March 16, 2016
If you haven’t already stepped up conversation with patients about the need for outdoor eyewear, you may be falling behind your competitors, findings from Jobson Optical Research’s 2015 Premium Lens MarketPulse survey of independent ECPs suggest. Sixty percent of respondents said they have increased discussions with their patients on the importance of UV and HEV absorbing eyewear for outdoor use, and 46 percent have actually written more Rx for them in the last three years.
>>Click HERE to purchase Jobson Optical Research’s 2015 Premium Lens MarketPulse report.>>
How well do your patients follow your treatment plan? A study revealed 83 percent of patients do not exactly follow their doctor’s treatment plan for them. We’ve all had patients who in the exam room agree to the treatment plan and then when they get to the optical they follow through with less. If we believe our treatment plan for the patient will improve their quality of life, then how do we improve our outcomes?
Marketing research reveals that patients want their doctors to give them the latest technology, prescribe a solution, and explain the treatment plan in easy-to-understand terms.
The Jobson Optical Research’s 2015 Premium Lens MarketPulse survey of independent ECPs tells us that 60 percent of ECPs have increased discussions with their patients on the importance of UV and HEV protection in their outdoor eyewear. This is good news. Doctors educating patients is always a positive move. Patients are more likely to follow a doctor’s treatment plan when the doctor explains why they are prescribing in easy-to-understand terms.
The interesting disconnect is that doctors think they are excellent communicators, however, patients rate their doctors as poor communicators. The easiest way to check yourself is to record yourself. Then listen to your recording as if you were a patient. Is the presentation all facts, or is there a human touch in what you say? Is there a demanding tone or a caring tone? Would you, as a patient, do what this doctor is prescribing, or is the presentation so soft that you are not sure what to do? Listen and learn.
The Jobson Optical Research’s 2015 Premium Lens MarketPulse survey of independent ECPs tells us that 46 percent of ECPs have actually written more prescriptions for UV and HEV protection for outdoor eyewear. Writing a prescription–that’s definitely a step up from offering, suggesting, or even recommending. If you believe that a solution is in the patient’s best interest, then prescribe it.
Many doctors have an irrational fear of being viewed as “selling” in the exam room. Rather than prescribe the best solution for the patient, the decision is deferred to the optician. When prescribing a solution that improves the patient’s quality of life, you are not “selling” – you are being a doctor. The interesting disconnect here is that when you talk to opticians, they say that when the doctor prescribes a solution in the exam room, most patients will get it in the optical. So, the core concept is: the doctor who is focused on the best interests of patients prescribes everything the patient needs in the exam room.
To help improve the outcomes from your case presentation, take this week to answer these three questions:
1. Do you measure your case presentation outcomes? (If not, you have no idea how effective you are being in the exam room, or what areas need improvement.)
2. Do you prescribe everything that will improve each patient’s quality of life?
3. Do you explain in effective and easy-to-understand terms why you are prescribing what you are prescribing?
References
Televox Software Study: Eight out of Ten Americans (83%) Don’t Follow Treatment Plans
