Speeding cold-start growth with a suite of advanced eyecare technology.
Topcon-sponsored
By Kriti Bhagat, OD, FAAO
June 12, 2024
When you open a cold-start practice, you wonder how long it will take to get your footing. In my case, it didn’t take long at all. One of the key reasons our appointments were quickly booked was the technology I invested in from Topcon Healthcare.
This technology has allowed me to deliver a smooth and efficient patient experience, diagnose and monitor a wide range of conditions impacting eye health and vision, and launch a booming specialty contact lens practice.
A Strong Start for Your Cold Start
I attended Pennsylvania College of Optometry and completed a cornea and contact lens residency. After working in a few offices, I decided it was time to open my own practice. Eyediology Vision opened a year and a half ago in Providence, R.I.
I offer primary eyecare services, but I specialize in specialty contact lenses and generate significant referrals from both optometrists and ophthalmologists. Other healthcare providers feel confident about sending patients to me because they know we are equipped with advanced, cutting-edge technology. Topcon instruments provided a foundation for my office to become known for this high level of care amongst colleagues and patients.
Outfitting Your Office with the Best in Eyecare Technology
Nearly all the technology in my office comes from Topcon, including the Maestro2 OCT, KR-800 Auto-Kerato-Refractometer, CL-300 Compact Computerized Lensometer, CV-5000S Digital Phoropter and MYAH Optical Biometer and Corneal Topographer, which enables me to measure axial length for myopia management patients and visualize the meibomian glands for dry eye patients.
The great thing about having almost all my instruments from Topcon is how well these individual pieces of technology communicate with each other and how easily I can access all the information that is gathered.
With the push of a button in the exam room, I immediately see all measurements and images taken with the instruments, which I can show my patients on a large display screen as they sit in the exam chair.
I never have to worry about going into the apps of different instruments or logging in and out of different systems. Not only does that save time, but it looks professional and smooth to patients.
Take Patient Education to A New Level
I use the Maestro2 OCT for anterior segment evaluation for my scleral lens patients. I can pull up the scan from this instrument in the exam room and show the patient why their current lenses are not comfortable and why I am prescribing a different lens or making changes to the lens.
Most patients I fit in scleral lenses tell me that they never learned as much about the fitting process as they learned from me. This high level of education makes it more likely that the patient will follow my recommendation and refer others.
Patients can also easily see the difference between the old and new lenses I prescribed, reinforcing the value of the care I provide. Scleral lenses are much more expensive than traditional soft lenses, so seeing the difference in the image I show them from the Maestro2 validates the new prescription for them.
Capture 76 Percent of Potential Myopia Management Patients
The MYAH is the newest Topcon technology addition to our office. The ability to measure axial length has made an enormous difference in our ability to explain the importance of myopia management to parents.
Before using the MYAH, our myopia management services capture rate for patients evaluated for myopia management was 40 percent. We now capture 76 percent of patients we evaluate for myopia management.
With the MYAH, I am now able to quantify the need for myopia management and the difference the treatment is making. It isn’t just me telling families how much progress the patient is making; they can see for themselves based on the axial length measurement.
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Significantly Boost Efficiency
One of the best things about my Topcon technology suite is its ability to do all that it does in patient care and patient education, while simultaneously increasing efficiency.
With help from my Topcon instruments, the time it takes for the technician to start pretesting and for the patients to sit down in my exam room chair has been reduced from 12 minutes to seven minutes.
Topcon technology is so user-friendly that my technicians can do most of the testing themselves, allowing me to focus much more on the interpretation of the information collected. This leaves me more time to spend educating patients about the treatments or eyewear I prescribe, encouraging patient compliance and the purchase of products.
Time to Add an Associate OD
Our Topcon suite gives us an advantage that empowers us to grow rapidly. We are booked two months out, and I am now ready to add an associate.
When you have the right industry partners and tools to buoy your practice, your community notices, and your office quickly becomes the place people rely on for all their eyecare needs.
Kriti Bhagat, OD, FAAO, is the owner of Eyediology Vision in Providence, R.I. To contact her: kbhagat.od@gmail.com
