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By Colleen Lorenzo
Office Manager
True Focus Eye Care
Nov. 16, 2022
Ordering and re-ordering contact lenses can be a chore for both patients and practices. When you can add advanced, yet easy-to-use, technology that enables quick ordering, you have added a great asset to the practice.
We were fortunate enough to implement Abby, from ABB Optical Group, this year. This technology is so effective and on-target, it acts as an additional staff member in its ability to interact with patients and facilitate orders on its own. It has transformed how we manage contact lens orders, and how our contact-lens patients communicate their needs to us.
We Needed a Simpler Way to Manage CL Orders
Our practice was looking for a solution that simplified the contact lens ordering process for the office, while also giving our patients great service and new options as technology changes.
In addition, for our practice location, the need for an ordering system that would allow all manufacturers/brands to be ordered, as Abby does, is a huge benefit. Abby allows us to use one platform for all of our contact-lens ordering needs, rather than individual manufacturer sites.
Streamline Practice Operations
We had a strong need to streamline the time it takes to order, package, notify, follow-up and maintain a manual ordering process, which was becoming more evident each day. Abby has allowed us to utilize the time those tasks used to take to better optimize the resources in our office.
We also wanted to improve patient compliance for usage and wear, and the ability to easily remind them of reorder time, and frames and prescription expiration, is a huge benefit.
Realize Impressive ROI in Staff Time Savings
We utilized another ordering platform for a short time before implementing Abby, and what a difference Abby makes. That other system only interfaced with one contact-lens manufacturer and left our front-desk processes with gaps and inefficiencies. Abby has allowed us to remedy that while enjoying a strong return on our investment in the saving of staff time.
Now, instead of being tied up on the phone or online processing contact-lens orders, our staff has more time to interact with and educate patients. This added time results in a greater opportunity to sell eyewear and talk to patients about the contact lenses the doctor prescribed, reinforcing the doctor’s message. When patients then learn how easy it is to order from us, thanks to Abby, they not only purchase eyewear from us, but their contact lenses, too. No need for an online retailer when it’s just as easy to order contacts directly from their own eye doctor.
Advanced Technology That’s as Easy for Patients As for You
The advanced behavioral features in Abby can take some patients time to get used to, but as time goes on, we expect many more patients to make use of these features, interacting ever more with Abby, almost as they would with a member of our team. Advanced technology is increasingly what consumers expect, and our patients are no different. When they interact with such systems in other businesses, and then interact with our office for contact-lens orders, it’s nice to be able to show them we are at the forefront in this change. We are able to offer them the most advanced way of communicating with us.
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From the first days of implementation, Abby has been simple and extremely easy for our team to use. The process of ramping up happened so quickly due to this ample support…which was amazing! We received all the support we needed from ABB Optical Group getting the system up and running. We had all of our questions answered promptly and thoroughly, and we also got a chance to see the system in action before it began interacting with real patients.
Let Your Patients Know You Offer the Best in Products and Customer Service
We let our patients know that we are utilizing a new program that ships directly to them and allows them to order at their convenience. Abby packaging, inserts, as well as the registration e-mail, are the perfect introductions to the system. We have not had any patient concerns about Abby or the process, which is a great indicator of the communication quality.
We are sending patients the message that, as technology grows and changes, we are a practice committed to offering the best experiences and the most current and convenient options for our patients. We are here to support them and their eye health!
Colleen Lorenzo is the Office Manager at True Focus Eye Care in Port Richey, Fla. To contact her: Admin@truefocuseyecare.com