Happy New Year! Let’s kick off 2024 right by moving beyond industry ideals that don’t necessarily hold true for everyone. There are many varying beliefs throughout healthcare, and optometry is no exception. In an article for Independent Strong, one OD shared some myths to challenge and how you can go about doing so.

The Longer the Appointment, the Better.

Some doctors live under the philosophy that a quality patient experience means a longer exam room visit. This simply isn’t true. Read the room and mirror what the patient appears to want. For example, your older patient may look forward to their visit, excitedly updating you on their life. This patient likely appreciates a little extra face time. However, your patient that keeps checking their watch and gives very brief answers likely appreciates a more expedited exam.

This brings us to a great point: streamlining the patient experience. Sure, you have some patients who don’t mind filling out paperwork every time they have an exam, but most would probably prefer less redundancy. As we move into the new year, think through patient visits and see if there are any places you can help reduce these types of repetitive steps.

I Need to Hire for Skill.

Skill shouldn’t be the only indicator for hiring. In fact, it should be low on your considerations. Why? Success in hiring is more about finding someone who fits the overall culture of the practice (friendly, reliable, helpful, efficient, etc.). Most tasks in an optometry office can be taught, so if you’re able to find someone who fits with your staff well and is willing to learn– even with little to no eyecare experience – you’ve hit the jackpot!

I Must Provide All Optometry Services.

There are many specialties, and each patient has their own unique set of needs. However, that doesn’t mean that you need to go out and take all the courses and learn all the instruments and do all the things. You should, however, base what you offer on what you actually enjoy doing. This philosophy helps ODs keep those specialties that interest them while hiring other practitioners to cover the other stuff. Another option is having a robust referral list. Either way, her patients are seeing someone who is passionate about that specific care.

Evening and Weekend Hours Are Critical to Success.

This may seem like an obvious “truth,” but it’s simply not the case. Some industry peers have reduced their business hours and seen no change in revenue. Some even adjust their business hours to start later for doctors who are more evening people. These minor adjustments can make all the difference and even reinvigorate the love of optometry.

What does this tell us? Find a schedule that works for you! If that includes evening or weekend hours, so be it. But you don’t need these extra offerings if they don’t fit the work-life balance you’re striking out to create. Some practices have short Friday hours while some have none, making up for it with longer days during the week. Whatever you choose, patients will ultimately find time that works for them.

I Must Accept All Insurance Plans.

Many optometrists (and patients) have become frustrated with the way insurance companies handle vision reimbursement. This caused some ODs to stop and think about what, if any, insurance carriers they want to accept. Their advice: accept plans that support you and your practice.

Understand how the reimbursement process works for both patients and doctors and select only those that work for you. The key here is to be upfront with patients about which carriers you accept and what is covered.

I Must Purchase Nutraceutical Inventory to Profit.

Most brands offer practitioner referral programs, giving you a designated code or identification number for patients to use when purchasing online. It credits you, their doctor, with every order as long as patients remember to input the code. However, many eye care professionals (ECPs) believe that you can make more money by selling nutraceuticals in-practice. This is not the case for all companies.

Partner With EyePromise®

EyePromise is the #1 eye doctor-recommended nutraceutical brand because of its comprehensive product selection and the science behind it. However, as an EyePromise partner, you have access to the full Zea Performance System™, which includes a turnkey solution for MPOD measurement, nutraceutical prescription, a compliance program, and live customer support for you, your patients, and your staff.

Our compliance program, the Auto Refill Program (ARP), delivers automatic shipments of the prescribed EyePromise nutraceutical directly to the patient’s home. With a simple e-commerce page (completely managed by EyePromise) linked on your practice computer, enrollments take less than 3 minutes, and you receive a signup bonus for each one! You also receive payment for every bottle shipped for as long as that patient is on ARP.

While some ECPs believe they make more by selling bottles in-practice, the ARP is set up to earn you more over time, as patient compliance tends to be better so patients order more. In fact, when compared to in-practice prescribing only, the ARP can increase profits by almost $10K in the first year!

Learn more about the business of ARP from practice management guru Dr. Mick Kling.

Make 2024 the year of informed decision making, patient care, and practice management! Do you see any myths you can bust in your practice?