Tag: technology

Calgary-based leading eye care clinic unveils its latest flagship location, showcasing the latest optometry technologies and improving patient digital experience 

FYidoctors, a division of FYihealth group, announces the grand opening of its new flagship location in Calgary, Alberta. Founded in 2008, FYidoctors is Canada’s largest doctor-owned and doctor-led optometrist. FYidoctors has over 375 locations across Canada employing over 630 doctors and more than 2,300 team members. The company proudly has 47 clinics in Alberta making them one the most established eye care service provider in the province.

Located in Calgary at 102 – 2424 4^th Street SW, this unique 3,000 square foot clinic offers personalized eye care using state-of-the-art optometric technology and carries a wide selection of exclusive brands, including Cartier, BonLook, H Halston, Chopard and more. This clinic also has the largest FYidoctors exam room in Canada and is conveniently located on the ground level of the FYihealth group head offices. This location carries over 45 brands of optical eyewear and offers an unparalleled number of frames with more than 2,000 frames in clinic. It is also a hospitality-orientated, ‘guest-centric’ shopping environment.

Unique to this FYidoctors location is a fully customizable digital storefront display wall facing street traffic. New interactive digital media is utilized throughout the clinic space to educate and engage our patients. Additionally, a unique “FYidoctors scent” is used throughout the clinic to stimulate the olfactory senses of patients while browsing.

The clinic’s waiting area is designed to be more relaxed and comfortable, creating an opportunity for our patients to enjoy their time at the clinic. With top-of-the-line materials, the overall clinic purchasing experience is improved with exceptional acoustics, lighting, digital touch points, and interactive messaging.

“This clinic, its design, and the technology it offers is what we have as a vision for our entire network across Canada at FYidoctors. It exemplifies what FYidoctors has become as a leader in patient care in Canada and we are very proud to provide such a wide range of services and products to our patients,” says Dr. Alan Ulsifer, CEO & Chair of FYihealth group.

“Since moving our corporate Home Office to Mission in 2015, it has been our vision to create a flagship location at street level to effectively showcase our brand.  I am so excited to see this dream come to life and for our team to be able to enhance the lives of the local community through the eye care and services we provide,” added Darcy Verhun, President of FYihealth group.

The four optometrists based out of Mission Square bring over 112 years of optometry education and knowledge. With a goal to offer the best optometric experience and to have answers to all the patients’ questions answered, Mission Square’s Lead

Optometrist, Dr. Bunny Virk, shares “the clinic is fully equipped with the latest state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment for early detection and management of all forms of acute and chronic eye conditions. In addition, our clinic will have the WAM800, an advanced diagnostic device in the optometric industry.”

Additional technology including the IPL/Radio Frequency Darwin treatment device, corneal topography, meibography, retinal widefield imaging, and the latest lens technology (duo-form lenses exclusive to FYidoctors with precise measurements (opitkam)), will all be available at this flagship location.

FYidoctors have built this space to be welcome to patients from all demographics, which can be seen through the customized wheelchair accessible room and friendly staff. To continue the progression of the services offered, the new FYidoctors University space will be opening soon, less than ten steps away and right across the hall, to help support the current and future team members with training and education of new Optometrists.

This is a sponsored post by FYihealth group. 

For over two decades, or most of his career, Kevin Bingham has been dedicating his time to improving and prioritizing the function of Information Technology (IT) and Innovation in the workplace.

As the Vice President of Innovation and IT at FYihealth group, Kevin works closely with the companies’ multiple teams to improve the overall utility and value of IT hardware, software assets and services while also keeping a focus on customer experience.

Through capitalizing on new technologies, mindful organizational change management and adding expertise to his growing team, Kevin’s efforts ensure that the organization is always at the forefront of innovation.

CEO and Chair of FYihealth group, Dr. Alan Ulsifer, remains heavily invested in the development and utilization of technology as it continues to be a significant area of focus for the future growth of the organization.

We caught up with Kevin and some of FYi’s influential Optometrists involved in innovative technology, Dr. Michael Kaplan, based in Toronto, and Dr. Bunny Virk, in Calgary. They shared how innovation and IT are pivotal to patient care at both the leadership and clinic level to support the organization’s growth.

Fostering a Solution-Seeking-Mindset to Innovation and Technology
“Technology advancements are at the forefront of our organization, and decisions are made to support them,” shares Kevin Bingham.

”FYi has invested millions of dollars into Cyber Security to protect patient confidentiality, along with completing a digital evolution for its Shopify eCommerce platform to deliver a first-in-class digital patient omnichannel experience. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, we provided innovative technology for social distancing while still delivering eye care quickly and responding to our patients’ needs,” Kevin added.

“FYi also developed a virtual try-on tool that allows patients to try on glasses in the comfort of their own home and speak to a representative online, thus creating a completely virtual shopping experience.

All these initiatives support the growth and future of FYidoctors and, in 2021, FYidoctors won the Canadian HR Award for ‘Most Innovative use of Technology.”

Technology Focused for Future Growth
“Our company views the IT department as an investment into our organization,” Kevin shared in his interview. FYi considers technology to be one of the driving factors for success and sees the benefits of a forward-thinking approach to technology advancements.

Kevin added: “the IT team comprises over 75 full-time employees, two of whom have been with us since our inception in 2008, and employs four team members for IT project management for all the mergers, projects, and implementation of new software updates.”

As an example, when a new clinic joins the FYi network, it is a top priority for our team members to get in place efficiently so the new team can be up and running and serving patients on day one of operations.

Undergoing integration is an extensive process, and our team shares with the new clinics the process starting with, “where the business is now” and mapping out “where we (FYi) are taking them.”

This information sharing process allows the new clinics to have a clear vision of their technology roadmap for all their members, and for their patients’ files.

This approach supports every clinic towards a smooth integration to the FYi network, which includes platforms like the Acuitas Practice Management System and NetSuite.

The Evolving Technology to Support Patient Care
”Technology advancements have helped provide a more accurate and comprehensive eye examination and patient education tools,” explains Dr. Michael Kaplan, FYidoctors Optometrist. “It allows us to see the finer details of the tissue we are examining, follow any subtle changes over time, and provide better diagnosis and proactive intervention”.

Dr. Kaplan added. FYi optometrists are optimistic about the continuing evolution of technology to help provide earlier detection of diseases and ways of treating them before the damage has already been done.

“Looking into the future, potentially, a device including artificial intelligence (AI) would enhance our diagnostic abilities for much earlier detection and preventative measures. AI would integrate with our current technologies to help with earlier detection for patients,” shares Dr. Bunny Virk, FYidoctors Optometrist in Calgary.

Exam Technology Findings and Looking into the Future
“We use a wide range of technologies in our exam rooms, including Wide Field Retinal Imaging/Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), Biometers to help with the newly emerging field of myopia management, ILux, IPL and RF to help assist with dry eye disease, and Heidelberg Retinal Tomography (HRT) to help detect glaucoma,” explained Dr. Kaplan.

Dr.  Virk added that “innovations in contact lens materials and designs have helped with the lenses’ comfort, health, and vision. The contact lens advancements and measurement techniques have allowed us to treat individuals with corneal pathologies and transplants to improve vision, which was previously difficult. A device that works well is Corneal Topography, which measures the cornea like a topographical map for detecting early corneal pathologies and degenerations.”

All these technological advancements are a great aid in providing quality eye care for FYi’s patients.

FYihealth group is committed to providing the highest quality patient care to enhance lives across North America. It strives to be a prevalent healthcare company in the marketplace by continuing to foster conversations regarding innovation and evaluate benchmarks in technology.

This is a sponsored post by FYihealth group.