New This Week
Purchasing Instrumentation: Invest in Practice Growth
Richard Baker, OD, of Lamorinda Optometry in Lafayette, Calif., outlines the considerations that go into the critical (and often costly) acquisition of cutting edge instrumentation that will help you to deliver the highest standard of care. First, study the data to ensure that a new piece of equipment is effective and meets a clinical need. Second, it must make sense financially: Consider purchase vs. lease, evolving technology and upgrades, and patient volume and flow. Third, allow adequate time for staff training, especially in educating the patient on the value of high-tech instruments to their eye health. Finally, look for secondary applications of your instrumentation to maximize use and profitability.
>>READ MORE >>
Medical Eyecare
InfantSEE: Bring the Whole Family Into Your Practice
By Monica Allison, OD, FOAA
Providing InfantSEE services is a great way to bring a whole family into your practice. When you provide good care early in life, the referrals can be exponential and long-lasting. >>READ MORE>>
Ophthalmic Lenses
Free-Form Lenses: Address Patient Needs at Work and Play
By Brian Linde, OD
Enhance the lives of your patients by prescribing free-form spectacle lenses that meet lifestyle needs ranging from computer work to outdoor recreation. Loyalty and referrals will follow. >>READ MORE>>
Finances
Practice Sale and Retirement: One OD’s Success Strategy
By Diane Palombi, OD
Changing market conditions require flexibility–and early action–if you are to ensure a financially secure retirement. Here’s how one OD mapped out and then carried out the profitable sale of her practice. >>READ MORE>>
Optometric Business Innovators: Marketing
Whether it’s improving the eyecare experience through new technology or adapting to electronic health records, from the exam room to the back-office, here are forward-thinking ODs who embrace new ideas that set their practices apart. They are the focus of our third annual Optometric Business Innovators report, a special collaborative project between Vision Monday and Review of Optometric Business. This month, we share lessons from ODs who are innovative in practice marketing. >>READ MORE>>
SPONSORED BY VISION SOURCE
Challenges and Opportunities in the Future of Independent Optometry:
Competitive Weaknesses of Independent ODs
Vision Source is the leading alliance of independent ODs, with 2,700+ member 
practices and 5,500+ member doctors in the US and Canada. The organization is actively engaged in advancing the competitive position of independent ODs. Earlier this year, Vision Source commissioned the editors of Review of Optometric Business to develop an objective analysis of the current state of independent optometry and to identify strategic priorities for bolstering competitiveness. This article distils one section of the full report, identifying the major competitive weaknesses of independent ODs. >>READ MORE and COMPLIMENTARY DOWNLOAD of FULL REPORT>>
ROB Fast Fact
How Important Are Rx Polarized Lenses to Your Patients–and Your Practice?
Polarized prescription lenses still comprise a small percentage of the lenses purchased by patients, but with the increasing concern of the effects of ultra-violet radiation and the discomfort of glare, you might want to make a greater push in this area. Polarization is considered an important quality for 25 percent of lens purchasers, according to The Vision Council’s 2012 Rx Polarized Lens White Paper Report. Yet just six percent of lenses purchased are Rx sun. Some 98 percent of ECPs offer Rx polarized lenses at their practice; they recommend polarized to about 68 percent of patients. According to the white paper, lens experts agree that the biggest challenge in growing the polarized market is convincing consumers to purchase a second pair of Rx eyeglasses.
Click HERE to read more from Review of Optometric Business professional editors Carole Burns, OD, FCOVD, and Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD, on putting more patients in polarized sunwear.
In Brief
HOYA Vision and PPG Industries Host Parent-Education Roundtable at Optometry’s Meeting
To provide a platform for industry dialog, HOYA and PPG are hosting a roundtable of optometrists during the American Optometric Association’s (AOA’s) Optometry’s Meeting on the topic of pediatric vision. “Engaging With Today’s Parents to Promote Pediatric Vision” will be held on Friday June, 28, from 4:30 pm- 5:30 pm at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel (room 306 B, on the third-floor “Aqua” level), and will be open to optometrists attending the Optometry’s Meeting, optical trade media and representatives from HOYA and PPG.” >>READ MORE>>
Essilor of America Receives Good Housekeeping Seal
Essilor of America announced that it has earned the Good Housekeeping Seal for select products in its line of Crizal No-Glare lenses. After evaluation by The Good Housekeeping Research Institute, the Seal was received for Crizal No-Glare lenses–adding several of Essilor’s offerings to the roster of brands that have received the Seal.
