The Optometric Leadership Advisory Council at its 2025 meeting. Photo courtesy of Dr. Brightman.
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Transition from ownership continues to benefit doctors and practice years later after the sale
By Brian Brightman, OD
Jan. 12, 2026
It’s been seven years since the seven owners of our practice, EyeCare Specialties in Lincoln, Nebraska, decided to trust in AEG Vision for the next chapter of our business. With three of our doctors nearing retirement, we needed to move in a direction that made sense financially for all parties involved.
Right away, the decision to partner with AEG Vision proved to be a smart one. The unique part of this relationship is that the benefits are still rolling in for our business. Overall, it’s allowed me much more free time. I’m no longer working outside of clinic hours on tasks such as reviewing budgets or management issues. Right away, I dropped from 60 hours a week to 40. Now, I’m working around 32 hours a week.
Our doctors can come in energized and focus on seeing our patients. If there’s an issue, I know there’s a team I can turn to. Those are huge benefits—and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve been impressed at how the relationship and AEG Vision have evolved over the past few years, continuing to bring value to our practice and its four locations.
SIMPLIFIED MANAGEMENT
AEG Vision has ramped up its internal team a great deal since we began our partnership. The addition of an operations team and clinical management team have been a great asset. Whether I have a clinic issue or an equipment request and repair, I know which contact can help.
Having this support team that truly cares helps with all the little day-to-day obstacles that can bog you down. The support just keeps growing and becoming more sophisticated to serve our practices.
COLLABORATION STRENGTHENS EVERYONE’S KNOWLEDGE
It’s been a pleasure to be involved with the Optometric Leadership Advisory Council (OLAC), which was formed after our partnership began. I’ve had a chance to watch this internal network grow based on our individual passions to focus on many areas of the profession. We come together in committees as AEG Vision doctors from across the country. Our collaborative experiences and trusted resources can help one another.
The committees include OD Engagement, Professional Development and Implementation, Preferred Practice Patterns, Consent and Myopia Management. Doctors can benefit from training with other experts, as well as access to protocols and patient education materials that the committees produce. We can tap into our resources for a template for referral letters, for example, if we need to send a note and report to an endocrinologist.
The collaboration is priceless. It also can help you increase your knowledge in different specialized pathways to promote the individuality of your practice. Be the myopia management expert in your area. Specialize in glaucoma care. You don’t need to have a cookie cutter office. If there is an area of your practice you want to build, AEG Vision will support you in that venture.
Doctors can apply for a position as a representative in a committee, and two are selected from each region for a two-year term. Even if you are not serving on a committee, you can still get involved in projects and share your input.
MANAGEABLE METRICS
The AEG Universal software is impressive. In my opinion, it produces the best metrics analysis I’ve seen on any platform. It’s easy to review and break down the data. We can monitor how many glaucoma patients we see and their total revenue or analyze production and patient volume and compare it to this season in years past.
With years of management experience, I have a good idea of what I’m looking for in the numbers. Yet AEG Vision is there, especially for new locations and doctors, if they need guidance in reviewing the data.
COMPETITIVE PRICING, EARLY ACCESS
To the public, our practice had a reputation for being a more expensive optometry office. We couldn’t be competitive with contact lens pricing simply because our purchasing power was smaller. Now, we have a better pricing strategy and increased value rebates for patients, too.
I’ve also enjoyed the early access to new technology that has been available through AEG Vision. We had an opportunity to fit ACUVUE® OASYS MAX 1-Day for Astigmatism and ACUVUE® OASYS MAX 1-Day MULTIFOCAL before any other offices in our area.
It’s a good feeling to be first with new technology. Our patients have become accustomed to expecting that from our practice, and AEG helps us continue to deliver. We can be their source for whatever is the newest, latest and greatest.
SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE FOR PATIENTS AFTER THE SALE
AEG Vision is a tremendous asset behind the scenes. For the patients, we believe that their experiences have only been enhanced for the better.
The most noticeable change for patients is that reminder calls now come from an out-of-state area code. Otherwise, many don’t realize we’re part of AEG Vision. We explain that this dedicated scheduling team handles reminders and appointments, taking that administrative burden off our office staff. That allows them to focus entirely on the patient in front of them.
To learn more about OLAC, contact Dr. Jamy Borbidge at jborbidge@aegvision.com.
Read another article on working with AEG Vision.
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Brian Brightman, OD, leads the team at EyeCare Specialties, with four locations in Lincoln, Nebraska. To contact him: bbrightman@eyecarespecialties.com |
