New This Week
Space in the Optical: Use it Effectively to Increase Sales
To increase optical sales, use space effectively, says Barbara Wright of Barbara Wright Design. To consumers, open space around merchandise signals luxury, while cramped merchandise says lower price, lower quality. See how successful opticals vary open space around frame collections to differentiate economy, mid-priced and high-end.>>READ MORE>>
Ophthalmic Lenses
Increasing Eyewear Capture Rate: A Team Effort
By Chad Waggoner, OD, and Kimberly Manthe, ABO
Increasing capture rate of prescribed eyewear is a team effort—where doctor, optician, technician and receptionist all sound a common message. Do it right, and measure the payoff.
Professional Development
Climb the Associates Ladder: Seven Steps Toward Ownership
By Chad Fleming, OD, FAAO
For an associate intent on a partnership, performing seven steps well adds value to the practice—and gets you closer to your goal.
Doctor-Patient Relations
Patients with Dementia: Recognize, Provide Care and Products, Refer
By Pamela Miller, OD, FAAO, JD, DPNAP
With more patients displaying dementia, you need to recognize conditions, refer when warranted, and provide optical products that meet specialized needs.
ROB Fast Fact
How Much Are You Earning?
ODs who own or are partners of a practice have a strong financial advantage over those who are OD-employees, findings from Jobson Optical Research’s 2014 ECP Compensation Survey suggest. The average compensation reported for employed ODs was $107,692. The average total compensation of optometrists who are owner/partners for 2013 was reported as $143,146.
Click HERE to read more from Review of Optometric Business professional editors Carole Burns, OD, FCOVD, and Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD, on the value of becoming a practice owner or partner versus an employed OD.
In Brief
Alcon Enters Agreement with Google to License Smart Lens Technology
Novartis announced that its eyecare division Alcon has entered into an agreement with a division of Google Inc. to in-license its “smart lens” technology for all ocular medical uses. The agreement with Google[x], a team within Google that is devoted to finding new solutions to global problems, provides Alcon with the opportunity to develop and commercialize Google’s “smart lens” technology.
>>READ MORE>>
C&E Vision and Vision West Sponsor ECPInteract
Vision West and C&E Vision announced a major initiative around community building for their members. The California-based companies are sponsoring ECPInteract, which has been in pilot for the last 12 months, beginning this September. The companies say they realized that their combined 7,500 members could be a powerful community for optometrists and optometric staff to derive even greater value from their membership.
<<READ MORE>>
Challenge –> Solution
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Practice Challenge…
How do I profitably invest in instrumentation?Instrumentation is one of the most important investments your practice makes. It benefits patients by enhancing the care you provide, and it sends a high-tech message about your practice brand. Here is how some doctors approach this challenge.
…Practice Solution
- Updated Refraction Instrumentation: Take Exam Experience to Next Level
- Corneal Topographer: Elevate Care and Profits
- Wavefront Analyzer: Do In-Depth Diagnostics in Less Time
Recent Articles of Note
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Getting There: Planning a Successful Optometric Career
By Robert Schultz -
Be Positive, and Always Thank Your Patient
An Optometric Minute video with Eric M. White, OD -
Capture Rate Booster: Train Staff to Fill Patient Prescriptions
By Stuart J. Thomas, OD, and Ellen Byrum-Goad, LDO
