The Optometric Minute

Compute the ROI on Building a Dry Eye Center

July 1, 2015

Arthur B. Epstein, OD, FAAO, co-owner of Phoenix Eyecare and the Dry Eye Center of Arizona, describes the knowledge base, instruments and promotional steps required to build a dry eye center–and the upside return if you succeed with it.

Compute Dry Eye ROI
Invest to Better Serve Dry Eye Patients

Arthur B. Epstein, OD, FAAO, believes that there are multiple facets to the return on investment from building a dry eye center.

ROI ON A DRY EYE CENTER

Differentiation: Providing dry eye treatment sets you apart from the competition. Over time, it also generates a multitude of referrals from patients and from outside your practice.

Self-determination. Offering a valued for-pay service, not widely available elsewhere, frees your practice from reliance on the terms of managed care organizations.

Premium fees, ancillary profit centers. Treating dry eye provides an opportunity to charge premium fees and also profit from selling related goods (e.g., eye lid cleaners) as a convenience to patients.

ESSENTIAL STEPS

Communicate your mission. An informative web site is critical. Dr. Epstein built his web site specifically to inform patients about the services he provides.

Be visible. Dr. Epstein’s practice is in a medical building adjacent to a hospital, but you can succeed with this specialty in any setting, provided you get the word out. Let patients know that you offer something special that can improve lives.

Be serious. You need to acquire knowledge and equipment, but also have dedication and desire. “You can’t just dip a toe in the water,” Dr. Epstein advises. “You have to fully immerse yourself.”

Be fully equipped. Cutting-edge technology is costly, and you need to train staff, so figure to invest up to $150,000.

Charge reasonably. Treating dry eye takes time, so don’t be afraid to charge more for services rendered. Patients assess value on what you provide–and higher fees build bigger practices, Dr. Epstein says.
SEE RELATED VIDEO: Building a Dry Eye Specialty

“Don’t be afraid to invest in things that change peoples’ lives,” Dr. Epstein advises. A critical step in developing his dry eye center was making a major investment in the Tear Science LipiView, LipiFlow system. Dr. Epstein said the decision was based on selecting a system that would make the greatest difference in the greatest number of patients.

“We have literally changed lives with this,” he says. “We’ve taken people who were in misery for 20 years and returned them to virtual normalcy.”

Such effective tools, in combination with a vastly improved knowledge base, puts optometry on an equal footing with ophthalmology in its ability to successfully treat even severe cases of dry eye and meibomian gland dysfunction, Dr. Epsteon believes. “We’re the last stop for a lot of patients, who typically have seen 5-6 doctors before seeing us,” he says. “Yet we are able to manage the vast majority of these cases with a 90 percent success rate.”

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Immerse yourself in learning. Dry eye is difficult, and you need to develop skills, not just practice it as an aside.

Begin small. Set aside a limited block of time (one afternoon a week) to treat dry eye patients, then expand treatment hours for you and your tech. Economic viability comes from treating 4-5 patients a week, and profits grow as you add more patients.

Analyze the marketplace. Assess how many other professionals treat dry eye in the area. Being known for providing medical eyecare opens up possibilities, like providing emergency care for eyes with inflammation, infection or foreign bodies.

Dr. Epstein says that that changing the lives of dry eye sufferers positively, and often dramatically, is one of the greatest returns from operating a dry eye center. “We’re doing what we love,” he says.

SEE RELATED VIDEO: Establishing a Dry Eye Clinic

Arthur B. Epstein, OD, FAAO, is co-owner of Phoenix Eyecare and the Dry Eye Center of Arizona in Phoenix, Ariz. To contact him: artepstein@artepstein.com

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