Dr. Mena, center, with AnneMarie Barsoum, OD, in black scrubs, and two support staff team members.
Gratitude and year-end review in optometry: enhancing patient relationships and practice success
By Vittorio Mena, OD, MS
Dec. 11, 2024
We are now in the season of giving. It’s an ideal time to count our blessings and be grateful if we have many loyal patients and a great practice team.
As you thank your patients and employees, you also want to think about what you should do differently next year in both your business and personal life.
Here are key points to consider.
Power of Thank You
In my last article, I discussed Black Friday deals and improving your mindset for success.
Everyone thinks the best financial gift is monetary, but gratitude goes a long way. The simple act of saying thank you can potentially bring in more revenue into your practice and blessings to your household.
For example, thank your patients for coming to see you. They could have gone elsewhere or done an online exam, but they took time out of their day to see you.
You also should thank your staff members, even when they are just doing their everyday jobs. Being thanked by the boss is inspiring. It shows employees they are respected and their work is acknowledged by the practice owner as being important.
Modest Gifts that Go a Long Way
In addition to saying “thank you” with words, consider giving great employees a surprise gift, or taking them out to lunch or dinner for going above and beyond the call of duty.
Let Your Team Tell You Where Thank Yous are Warranted
I challenge you to host a team meeting to ask your employees what went well this year and what did not work. You should ideally be doing this every month, or even every week. But at the very least, do it at year’s end.
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You are the owner of the team (i.e. your practice), and everyone in the practice, including yourself, needs to be coached. Pretend you are Serena Williams or Michael Phelps at the height of their career.
Do you think they were critiqued or coached just once a year by their coach? They likely were constantly critiqued to achieve such impressive success.
Year In Review: 2024 Financial Wins
Patient Growth & Loss
Did you have an increase or decrease in patients this year?
Typically, you would want 8-10 percent of growth in patients per year.
How to calculate:
New patient growth = 100 X (# of patients this year – # of patients last year) / (# of patients last year)
Seeing fewer patients is not necessarily a bad thing if you are still able to collect enough money to maintain profitability.
However, if many patients are not returning, you need to figure out why.
Retail Sales
Did you sell more contact lenses this year?
Did you sell more glasses this year?
Did you sell more nutritional supplements this year?
Did you sell more dry eye products this year?
Did you do more specialty services such as dry eye therapies, vision therapy, myopia management or sports vision?
Personal Finance
In your personal life, did your investments go up or down this year?
As of this writing this article, the S&P 500 from 12/5/2023 to 12/5/2024 is up 28.21 percent.
Do you foresee getting a raise (or increasing your income as practice owner) in the New Year?
The next inflation rate will come out on December 11, but in the month of October “inflation was at 2.6 percent”.1
If you average January to October for the year 2024, inflation was at 2.99 percent.
If you did not get a raise (or specific benefits/incentives instead of a raise) in 2024 that is equivalent to earning at least 3 percent more, then you will make less money than you did the previous year.
Your Impact as an OD: Your Patients’ Health
How many lives did you save through a simple eye exam?
How many lives did you significantly improve by giving the gift of optimal sight?
Your Own Health, Your Family’s & Plans for Potential Challenges
According to the CDC, “the top three causes of death are heart disease, cancer and unintentional injuries.”2
Do you own life insurance? Having life insurance through work is not the same as owning it outright, so be careful because there is a lot of red tape to go through to claim benefits!
If you do own life insurance, what type, how much is the death benefit and how much is the premium?
Do you also carry disability insurance? You never know what health challenges or injuries may befall you. Having disability insurance could save your practice and personal finances.
You also want to consider the health of your family members. How are they doing mentally, physically and spiritually?
Have conversations with them and your extended family about appropriate nutrition, exercise and stopping or minimizing smoking.
Is Your Practice Team Happy and Engaged in their Work?
Your team is your professional family. Do they appear to be enjoying their time in your practice by displaying engagement in their work?
Do they look vibrant, joyful and upbeat when they are in the office or are they stressed out? Do they have a positive attitude that filters down to patients?
Much to Be Grateful For
Like the stock market, every year life throws ups and downs at us. The fact that we are alive and breathing, and have the opportunity to see our patients, is a win in and of itself, if you think about it.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Three Kings Day and Kwanzaa. Be sure to catch my next article in 2025 and have an awesome New Year’s!
References:
- https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/
- https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm
- https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db508.htm
- https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/well/obesity-epidemic-america.html
Vittorio Mena OD, MS, is the sports vision director with Optical Academy. Dr. Mena is also an Optometric Financial Coach, with Series 6 and 63 investment licenses and Series 2-14 life and variable annuity licenses. To contact him: menavitt@gmail.com
