Expanded vision

"There wasn't any space adjacent to the office where I was that the practice could expand," Dr. Henley said. "We only had 1,400 square feet and the facility had outgrown that. If the practice could expand into a building with more space, I knew I wanted to add a dispensary because it's a service for our patients."

Dr. Henley explained that in her area, there are optometric practices that were not taking outside prescriptions, and therefore, patients had to go to the big-brand eyewear suppliers to fill their prescriptions.

"It's really set up to maximize efficiency for patient flow," Fritz said. "One of the things we wanted to do with this practice is create a dispensary that offered all levels of product for all budgets.

"Patients still have the option of getting high-end product without going into the city of Indianapolis," she added. Fritz is president of Ophthalmology Resources llc, Clinton, CT, a consulting firm that specializes in dispensing ophthalmology. She is also the executive director of the American Association of Dispensing Ophthalmologists Inc.

Eye-catching dispensary More than 450 frames are displayed in the dispensary, and are grouped according to manufacturers, and then further classified according to women's, men's, children's, and sunwear styles, explained Debbie White, Dr. Henley's office and billing manager. The color palette includes navy blues, deep greens, and other seaside colors, set off by soft lighting, and maple-accented furniture, with seating for 16 patients.

The staff currently includes Dr. Henley, White, two technicians, two front office assistants, and Emily Samuel, Dr. Henley's optical manager. An optometrist works with Dr. Henley occasionally.