How New Practices Are Started
Fifty-seven percent of newpractices are started from scratch; thirty-six percent are acquired from previous owners or formed with a previous owner.
Red=partnership with previous owner; Orange=acquisition from previous owner.
Profile of New Independent Optometric Practice Owners
Although most established optometric practices in the U.S. are owned by men, 49 percent of new optometric practices are being formed by women. This reflects the trend in recent years of women accounting for nearly two-thirds of the graduates of U.S. schools of optometry.
New Practice Owners
Established Practice Owners
OD Employment Immediately Before Starting New Practice
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40% worked as an associate OD for an OD or MD owner
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32% were affiliated wtih a retail optical chain
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15% graduated from OD school
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5% owned another independent practice
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8% worked for an HMO, the military or other
Relatively few new practices are formed by ODs immediately after they graduate from optometry school and are licensed. Most new ODs work for several years to pay off student debt before forming a practice–typically working as associate ODs for optometrists or ophthalmologists, or affiliating with a retail optical chain.
Source: Key Metrics of New Independent Optometric Practices, January 2010.
