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By Ben Thayil, OD
Oct. 6, 2021
Like many of you, I’m an OD, and I have had the privilege to open, own and operate my practice in Miami Gardens, Fla. As an optometrist and business owner, I have two priorities: 1. keep my patients happy and healthy, and 2. run a profitable business.
Beyond running my own practice, I also help coach other ODs on how to create a lifestyle of freedom, rather than feeling like their practice is a ball and chain. In the spirit of coaching, take a moment to consider this: implementing technology is a strategy I use to give me the ability to work on my practice instead of always having to work in my practice.
Technology gives me the ability to confidently step away and still know things will run smoothly. I want to share with you how I’ve boosted my average optical transaction by 79 percent and helped my patients access the eyecare and eyewear they need.
Solutions for Happy Patients
Last year, my practice added a new payment option that helps patients feel and look great. It’s a tool that has taken online shopping by storm, called “Buy Now, Pay Later.” Sunbit created a buy now, pay later technology built for optical practices and it’s the solution I offer in my practice. It helps our patients fulfill more of their medical eyecare and eyewear needs.
At my practice, we make it a point to offer Sunbit technology to every patient that walks through our doors. Sunbit provides patients with access to a fair payment plan that gives them the flexibility to make the most of their budget, treatment and purchase. Their payment technology enables us to close more frames and lenses sales and deliver more dry eye treatments, annual supplies of contact lenses and many other services often not covered by insurance companies. We also get paid a lot faster than by insurance companies, with payment initiated in full the next business day.
Fast & Easy Patient Approval Process
Sunbit makes it easier for patients to gain access to care. Plain and simple. We all know that insurance only covers the basics. Furthermore, offering a medical credit card is difficult to propose for a new pair of frames. No one wants to get turned down for a card, or go through the painful application process in our practice.
That said, Sunbit understands my patients and my business. They don’t offer a card; they offer access to a payment plan. They don’t perform a hard credit check, it takes 30 seconds to apply, and almost everyone gets approved with no interest for three months. Not to mention, there are no late fees or penalties. My patients love it and love me for looking out for them. Using Sunbit tells our community that we are on the cutting edge of finding ways to make healthcare more accessible.
The most surprising benefit of offering Sunbit technology has been the growth in referrals. Friends and family of patients visit our office after their friends or relatives refer them to us precisely because we offer payment plans.
Huge, Immediate Positive Impact on Profitability
Sunbit’s technology helped us generate $15,000 in new revenue in one month alone, shortly after implementing it in our practice. All around, buy now, pay later has been a win-win for our patients and practice.
My practice can expect $411 on average from each customer. As of August 2021, we have an average purchase amount of $735 with patients using Sunbit. They’re spending more than $300 more than the average! And more than 90 percent of my patients who applied for a payment plan using Sunbit technology are approved. Not having to tell a patient they were declined is such a relief to my team. Many of my patients are pleasantly surprised they were approved as well.
Communicate the Right Message to Patients
We always talk about paying a little today and paying the rest off over time. We also tell patients, “You don’t have to pay everything today. We get it; healthcare can have a lot of unexpected costs. That’s why we have ways for you to pay over time instead of paying everything upfront today.”
Change Patient Lives
We had a patient recently who just retired and was celebrating decades of service at her county job. On her celebratory tour, she wanted to treat herself to a nice pair of glasses. She was set on getting a pair of Cartier frames with all the bells and whistles and the best progressive lenses.
Knowing they were going to cost her a significant amount of money, but willing to splurge, she wanted to know what the total cost would be so she could save for them and come back later to make the purchase. However, once we informed her that with Sunbit she didn’t have to pay in full, she made the purchase on the spot. She was elated when she received her beautiful new glasses and was able to wear them at her retirement party. We were also elated to help her look and feel her best.
An Industry Partner Priming You for Success
The team at Sunbit genuinely cares about you and your practice’s success. They aren’t just trying to push a product for you to put into your office and never use. They will go out of their way to make sure each practice is successful with it.
With a dependable partner like this and a solution making our patients’ lives and our practice better, Sunbit is an easy win for any practice owner.
Ben Thayil, OD, is the founder and executive coach at MindSight, INC., and the owner of Lifetime Vision and Eye Care in Miami Gardens, Fla. To contact him: benthayil@mindsightmastery.com
Loans are made by Transportation Alliance Bank, Inc., dba TAB Bank, which determines qualifications for and terms of credit.
