New This Week
Staff Accountability: Three Steps to Get Things Done
Bridgitte Shen Lee, OD, believes that staff will complete assigned tasks when they see the OD-owner doing the same. She outlines a three-step process for assigning improvement tasks—and getting them done well. >>READ MORE>>
Marketing
Turn Back-to-School into Back-to-Your-Office
By Maria Sampalis, OD
Encourage patients to think “back to the eye doctor” before “back to school” with a well-timed television appearance. Included here: media tips and suggested talking points. >>READ MORE>>
Practice Management
Train Staff to Promote Daily Disposable CLs
By Ryan Williams, COO, Ted Brinks & Associates
An effective presentation of daily disposables benefits both patient and practice. Outlined here are staff training steps to make that happen. >>READ MORE>>
Contact Lenses
Success Strategies for Fitting CLs with Presbyopia and Astigmatism
By Erin C. Sullivan, OD
The onset of presbyopia, with the presence of astigmatism, is challenging for patients who want to remain in CLs. Specialty CLs allow you to solve problems and delight hard-to-fit patients. Part of the Practice Differentiation series. >>READ MORE>>
ROB Fast Fact
What is the Impact of Health Care Reform on Eyewear Purchases?
There hasn’t been too much of an impact yet on eyewear spending from the Affordable Care Act, but The Vision Council notes in its 2015 Economic Situation Report that ECPs may feel the effects in the near future. Only 4.3 percent of the U.S. adult population has experienced any change so far in their vision coverage as a result of the ACA, however, “a significant number of eyewear users (7 percent) plan to cut spending on upcoming eyewear and eyecare products as a result of the ACA.
Click HERE to read more from Review of Optometric Business professional editors Carole Burns, OD, FCOVD, and Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD, on the impact of health care reform on eyewear spending.
In Brief
CMS and AMA Cooperating to Ease Transition to ICD-10
As health care professionals prepare to switch to ICD-10 coding for medical diagnoses from ICD-9 codes (deadline October 1, 2015), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it is working with the American Medical Association (AMA) to ease the transition. >>READ MORE>>
Transitions Optical Launches Social Content Aggregator
Transitions Optical is making it easier for eyecare professionals to join the #ThroughANewLens discussion and engage more fashion-forward and tech-savvy patients with fresh social media content. A web page, found at TransitionsPRO.com/NewLens, gives eyecare professionals the ability to easily view – and most importantly, share – a series of consumer videos that are available as part of Transitions Optical’s “See Life Through a New Lens consumer campaign. <<READ MORE>>
Challenge –> Solution
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Practice Challenge…
How do I give my optical dispensary a competitive edge?Your optical faces steep competition from other local ODs and optical shops, the optical super-chains and online retailers. Here is how three contributors are finding new streams of optical revenue and spurring sales.
…Practice Solution
- Make Protective Sports Eyewear a Practice Differentiator
- Boost Frame Sales: Have Staff Model the Top Styles
- Embracing Electronic Eyewear at Retail
Recent Articles of Note
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Getting There: Planning a Successful Optometric Career
By Robert Schultz -
Be Positive, and Always Thank Your Patient
An Optometric Minute video with Eric M. White, OD -
Capture Rate Booster: Train Staff to Fill Patient Prescriptions
By Stuart J. Thomas, OD, and Ellen Byrum-Goad, LDO
