Business Intelligence: Brighter Sunwear Merchandising
By Scot Morris, OD
Scot Morris, OD of Eye Consultants of Colorado, makes sunwear merchandising a priority. The keys: connecting sunwear to eye health concerns, creating a sunwear section in your dispensary, and signage that explains premium sunwear benefits.
Four Steps to Choosing the Right EHR System
By James Kirchner, OD
You can improve your transition from paper to electronic health records by carefully researching EHR software, and making strategic plans to implement the one you choose.
Auto-Reminders Improve Patient Compliance
By ROB Editors
E-mail-based automatic reminding systems, such as Alcon’s EyeVIP program, can help your patients better comply with your contact lens cleaning and replacement recommendations.
On-Target Job Posting = Staffing Bull’s Eye
By Brad McCorkle
By honing the language and branding that describes your practice, you can create job ads that allow you to hire high-quality employees.
Reconfigure Your Office, Maximize Patient Flow
By Thomas Wong, OD
Minor adjustments to the layout of your office can improve work flow and boost staff efficiency.
ROB Fast Fact
Polarized Total Lens Pair Sales Strong
Some 59 percent of independent optical retailers said sales of total lens pairs that are polarized have increased, according to Jobson Research’s 2010 Premium Lenses MarketPulse Survey, which can be purchased here. Thirty-two percent said these sales are staying about the same; and 9 percent say total lens pair sales that are polarized have decreased.
In Brief
How Well Are You Doing Financially Compared to Optometric Peers?
>Eyefinity announced that its Virtual Users’ Group Meeting (VUGM) will take place July 25 to 29, 2011, and is free for OfficeMate/ExamWRITER users. Now in its third year in a completely online format, eyecare practices can take part in over 30 training webinar courses from their own office. “With the online format of our users’ group meeting, our customers won’t need to close their practice or incur expensive travel costs for education and training,” says James Kirchner, OD, chief professional officer of Eyefinity. “We have expanded the VUGM courses this year to offer our most comprehensive mix of training and education—all of which is available at no charge to OfficeMate/ExamWRITER users.”
The 2011 VUGM will feature an overview and sneak-peak of the certified version of OfficeMate/ExamWRITER (v10.5), which is set for release this summer, and courses that will help eyecare professionals better understand meaningful use (MU) along with the steps they must take to successfully demonstrate MU to qualify for federal stimulus dollars. Other VUGM courses will provide in-depth education on topics such as e-prescribing, creating a paperless office, inventory management, patient history documentation, OfficeMate scheduler best practices and marketing tools and the technology integrated practice. Additionally, Eyefinity President Steve Baker will present a look at Eyefinity’s past, present and where the company’s products and services are heading in the future.
Attendees will also receive unlimited access to the recorded courses forsix months following the 2011 VUGM. To register, visit www.officemate.net/usersgroup.
In Brief
Eyefinity to Host 3rd Annual Virtual Users’ Group Meeting in July
Eyefinity announced that its Virtual Users’ Group Meeting (VUGM) will take place July 25 to 29, 2011, and is free for OfficeMate/ExamWRITER users. Now in its third year in a completely online format, eyecare practices can take part in over 30 training webinar courses from their own office. “With the online format of our users’ group meeting, our customers won’t need to close their practice or incur expensive travel costs for education and training,” says James Kirchner, OD, chief professional officer of Eyefinity. “We have expanded the VUGM courses this year to offer our most comprehensive mix of training and education—all of which is available at no charge to OfficeMate/ExamWRITER users.”
The 2011 VUGM will feature an overview and sneak-peak of the certified version of OfficeMate/ExamWRITER (v10.5), which is set for release this summer, and courses that will help eyecare professionals better understand meaningful use (MU) along with the steps they must take to successfully demonstrate MU to qualify for federal stimulus dollars. Other VUGM courses will provide in-depth education on topics such as e-prescribing, creating a paperless office, inventory management, patient history documentation, OfficeMate scheduler best practices and marketing tools and the technology integrated practice. Additionally, Eyefinity President Steve Baker will present a look at Eyefinity’s past, present and where the company’s products and services are heading in the future.
Attendees will also receive unlimited access to the recorded courses forsix months following the 2011 VUGM. To register, visit www.officemate.net/usersgroup.
In Brief
Transitions Launches MAP Program, Offering ECPs Info on Local Markets
Transitions Optical is launching a new, interactive Transitions MAP (Market Area Profile) program developed to assist eyecare professionals in the promotion of their practices by identifying key consumer segments in their geographic areas. It provides detailed information about the vision needs and behaviors of target audiences, and suggests marketing tactics to help reach “high-value” patients. It also offers insight into who might be competing for their business. “Many practices are aware that marketing is important, but they don’t necessarily have resources to tailor their programs to reach patients with the best revenue potential,” says Dana Reid, senior marketing specialist ECP communications, Transitions Optical. “Demographics, like ethnicity, age and lifestyle, all influence the amount and type of vision products and services consumed. “Understanding which target audiences are prominent in the area where they practice, and the opportunities associated, can help eyecare professionals customize their outreach to these groups, which is a more effective way to reach them than a one-size-fits all approach.”