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OD Excellence Practice of the Year Announced at National Convention

OD Excellence (ODX) ended its national meeting at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Diego earlier this month with its own awards ceremony.  If compared to the Olympics, they can proudly say that Dr. Stephen Hedges Family Eyecare in Danville, Ind., recipient of the Practice of the Year award, won the “gold.” This honor, sponsored by OD Excellence and VSP Global, was created to distinguish the practice that most utilized the ODX tools available to increase their practice top line while decreasing their cost of goods. The award was presented by Jerry Lieblein, OD, CEO of OD Excellence, and Ed Buffington, vice-president of VSP Global.

Stephen Hedges, OD, of Hedges Family Eyecare in Danville, Ind., accepts the Practice of the Year Award, sponsored by OD Excellence and VSP Global.

“Dr. Hedges took advantage of all the tools we have available and used them to achieve a high rate of growth,” says Dr. Lieblein. “In talking with him, he showed a thirst for continued knowledge and a desire to take advantage of all the educational classes offered while building a firm foundation with the medical model.”

Dr. Hedges says his gross collections were up 36 percent in the first six months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011.  “I am not sure exactly what our net will be, but I am positive that it will have increased, as well, because of our reduced cost of goods sold now that we have been using OD Excellence partner vendors.  I am predicting that our net will be in the 32 percent to 35 percentage range. We are also seeing nice new patient growth in our practice, a portion of which is no doubt due to the implementation of advice gleaned from watching OD Excellence webcasts.”

OD Excellence seminars differ from many other optometric eduation programs in that they motivate you to implement the lessons learned. “I have attended numerous management seminars throughout my years in practice, none of which have motivated me to return the following Monday and begin implementing their suggestions,” says Dr. Hedges. “We have found the advice given by its lecturers to be easier to implement with our staff. And, as we all know, having a highly trained staff that takes pride in serving patients makes all the difference between having a good practice and having a great one.”

Left to right: Jerry Sude, OD, chairman of OD Excellence; Stephen Hedges, OD, recipient of the Practice of the Year award; and Jerry Lieblein, OD, CEO of OD Excellence.

Dr. Hedges pointed out that his practice has enjoyed substantive results from OD Excellence’s services. “OD Excellence also encouraged us to make available to our patients new products from partner vendors that are only available through private practices. As a result, we’ve noticed increased patient satisfaction, compliance and retention.  Also, by switching to these vendors we have achieved significant reductions in our cost of materials, even though we introduced new premium lines of frames and lenses. Another area that OD Excellence has expanded for us is the treatment of ocular surface disease,” says Dr. Hedges.  “Our dry eye portion of the practice has grown significantly since partaking in its medical webcasts. In addition, OD Excellence helped improve our bottom line by significantly reducing our merchant processing fees.  By switching to a new partner vendor we calculate that our annual savings in this one area alone will be greater than the cost of our affiliate membership.”

The success Dr. Hedges achieved is a testament to the quality services offered by OD Excellence, says Jerry Sude, OD, chairman of OD Excellence: “We are all excited to hear his success story and all that he has achieved with ODX.”

Participating in OD Excellence’s classes changed Dr. Hedges thinking giving him a fresher, more profitable perspective. “ODX has revolutionized the way I think about optometry,” says Dr. Hedges. “The incredible success this year is rooted in what we have learned and implemented from OD Excellence. All this, and yet, I know I have only scratched the surface of what is available.”

The National Conference shared the same level of  success experienced by Dr. Hedges. With record attendance from doctors and staff, OD Excellence is already planning for 2013. The ODX National Conference 2012 offered something for everyone, from informative and informational presentations to a demo-packed exhibit hall where premier vendors offered hands-on demos covering the latest technologies and solutions.

To learn what you need to succeed today, visit www.odexcellence.com or call (855) 201-1639.

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