By Thomas F. Steiner
The Management & Business Academy™ (MBA), sponsored by CIBA VISION and Essilor, has collected financial and productivity data from eye care practitioners participating in the program since its inception in 2005. At present, data are collected from more than 1,200 established, independent optometric practices in the U.S. During 2008-2009, the First Practice Academy™ (FPA) —an extension of the MBA— has collected similar data on nearly 250 independent optometric practices during their first three years in operation. From these extensive databases, the following normative data on hourly OD earnings are derived:
- The median hourly compensation of ODs in established independent practices is $74.
- The range in hourly compensation is quite wide. The top 10 percent of practices in hourly OD compensation pay their ODs $145 per hour – five times the amount earned in the bottom 10 percent of practices in hourly OD compensation.
- There is a positive correlation between practice size and hourly OD earnings.
- The higher hourly OD compensation in larger practices is not the result of higher professional fees. It is traceable to the higher number of exams per hour that ODs in larger practices conduct and to a greater delegation of testing and administrative tasks to staff members.
- ODs in new practices make much less per hour than ODs in established practices. New owners in acquired independent practices earn a median of $57 per hour. ODs in new practices started from scratch within the past three years earn a median of just $44 per hour.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also publishes information on hourly OD compensation. Its norms are based on compensation of ODs in all practice settings including corporate affiliation, HMOs, employment by MDs and others. As a result, the median hourly OD compensation it reports for 2008 is lower than MBA norms, which primarily reflect independent practice OD owner compensation. The federal government estimates that all ODs earned a median of $46.31 per hour during 2008. That is much lower than dentists earn, somewhat lower than podiatrists and pharmacists, but higher than audiologists and chiropractors.
The MBA and FPA provide more relevant performance norms for independent practice owners than do the government data.
90th-99th percentile
$145
80th-89th percentile
$116
70th-79th percentile
$100
60th-69th percentile
$87
50th-59th percentile
$78
40th-49th percentile
$68
30th-39th percentile
$60
20th-29th percentile
$52
10th-19th percentile
$42
1st-9th percentile
New Practices
(first three years in operation)
Acquired from previous owner
$57
Started from scratch
$44,
Median Hourly Wage
Dentists – general
$68.69
Pharmacists
$51.16
MD – General Practitioner
$75.60
Podiatrists
$54.60
Optometrists
$46.31
Chiropractors
$31.97
Audiologists
$29.82