New This Week
Annual Back-to-School Vision Day Can Expand Your Family Eyecare Services
Jason R. Miller, OD, of EyeCare Professionals of Powell, Ohio, hosts an annual back-to-school vision event, along with his practice partner, Tamara M. Kuhlmann, OD, MS. It is a day-long event in which only children are seen for eye examinations in an inviting, kid-friendly environment. Popcorn and other refreshments are served while frames reps showcase children’s frames. The event often results in parents making appointments for their exams, as well. >>READ MORE>>
Contact Lens Solutions
Retain Profitable Contact Lens Patients with Good Lens Care Recommendations
By Gina Wesley, OD, MS, FAAO
Contact lens patients are highly valuable to a practice. Yet, many patients drop out of contact lens wear–often without the ECP knowing–because of comfort problems that easily can be addressed. Being pro-active in lens care recommendations can improve patient comfort and reduce costly dropouts. >>READ MORE>>
Social Media
Effective Online Reputation Management: a Powerful Marketing Tool
By Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Today, you and your practice have an online reputation, one that needs monitoring and managing. Here is a checklist to help you to turn online consumer comments into a powerful marketing tool for your practice. >>READ MORE>>
Staff Training
Training the New Hire: an Action Plan
By Trudi Charest
In an optometric practice, training often is overlooked and under-provided—but it is critical in maximizing job performance and practice profitability. Here is an action plan for training the new hire. >>READ MORE>>
Nearly All ODs Routinely Perform Annual Dilated Funduscopic Exams on Diabetic Patients
Nearly all surveyed optometrists (97.6 percent) routinely performed annual dilated funduscopic examinations on their diabetic patients in their offices, according to the American Optometric Association’s 2010 Caring for the Eyes of America survey. Seven in ten ODs (71.4 percent) also reported that they performed fundus photography in their offices. Four out of five (80.1 percent) routinely send written reports to the primary care practitioners, internists and/or endocrinologists regarding the ocular health status of their diabetic patients.
Click HERE to read more from Review of Optometric Business professional editors Carole Burns, OD, FCOVD, and Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD, on how best to co-manage diabetic patients with primary care physicians.
ABB Concise Integrates Compulink Software to Streamline Contact Lens Ordering
To automate contact lens ordering, ABB Concise distribution centers have integrated Compulink Business Systems, Inc.’s Electronic Health Records and Practice Management software. Users of Compulink’s Eyecare Advantage software will now be able to order lenses directly from ABB Concise’s catalog of products.
>>READ MORE>>
WebMD and Medscape Launch Online Consumer Education Portal
Bausch + Lomb and WebMD/Medscape introduced a suite of online resources to educate consumers about the importance of maintaining good eye health, as well as its connection with other health conditions, to encourage them to connect with an eyecare professional. Other online resources will target eyecare professionals.
>>READ MORE>>
ROB Poll
Top Staffing Management Achievement in 2011:
Staff Buy-In to Significant Change and Improved Service in Optical Shop
Asked about their top staff management achievement in 2011, 25 percent of ROB readers cited getting staff to buy into significant practice change, while another 25 percent said their top staffing success was implementing training that improved service in their optical shop. Thirteen percent said they counted terminating staff no longer needed or under-performing as their top staffing achievement this year.
