Practice Management

The Insurance Verification Technology Generating $50,000+ Monthly in CL & Eyewear Orders

The optical at Advanced Vision Center in Swampscott, Mass. Donald Waugh, LDO, says ABB Verify generated $57,274 in eyewear and contact lens sales in August 2021.

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By Shelley Smith, ABOC, CPOA,
and Donald Waugh, LDO

Dec. 15, 2021

Insurance verification can be challenging for both practices and patients. A system must be in place to do it efficiently, and if this process is not handled the right way, patients can become irritated and angry.

Fortunately, there is technology that makes it simple to verify patient insurance, and alert patients ahead of their visit of services due and of benefits that may be available to cover the costs of their vision care, including the purchase of eyewear and contact lenses. That technology is ABB Verify.

ROB spoke to two opticians, who shared the positive impact on patients and profitability of using ABB Verify.

Shelley Smith, ABOC, CPOA
Practice Manager

Drs. Sehy and Jones Optometrists
Effingham, Ill.
We have six clinics in our practice, five of which have been using ABB Verify for just over a year. We were looking for a way to cut down the staff time it took to collect insurance benefits and search multiple sites to find benefits for patients who were unsure of their insurance carrier. We were introduced to this product through our ABB contact lens rep and decided to sign up for the free trial. From day one of implementation, we have been completely happy with the product.

Our patients are happier with the insurance verification process and being alerted to their benefits ahead of their visit, and our practice is benefiting financially. In August 2021, ABB Verify spurred our patients to book 119 appointments and powered $36,723 in eyewear and contact lens orders.

Before using ABB Verify, we were going to each insurance company’s website, manually inputting patient information and printing each benefit. With ABB Verify, all we do is login to one website, go to the scheduled appointment list and print the benefits for our patients for the day. Since implementing ABB Verify, we have cut the staff time that it takes to verify benefits from about 16 hours a week total for all our clinics down to about five hours a week. This frees up our staff to provide superior service and care for our patients.

We are able to provide face-to-face service to our patients rather than being glued to our computers looking up information. This allows our staff to be more attentive to patients. It gives them time to build stronger relationships with the patients, and enhances our ability to provide the topnotch care that improves vision and enriches lives.

Our patient coordinators get to spend more time building rapport with our patients and guiding them through their visit. And our opticians get to spend more one-on-one time with our patients learning about their wants and needs for their new eyewear because they only have a couple clicks to get to the patient’s benefits.

Everyday ABB Verify gives me peace of mind that our patients are receiving the first-class care that we strive to provide because our staff has the time to give that service.

Patients are more aware of their appointments and benefits after receiving the ABB Verify communications. This allows them to budget appropriately for their share of their vision care needs. We have long been using needs-based solutions and doctor prescribing in the exam room, but making the patient aware of their benefits ahead of time gives them time to research products and start thinking about it before we get to that step. That extra time to plan and think about their purchases makes it more likely they will buy from us during their visit.

Donald Waugh, LDO
Optical & Practice Manager

Advanced Vision Center
Swampscott, Mass.
We have used ABB Verify for over two years. The reason why we selected ABB Verify over other insurance verification technologies is that we found that ABB Verify is the quickest and most accurate when searching for patients’ insurance.

Before we started using ABB Verify, we would spend a frustrating amount of time verifying and locating patients’ insurance manually. Now, with ABB Verify, we are able to accurately locate and verify patients’ insurance within a few minutes.

We have gained an immeasurable amount of time back. Being able to free up staff to focus on patient flow has made our office the fine-tuned practice it is today.

Our optical and our front desk employees no longer spend their mornings pulling up patients’ insurance manually from each insurer. With ABB Verify, we simply click the “Scheduled” tab and easily verify, print and authenticate our patients for the day. This allows our staff to stay more nimble and focused on patient needs in the moment, rather than staring at a screen.

Four unique, exemplary features come to mind from my personal use of ABB Verify as Optical & Practice Manager. First, the ease with which ABB Verify integrated with our current EHR system (RevolutionEHR), and the customer support ABB provides during the on-boarding process, is second to none.

Second, the “Scheduled” tab. This feature sets the foundation for our day, always reliably presenting each patient’s insurance(s) and available benefits.

Third, the patient outreach. Customized e-mails designed to engage with patients. These e-mails have acted as important reminders to our patients about their care and increased our business in ways that we were not expecting. Patients reach out to our office engaged and ready to book their next appointment or set up a time with one of our optical staff members to take advantage of their forgotten materials benefits.

Finally, my fourth favorite feature is the reporting. Not all reporting tools are created equal! ABB Verify’s reporting technology is a breath of fresh air with the comprehensive analysis of the services and tools it provides. From “found insurances” to “2nd pair eligibility,” this feature allows me to keep a firm handle on how well our practice is utilizing these remarkable tools.

Since we’ve started using ABB Verify, we have seen an upward capture rate trend. In August 2021, we booked 92 patient appointments and generated $57,274 in contact lens and eyewear orders through our use of the ABB Verify technology.

ABB Verify means having benefits printed and ready for the doctor’s handoff and our optical staff being able to take full advantage of the on-demand search tool when we have walk-in patients. This has allowed our staff to quickly and efficiently present patients with necessary information about their benefits, resulting in a more seamless experience for our patients and our practice. ABB Verify has allowed our optical staff to be prepared for our patients in ways we could not have been before.

Early in our use of ABB Verify, some of our new patients were surprised at how quickly we were able to locate their insurance benefits by entering just a few key pieces of information to the on-demand search tool and locating their plans.

Our front desk always gets a kick out of informing patients of benefits they didn’t even know they had!

Shelley Smith, ABOC, CPOA, is the Practice Manager with Drs. Sehy and Jones Optometrists in Effingham, Ill. To contact her: ssmith@sehyandjones.com

Donald Waugh, LDO, is Optical & Practice Manager at Advanced Vision Center in Swampscott, Mass. To contact him: donald.waugh.avcma@gmail.com

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