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Optometry practice challenges
By Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO
Sept. 4, 2024
There are many challenges an OD will confront as a practice owner.
Here are the solutions I suggested to two colleagues who contacted me seeking guidance for difficulties in their practices.
Help with a Tough Conversation
Dear Laurie: I just had one of my newer employees quit. Her reason for quitting? The optical manager (OM) rolled her eyes at her and has made her feel unwelcome and stupid since day one. The OM is really good at what she does from an operations standpoint, but isn’t always the best at handling people. The OM has been with me since I opened the practice and she has been very valuable. How should I approach this?
-Newish business owner
Dear Newish: When we have a situation like this, I like to come at it from a “question mode” and remember to use the words “help me understand” that I learned from ROB columnist Bethany Fishbein, OD.
I used to frequently make the mistake of thinking I knew what a situation was and trying to rectify it before I had all the facts and the other person’s perspective. Don’t make the same mistake.
Try telling the OM exactly what the previous employee said, then ask her: “How does that make you feel?” or “What do you think about that?”
She may get defensive. If that happens, ask the OM to “look in the mirror.” Tell the OM that when a tough situation arises, you, personally, like to “look in the mirror” to see what you could have done differently to have made the situation better.
Share with her that you want to become the best version of yourself and that you cannot change other people…you can only change your own actions and reactions. After talking about yourself, you might say, “If you looked in the mirror, what could you have done differently to make the situation with the new employee or other current employees better?”
Advise the OM to go into the conversation with an open mind, ask lots of questions, and if appropriate, bring up the need for the OM to “look in the mirror.” Good luck. Let me know how it goes.
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Response I received from Newish Business Owner:
Dear Laurie: You were right. She was defensive at first, but then she admitted to being “harsh” and “too direct.” I did bring up “looking in the mirror,” which worked really well. She agreed to try to do that and even apologized to me, which is not easy for her to do!
Improving Annual CL Supply Percentage
Dear Laurie: What should be our goal for annual contact lens supply percentage? Ours is 31 percent.
-Wondering
Dear Wondering: First, congratulations on tracking your annual contact lens supply percentage!! I found most offices do not do this, though there are third-party tracking systems now that can help!
We still track ours in our EHR as I find my numbers do not always match the third-party tracking systems available. I like to know my numbers are accurate!
HERE is an ROB column I wrote about increasing your annual contact lens supply rate.
I like to see at least a 50 percent annual contact lens supply rate. The formula is: annual contact lens supplies sold divided by the number of contact lens exams.
We instituted an annual contact lens agreement, which we review with EVERY contact lens patients. It has basic contact lens care information, such as what to do if the patient’s eyes get red, along with discounts on glasses and sunglasses if an annual supply is purchased and information about contact lens professional fees and the costs for materials. We quote contact lenses as an annual supply rather than per box.
We are making the assumption the patient will want an annual supply because in our office they get 20 percent off when they buy an annual supply of contact lenses.
The agreement is reviewed by a technician, not the check-out person! This is vital because the patient thinks the technician understands more about their contacts and appropriate fees than the person at check-out. We found this to result in fewer questions and fewer push-back about fees.
Response I Received from Wondering:
Dear Laurie: We HAVE an annual contact lens agreement (from you), but our staff doesn’t like using it!
My Response to Wondering’s Comment:
Dear Wondering: My recommendation is to use the What, Why, Forward-Focused question approach with your staff that I discuss HERE.
WHAT the problem is: Our annual contact lens supply rate is too low.
WHY it is a problem: This hurts our profitability of our business, which can keep us from growing and being able to give raises when appropriate.
FORWARD-FOCUSED Question: Say to your staff, “I hear you do not like the current form. What can we do to make it better?”
Do you have a question? Send your question to LSorrenson@gmail.com
Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO, is president of Lakeline Vision Source in Cedar Park, Texas, and the Professional Editor of Review of Optometric Business (ROB). To contact her: lsorrenson@gmail.com.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
