Practice Management

We really are at a crossroads in eye healthcare. Wouldn’t a virtual exam be ‘just as good’ as a trip to the eye doctor? To today’s busy consumer, how can we justify leisurely sitting in front of a computer or in a kiosk versus an in-office visit that takes sixty plus minutes and includes that awkward part – dilation?

Ceeable, a web-based, mobile digital technology designed to detect early-stage eye diseases-an innovation that can help shape 21st century medicine-was awarded third place in the American Medical Association’s inaugural Healthier Nation Innovation Challenge.

Change is an inside job. Are you unhappy with your practice’s growth? Take the often overlooked option of offensive time management. Actively shape your day by establishing what I like to call selective control.

"How can I have a successful private practice and still ensure life balance?" In 2016, this is the question I hear most frequently. It should come as no surprise to you that busy eyecare practitioners need help with time management issues.

Terry Kim, MD, and Anthony Aldave, MD, refuse to let their busy worklives get in the way of pursuing their hobbies. For 7 years, they’ve found a way to merge their professional and personal lives by DJing at ophthalmology meetings.

Don’t you love practice management software? Review the following categories and pick the one or two where your reports reveal you are most deficient and set improvement goals.

When success starts coming your way, the last thing you should do is take your foot off the gas. You must push even harder if you want the success to be sustainable.

Having a detailed paper-trail of your patient cases not only protects you should a lawsuit arise, but it may prevent also prevent a lawsuit in the first place.

Find out how to get your new staff members started on the right foot from Day One.

From time to time I receive requests from a new manager or supervisor asking for any pearls of wisdom to help them as they begin their new role in the administrative field. They have the wide-eyed exuberance of youth, a child-like view at the practice they have been in for years and are now seeing for the first time with a “fresh snow” view: untouched, clean, white, gentle drifts of snow. Those of us who have been there realize they will soon see that what they are really looking at is end of winter: dirty snow and dreary, cloudy skies.

Take-Home MessageInvestors are shifting assets to passively managed vehicles. For many, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become the vehicle of choice. ETFs are investments that trade on exchanges, and are designed to mirror the performance of certain market indexes, so they tend to be passively managed.

Philosophical differences abound between managers and physicians.

A trunk show is one of the most productive business strategies to generate revenue, excitement, and buzz for your dispensary.

Losing staff is a devastating experience.

Ophthalmologists expressed a little more optimism than primary-care physicians, when asked to evaluate the financial state of their practices in a national survey conducted in 2011.

When meeting with pre-retirees as well as current retirees, one of the most common areas of concern, apprehension, and (at times) outright fear, is whether they will run out of money during retirement.

Based on our experience over the years, we believe the rules of investing and planning for retirement that one can feel confident in have changed forever.

Variety may be the key to selling sunwear successfully in your practice.

When it comes to sunwear, frames get most of the attention.

Consider if selling an extended warranty makes sense for your dispensary.

A review of the current landscape and look to the future identifies multiple reasons why contact lens fitting should be part of a comprehensive ophthalmology practice.

Employee retention is probably one of the top five concerns on most managers' minds.

The advent of femtosecond laser technology for cataract surgery has resulted in myriad issues for ophthalmologists to face: the actual benefits of the laser versus the cost to patients, establishment of the patient share of the costs, associated financial risks for the practice and ambulatory surgery center, advertising, and patient satisfaction.

Every time the author makes a purchase or seeks to buy a new product, she receives a barrage of inquiries as to whether the service she received made her happy.

Based on the fact that extraordinary customer service can be a game changer to help position your practice for success in this unstable economy, this article builds from last month's piece on customer service.

Sun glare is a year-round problem, not just a summertime occurrence.

Dispensing high-end eyeglass frames is not as difficult as it may seem.

With the Office of Inspector General's heightened awareness of coding and documentation errors, physicians should be aware of some specific areas to check and double-check in their daily routine of documentation.

Each decision made in managing your staff presents as a new journey.

One of the key themes for this year's meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology was nano technology and regenerative medicine.