Doctor Patient Relations

Create a Practice Capable of Life-Changing Transformations

By Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO

A recentarticle in The Wall Street Journalrevealed thatDr. J. Davis Armistead wasthe optometristwho outfitted 1950s rock star Buddy Holly withhis iconic nerdy-hip frames. The article pointed out that prior to Dr. Armistead’s frames, which he traveled to Mexico to supply the singer with, Holly hated wearing glasses so much that he even tried unsuccessfully performing without any glasses at all—not the best idea given Holly’s 20/800 vision. Once given the glasses Dr. Armistead found for him, Holly not only could see; he had a signature style that others still emulate.

Your optical is just one place where life-changing transformations can occur. While you train your opticians to deliver the kind of service Dr. Armistead provided to Buddy Holly, think about other ways your practice can change lives.

My practice has experienced many patient transformations that reaffirm why I became an OD. I have a patient who came to me years ago.Someone had doneLASIKon him, even though he had significant Fuch’s dystrophy. His vision after the LASIKwas very poor, and he was clinically depressed. I fit him in reverse aspheric scleral lenses which helped tremendously, and he came out of his depression fully. His daughter personally thanked me for “giving my dad back to me,” and the patient wrote me a poem that is framed and up on my wall.

Another patient shared with me that she was trying to get pregnant when I noticed she had proptosis and referred her for a thyroid workup. She had Graves disease, had it treated and eventually became pregnant. She gives me full credit for her pregnancy! Ha!

I probably had more transformations fitting someone with a high Rx in contact lenses for the first time than I have hadputting patients in eyeglasses. But there’s nothing like putting a toddler in a pair of glassesthen seeing him or her walkaround the opticalfor the first time and showing a big grin. Or the +8.00D with 2.00D of cyl who was told that he couldn’t wear contact lenses.After fitting him in RGP torics, his whole personality changed!

How does your practice change the lives of patients? Is the service you provide patients worthy of life-changing transformations?

Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO, is president of Lakeline Vision Source in Austin, Texas. To contact her: sorrenson@att.net.

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