Some 31.3 percent of consumers wait a week for an appointment after calling their eye doctor’s office to schedule, while 25.1 percent are able to be seen two to three days later, according to Jobson Optical Research’s 2011 The Waiting Game report. Some 16.1 percent must wait longer than two weeks, while 14.1 percent typically can be seen in about two weeks and 13.4 percent can usually be seen the same day they call for an appointment or the next day.
This survey raises the question of who is sitting in your chair. Are you making patients who routinely purchase two or more items from you plus services wait two weeks or more because you are filling your chair with patients who “… only want what the plan covers?” This is the time of year to re-evaluate your participation in third parties. Consider eliminating any third party who meets one or more of the following:
1) Does not meet your break-even cost.
2) Supplies you with patients who “… only want what the plan covers.”
3) Forces you to accept patients who are not your target patients.
4) Forces you to utilize low quality laboratories.
5) Forces you to display a significant number of frames that are below your standards.
Start planning now to make next year an ever better year than this year. A great place to start is by deciding what patients you want in your practice and then putting in place a plan to help those patients choose you rather than some other practice. One way to do this is to participate in third parties that are helping your target patient population to choose you and eliminate those that are not.
