMR has made charting more efficiently, but drawing a lesion can still be rudimentary and difficult. Snapping a photo of anterior seg not only helps to monitor changes, but patient education would benefit as well. Rather than describing what a cataract or corneal abrasion is, showing a patient what we look at in their eyes is a great teaching tool.

What is your definition of success?

To me, success in eye care is being able to cater to the needs of our patients and make a difference in their quality of life. Optometry is unique in healthcare that the solution we provide can make a direct impact on our patients’ success in school, at work or in their hobbies. It may mean taking an extra minute to understand how they use their eyes in order to enhance their life. For example, I had a 60 year-old male patient unsatisfied with his last pair of glasses. By taking the chair time to thoroughly understand his lifestyle, it turns out he was a commercial photographer and needed his specs to focus in the intermediate range. He walked away with a solution that no one was able to provide previously. Helping a patient maximize their visual potential is very rewarding as an ECP.

What is your favorite TV show / Netflix series?

My millennial colleagues probably think I’m an old soul, but I still hold on to my cable subscription instead of Netflix. I’m currently watching a reality series on Discovery called Jade Fever. It follows a Northern BC family of miner’s quest to find the million-dollar Jade boulder. While the show is unscripted and has your typical family drama, it exemplifies true Canadian entrepreneurial spirit as the family puts everything they have on the line to make or break it.

Last indulgence?

My guilty pleasure is a good cup of latte! You will probably find me sipping away on a cup of hazelnut latte with a good book (or a good optometry journal article) to read at a local cafe. Actually, I haven’t figured out if my guilty pleasure is drinking latte or the hazelnut part since I can’t resist Nutella or hazelnut baked goods either!

How have you changed since high school?

While my sight was always set on optometry throughout high school, few of my friends would have guessed that I would be an optometrist today. Most people would have expected me to become a chartered accountant or find work in the financial district. I immersed mostly in business courses and was actively involved in marketing competitions in Canada and US. I even had a mini start-up that did not do very well and folded within the year. I was known to be the guy into marketing and entrepreneurship rather than the sciences. In a way, they are probably right because running an eyecare practice encompasses a lot of business/marketing skills and more!

Tell me something few people know about you?

I grew up attending a performing arts school in Toronto and had to balance a vigorous schedule of academics with the arts. I took classes such as ballet, hip-hop, tap dancing, drama, miming (it’s a real course!), vocals and instrumentals. My years spent in the arts probably helped nurture my creativity. While I do not have time to dabble in the arts anymore, music still plays a role in my life. Fortunately, Toronto has a thriving arts scene, and you can still find me attending jazz concerts and musicals in my downtime.

 

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

3 Reasons You Need an Office Manager

Human Resources, Managing Others, Talent Acquisition

|

0
(0)

Does your practice have an office manager? You might want to consider hiring one. Here are the key benefits of an office manager, including points to help you decide if hiring one is right for your practice.

Recently we read an article that got our attention by making the following three statements about office management: (1) “One of the biggest costs in any business—medical or not—is employee incompetence,” (2) “Management is a learned skill,” and (3)” ‘Evidence-based management’ is as similarly important as ‘evidence-based medicine.’”

Let’s explore these three thoughts further.

Employee Incompetence
Employee incompetence is a common problem in many practices. We’ve all heard and seen things when walking through the practice that makes us wince. We thought staff was trained appropriately, but obviously, based on what we saw or heard, there’s a problem somewhere.

The most common drivers of incompetence are: laziness, poor communication (just because you’ve said something doesn’t mean the other person understood), lack of people skills and lack of training. So, who in the practice is addressing these drivers of incompetence?

Is the doctor the best person to handle these drivers? Not always. Often the doctor has a very distorted view of what is happening in the office. The doctor spends the majority of their office time in the examination rooms in back of the office.

A staff member bringing to the doctor a problem occurring in the front of the office often gives the doctor a perception of the problem which may not be an accurate description of what is really going on. It is the perception of that staff member. Other staff members may have different perceptions. If there is no office manager, the doctor must investigate to get an accurate understanding before making a decision. That takes time. Time that the doctor could be spending on patient care, or time the doctor has to add on top of patient care.

An office manager – one with time dedicated to management – is the best person to address the drivers of incompetence. The office manager is going to have the best understanding of what is going on in the office with both patients and staff. Rather than being reactive, a good office manager is proactive in handling the four drivers of incompetence because the office manager is managing in real-time, versus the doctor, who will hear about what happened in past-time.

Management Is a Learned Skill
One of the core tenets of any successful person is the drive to always become better. There is always something new that can be learned that enables you to do your job better. But some staff members (and some doctors) have plateaued. Learning has stopped. Performance improvement has plateaued. The office manager is no different.

Here’s a core question that needs answered: Have you provided targeted, effective and ongoing training for your office manager? In many practices the office manager is given the title, but no, or little, training on how to do the job. When this happens, beware the Peter Principle. “According to the Peter principle, employees continue to be promoted as long as they perform well in their roles; as a result, they rise to their level of incompetence: the point at which they fail to do a good job.”

The antidote to the Peter Principle is training. Even the office manager needs training. Training on how to do their job. Training on how to manage people. Training on how to move the practice forward.

Let’s make a list of what we want the office manager to accomplish, so we can see what training is needed.
Starting with the big picture, there are two primary things that we want from the office manager. They are to ensure the smooth functioning of the practice and to help grow the practice.

To ensure the smooth functioning of the practice, the office manager needs to manage at least these things:
1) Find, hire, train and fire staff and vendors
2) Keep and enforce office policies
3) Ensure that expenses remain as low as possible
4) Handle problems with staff and patients
5) Make and implement day-to-day decisions
6) Allocate resources, decide staff schedules and vacations
7) Supervise and manage employees in a fair and consistent manner

To help grow the practice, the office manager needs to manage at least these things:
1) Inspire staff members to perform better
2) Look for ways to improve the practice
3) Report to leadership
4) Plan with leadership
5) Implement the leadership plan

So, how does the office manager get the skill-sets necessary to ensure the smooth functioning of the practice, and to help us grow the practice? Training. This is not a one-and-done. Training is an ongoing activity, so the office manager is doing the job better and better. We need to make sure that we invest in training for our office managers.

Evidence-Based Management
In the 1990s, we began to hear about evidence-based medicine. Now the concept of “evidence-based” has expanded to include other disciplines, including business management.

“The starting point for evidence-based management is that management decisions should be based on a combination of critical thinking and the best available evidence. And by ‘evidence,’ we mean information, facts or data supporting (or contradicting) a claim, assumption or hypothesis. Evidence may come from scientific research, but internal business information, and even professional experience, can count as ‘evidence’.”

We believe that practice management rule number one is measure to manage. There are three things about a practice that need measured: (1) how are we doing now compared to last year, (2) how are we doing compared to other like-sized practices, and (3) how are we doing compared to our goals. This information is available in the office practice management software and from reports from vendors in our profession.

With a little work you can establish reporting systems that gather this information for you, or you can purchase dashboard management software that can do this for you.

Training your office manager on how to read the numerical evidence, and how to use an evidence-based management approach, maximizes the performance of your office manager. When done properly, this approach enables the office manager to do the job in such a way as to ensure the smooth functioning of the practice and to help grow the practice.

References
i. http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/medical-economics/news/modernmedicine/modern-medicine-feature-articles/do-you-really-need-office-man?page=full
ii. http://work.chron.com/causes-incompetence-workplace-2947.html
iii. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Peter-principle
iv. https://www.cebma.org/faq/evidence-based-management/

 

MARK WRIGHT, OD, FCOVD

Dr. Wright is the founding partner of a nine-partner, three-location full-scope optometric practice. As CEO of Pathways to Success, an internet-based practice management firm, he works with practices of all sizes. He is faculty coordinator for Ohio State’s leading practice management program.

CAROLE BURNS, OD, FCOVD

Dr. Burns is the senior partner of a nine-doctor full-scope optometric practice that she built with her husband, Dr. Wright. She is also the COO of a state-wide nursing care optometry practice. Dr. Burns lectures nationally on practice management and staffing issues. Dr. Burns authored the Specialty Practice section of the textbook, Business Aspects of Optometry.

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Keep on Track Financially with a Budget

Accounting Basics, Finance|Wealth, Resources

|

0
(0)

“Show me the money!” is a famous line from the movie Jerry Maguire. We’ve also heard it from our clients. How much should I expect to be in my bank account each month?  How much should I spend on new equipment? And even, where did the money go?

Ultimately, the answer to all of these questions is found in the practice’s budget. The budget is a roadmap for how to manage the practice’s finances. Many practices, however, don’t have a budget. The best way to create a budget is to follow an idealized P&L and actively manage it to achieve financial success.

All this takes time and dedication. However, if you want to see success in your optometric practice, it means not just working in the business, but on the business as well.

Keep in mind too that the budget of the practice must support the strategy the business has chosen to adopt. For instance, equipment costs may be a higher percentage of gross for a practice that has decided to specialize in Dry Eye and is investing in new equipment to support that revenue stream.

Below are the Key Parts of a P&L and some considerations for each category.

REVENUE

The top line of the P&L is Revenue or Gross Revenue. This is all the money coming in from all sources; professional fees, spectacle lenses, frames, contact lenses, therapeutics and other items. How much you are projecting to grow this line is directly related to the Goals you have set out for the year. There are many things that can impact Revenue; if you are introducing a new service, bringing on a new associate, or investing in marketing, among others.

EXPENSES

Cost of Goods Sold (25% of gross revenue)

The next line to analyze is Cost of Goods Sold. The highest expense category, it is difficult to get it below 25%. A practice that has more than 12% of gross revenue coming from contact lenses will have an especially tough time due to the low margins in contact lens sales. Buying Groups, and more recently, Buying Alliances, are a great way to reduce product costs since they are able to offer volume discounts to their members. As a general rule for primary practice, 35% of the COGs is spent on frames and sunglasses, 40% on lenses, 20% on contact lenses and 5% is on therapeutics. Running a specialty practice will have a slightly different COGs breakdown depending on the focus. Product cost is the expense that you have the most control over.  Provide this budget to your buyers and insist that they stick to it.

Staff Costs (19% of gross revenue)

Staff cost is normally the second largest expense category. This category should not only include wages but also paid holidays and staff retention strategies, which could include continuing education opportunities and staff bonuses. There is a real cost to recruiting and re-training. It is beneficial to invest a little more in nurturing your current staff to ensure a positive work environment to avoid having staff turnover.

Operating Costs (8% of gross revenue)

This category includes everything needed to run the practice but is not directly associated with sales. From telephones and computers to office supplies, the prices for these items should be researched and optimized. Ideally, we would like to see this number around 8%.

Overhead (6% of gross revenue)

Rent, utilities, building insurance, maintenance and cleaning are all part of this category. Obviously rents fluctuate depending on location. Our recommendation is that you allocate more for this category if it means you will have retail visibility and accessibility in terms of parking. As a general rule, this number should represent approximately 6% of gross revenue.

Marketing (5% of gross revenue)

Traditionally, optometrists have not spent a lot in this category. At one time, minimal ads in the Yellow Pages and the local newspaper were all that were necessary or allowed. Increased competition, particularly in the form of the internet, has necessitated a change in thinking.

Equipment (2% of gross revenue)

Testing and exam lane equipment is a fundamental necessity to the clinic, and so gets its own category. As well as needing to maintain the diagnostic equipment and paying for the lease, owners need to account for the depreciation of the equipment and the eventual necessity to replace and update all equipment. 2% of revenue should go towards keeping your equipment current and relevant.

PRACTICE NET (35% of gross revenue)

Once all of the expenses have been paid, the Practice Net is what remains.  The associate(s) and the owner are paid from this balance.

With a goal of increasing productivity by 10%, this is how a practice budget might look:

By laying out a budget, and managing it diligently, you will be able to anticipate how much money you can expect to earn this year by making great decisions that adhere to your budget.

 

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.

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Insight with Dr. Euan McGinty

Insights

|

0
(0)

Dr. Euan McGinty is a transplant from the UK to the Maritimes,

having practiced in the Highlands of Scotland until 2009.

He then successfully completed the bridging program at U of Waterloo

and in 2013 started Ocean Optometry in Halifax Nova Scotia.

Dr. Euan McGinty

Optometrist Owner, Ocean Optometry

Doctor of Optomtery, Cardiff University, Wales 1993

 

How did you get into the Eye Care business?

It’s not an uncommon story in our industry – my dad was an optometrist. When I was born he was still lecturing and then when I was four he moved in to independent practice, relocating the family to the seaside town on the west coast of Scotland where I grew up.
Growing up I never thought that I would be an optometrist, I thought that a legal career was pending, however in my final year of high school I changed direction completely and I’m glad that I did! I’ve been fortunate to really enjoy optometry throughout my career to date. It’s allowed me to work in many different settings and is a continually evolving career, I’ve enjoyed some wonderful travel opportunities and met an amazing array of people.

What is something you plan on implementing in your business this year?

This year we’d like to invest in an OCT. A major instrument purchase like this is always a difficult decision – are you buying the right machine for you; will you be able to recoup on the investment; what will the lifetime of the machine be; what will aftersales support be like; how will I fit it into your routine?
There’s no easy answer to these questions, however, colleague feedback is always a great resource and regardless of machine, I haven’t heard anyone regretting their purchase.

What is something you have done in your business to set you apart?

When were planning Ocean Optometry we had a clear vision of what products we wanted to carry, knowing that we wanted to focus on the upper end of the market. As we started to review the collections it became obvious to us that we only wanted to work with independent frame manufacturers. At times we have questioned this decision, especially in the early days, when we were sitting with a lot of expensive product on the shelves and people would come in and ask, “where are your Ray-Bans?”
For us it was an opportunity to educate our potential customers about our product selection and the decision-making process behind it. Some people get it, others don’t care. Almost five years later it seems like we’ve hopefully made a good choice.

Favourite pastime/hobby?

I have three children, a daughter and two sons. The two boys are 16 and 12. Over the last year we decided to get in to RC car racing and it’s been great fun. We are fortunate to have three tracks within a short drive from us and a good hobby shop in Dartmouth, dedicated to lots of stuff radio controlled.
We purchased a car each (let’s hear it for an accumulation of birthday/Christmas money from doting grandparents!). They are all the same model, but in different colours to keep things even.

What’s your favourite 80’s jam?

The 80’s … what a musical decade! I graduated high school in 1988, so this question really spoke to me! If you ever come in to Ocean Optometry you’ll soon find out how influenced we are by the 80’s and early 90’s music scene from especially the Manchester scene, indie and alternative music, electronica and folk rock. I could go on and on about this!
Okay, okay … do I have to pick one? The band would be James and the song would be Sit Down. So many good nights throughout my university life included this anthemic song. A whole disco full of revellers sitting down on the dance floor in empathy (and spilled drinks!). As an acoustic song it’s haunting and emotional. I even sang it to my children as I rocked them to sleep in my arms. If you haven’t listed to James for a while (or ever), go and do so, their recent albums have also been stellar and are well recommended and they have some amazing concerts you can watch on YouTube.

 

 

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Aesthetic Optometry: 6 Pointers for Making It Part of Your Practice

Differentiation | Business Strategy, Practice, Resources

|

0
(0)

The medical eyecare and refractive services you provide safeguard patient vision and improve quality of life. Sometimes, though, patients want something more–to look as good as they see. Aesthetic optometry, which offers cosmetic improvements to the eye area, offers practices a chance to provide patients with an additional, in-demand service.

I define aesthetic optometry as the art of prescribing to enhance the health, appearance and performance of the ocular surface and adnexa.

As optometrists, we need to own that we are the experts on everything in the eye and eyelid area. That means having an informed opinion and scientifically based advice about the safety of procedures and products patients are using on and around the eyes. The value of an eye exam cannot be limited to the numeric outcome of a refraction. With the advent of online refractive services, it’s more important than ever to offer comprehensive ocular care where our patients can easily perceive the value of coming in for an in-person eye exam.

Men and women both are seeking treatments to improve the appearance of their eyes and eyelid skin. Cosmetic Botox usage around the eyes has increased by 41 percent since 2011, and 10 percent of all Botox users are men (it’s gotten so popular it’s been dubbed “Brotox”). Our patients are seeking ocular aesthetic procedures at higher rates than ever before, and we need to make sure as eye doctors that we are seen as a vital part of that care plan.

Tie Aesthetic Treatments Into What You Already Do
Sometimes aesthetic optometry can tie easily into services you already provide, such as for dry eye.

As a dry eye specialist, offering ocular aesthetics is a natural extension of what our office does to improve the ocular surface. We recommend preservative-free tea tree oil lid cleansers for makeup removal and fighting blepharitis as a safer alternative to formaldehyde-containing baby shampoo that was a mainstay of generations past.

A go-to product in our clinic is We Love Eyes by Dr Tanya Gill. It’s made a huge difference for many of our patients with chronic eczematous dermatitis that were sensitive to the preservative-laden cleansers or soaps they were previously using. Baby shampoo is a huge dry eye offender, but many of our patients have been told to use this by previous eye doctors, so it’s important for us to recommend a product alternative that is non-toxic. There is no perfect mascara, but we discuss the chemicals in these products that should be avoided, and also make recommendations for more gentle options for the ocular surface. While we don’t retail mascaras or makeup products, it would definitely be an option for a doctor to look into if they found a product with ingredients they could really stand behind.

We currently offer Lipiflow treatment for protecting and preserving the meibomian glands in patients who have suffered damage. Discussing the risks of meibomian gland disease with prostaglandin-based cosmetic products like Latisse, or over-the-counter lash growth serums, is a big focus in our clinic, and we offer free meibomian gland imaging at every comprehensive exam to help find patients using these cosmetic products who are at risk of developing permanent dry eye disease.

Another great option, depending on the scope of practice laws in your state, would be to offer intense pulsed light (IPL) treatments for ocular aesthetics. These pulsed-light treatments improve the appearance of lid margin hyperemia by coagulating telangiectasia around the ocular adnexa, and have the added boost of improving dry eye signs and symptoms.

Treat Aesthetic Optometry as a Science
The key to elevating ocular aesthetics as a true specialty to put beside dry eye or glaucoma care is to treat it as a science. At Triangle Visions Optometry, the way we practice ocular aesthetics overlaps very much with our dry eye specialty. When we are treating dry eye, addressing the cosmetic products and procedures our patients use, and the side effects they may cause, is an essential foundation building block to their dry eye treatment. We can’t ignore the impact of aesthetics on our dry eye outcomes, so adding that specialty to our practice was essential to our patient care outcomes.

As a specialty contact lens fitter, I often tell other doctors I have to be a dry eye specialist, too, to get the contact lens outcomes my patients expect and deserve. They won’t see their best, or get the best contact lens comfort and performance, without me addressing any underlying dry eye issues. The same is true in our ocular aesthetic specialty. If I treat their dry eye, but ignore the ocular surface offenders they are using on a regular basis, am I really fully treating the issue? In my opinion, it’s impossible to separate specializing in dry eye care from also specializing in ocular aesthetics.

Little Investment Required
Offering ocular aesthetics as a specialty can be done with minimal-to-no investment. All it takes is familiarizing yourself with the chemical risks associated with common cosmetic and facial products, and the treatments available. As a part of routine eye exams, we get asked by patients on a regular basis questions like, “what can I do about my under-eye circles” or “what mascara would be better for sensitive eyes?” Ocular aesthetics is specializing in solving these common patient issues and questions.

If you choose to retail products in your office, it can be another additional revenue source. Currently we retail HydroEyes supplements for improving dry eye and meibomian gland function. MGD and dry eye is a major side effect of ocular cosmetics and cosmetic treatments like eyelash growth seurms, eyelash perming, botox injections or retinol wrinkle creams. As a Vision Source member, our cost is around $15 per bottle, and we are able to retail it for $33 per bottle for a great return. We also retail Bruder masks for improving meibomian gland function for patients who are diagnosed with issues during the exam. We discuss the importance of makeup removal, lid hygiene with a safe cleansing product, and then heating the glands nightly to reduce the negative impact of products like eyeliner and mascara that can promote meibomian gland dysfunction.

We offer Lipiflow treatments, as well, for patients with nonexpressing glands due to meibomian gland dysfunction. This treatment is FDA-approved for preserving and protecting meibomian gland function, and at this time, not covered by medical insurance. As a cash-pay treatment, it is a revenue-builder for both our dry eye clinic, and by extension, our ocular aesthetics specialty, since treating meibomian gland dysfunction is an important part of treating side effects of cosmetic products and procedures and solving underlying causes of common ocular aesthteic issues like chronic redness.

Educate Yourself
If you want to jump-start learning more about the most common ocular surface irritants in cosmetic products, check out Vampires on the Vanity by ophthalmologist, Laura Periman, MD, and become a member of the collaborative OD/MD community on the Ocular Surface Facebook forum OSDocs.

In addition, Advanced Ocular Care has done an excellent job featuring articles from the leading ocular aesthetic and anti-aging eyecare specialists around the country. Bridgitte Shen Lee, OD, Leslie O’Dell, OD, and Whitney Hauser, OD, are optometrist-thought leaders in the field. Any article or course offered by any of them always gets my immediate attention to expand my knowledge on the topic.

Educate Your Staff
It is essential to have all of your staff familiar with any product you retail or service you provide. They are spending a lot of face time with patients, and they are likely to field questions or hear buzzword complaints or issues that should trigger a discussion of what you offer in the office. It’s always a slam dunk for enrolling a patient in my treatment plan when I have a patient sitting in my chair who has already heard from another staff member about how I can help them. Whether it is my technician recognizing dry eye symptoms during the work up, and seeing tell-tale meibomian gland atrophy on their imaging, or my front-desk staff documenting pertinent complaints she heard when the patient scheduled the appointment, any time a patient is primed to know I can help, they are much more receptive to the treatments and solutions I recommend during the exam.

Have the Conversation with Patients
We have adapted several aspects of our exam flow at Triangle Visions Optometry to investigate both dry eye and ocular aesthetics issues. It starts with our technicians asking questions during the exam work-up: we ask about common dry eye symptoms like fluctuating vision, redness and watering. We ask about the medications our patients take and any cosmetic treatments (even over-the-counter) they use. I want to know anything my patients are putting around their eyes, including wrinkle creams, lash growth serums, eye drops and soaps.

During the slit lamp exam I’m not only checking for normal signs ocular surface disease like punctate keratitis, lid hyperemia, and meibomian gland dysfunction, but I’m also observing for any tell-tale signs of ocular aesthetics issues. Are they tight-lining their eyelids? Wearing false lashes? Do they have mascara debris in their conjunctiva or on their contact lens surface? These are all conversation starters to delve into ocular aesthetics treatments and solutions. We also screen every patient with meibomian gland imaging, and if any evidence of gland atrophy is seen, we thoroughly dig into all possible offenders, including cosmetic products and treatments, and start the discussion about treating the glands with ocular surface approved lid hygiene, Bruder heat masks and Lipiflow, if needed.

Displaying the products you offer is great to start a conversation. We have our HydroEyes supplements and information about dry eye and ocular aesthetics right at the checkout counter, and many times asymptomatic patients will pick up the bottle and say, “Oh my sister might need this” or “I should tell my friend about this.” It’s a great way to get more patients scheduled, offering additional conversation-starters about how you can help patients both look and feel their best.

 

JENNIFER LYERLY, OD

Jennifer Lyerly, OD, is an associate at Triangle Visions Optometry in Cary, N.C. To contact her: jelyerly@gmail.com

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0