equipment
Six Telltale Signs of Equipment Replacement
Is it time for you to pull the plug?
BY GARY GERBER, O.D., Hawthorne, N.J.

If it ain't broken don't fix it."

That sentiment is costing the average O.D. thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in net income each year -- and patients are suffering because of it. Conventional wisdom says that if your current equipment is working and patients aren't complaining, then nothing is broken -- so don't fix it.

IMAGERY BY ERIC LINDLEY

Let's redefine the terms

Conventional wisdom is correct -- we're wrong. In reality, much of our equipment is indeed "broken," albeit not in the usual sense of the word. Sure, your keratometer dials are worn and wobbly. But they still turn and continue to take accurate K readings. Your PD ruler is missing some numbers, but it works as well as the first time you ever used it. Your Goldmann performs tonometry and your phones still ring. So what's the problem? What's broken?

The practice-building consultants at our company spend countless hours assessing and exploring new technologies. Clients count on us to assist them in their due diligence and research so we can advise them when it's the right time to add, replace or upgrade their equipment.

Based on this experience and our visits to hundreds of offices, we can tell you unequivocally: Optometry's equipment really is broken and it's time to replace it!

Be on the lookout for these

Here are the six telltale signs for which you need to be on the lookout. Some are obvious, some are not so obvious.

1 Let's start with the least obvious sign first: "Trade Show Envy." You're walking around a trade show and you hear a faint voice in the distance calling out to you, "Look at me!" It's not a person, it's just a thin voice lingering in the air.

Following the voice, an invisible retractor beam pulls you to the latest piece of optometric technology. It's love at first sight -- you know it's better than what it will replace. So what does this telltale sign distill to? How do you know it's time to replace something? You just know. Your heart and your intellect both know it's time for an upgrade. You only need to see the new technology first hand to know it should have a home in your office.

2 Your equipment is worn, frayed and overall cosmetically out of sync with the technology gestalt of the new millennium. We all deal with patients whose cell phones ring during exams. Like the rest of us, these patients are functioning in a high-technology world. Before and after their exam, they check their e-mail and voice mail. They drive in a high-technology car. However, once they cross the threshold of your exam room, they're confronted by the same pink chair and stand and the same, "which is better, number one or number two" machine you've been using for 30 years.

Doc, it's time to cut the cord. Patients notice that your facility and equipment are outdated. They might not tell you, but they certainly tell our consultants; worse yet, they tell their friends.

3 Your patients have memorized their eye exam. When your patients tell you, "I remember the letters on the chart from last year" they're telling you something much more meaningful than that they probably scored a 1600 on their SATs. Beyond the letters, they've also memorized the sequence and routine of your "routine" exam. They know when to put their chin in the chin rest, they know when the drops are coming and they know they'll sting. Time to put some excitement back into your and your patients' lives.

4 Clinical nightmares frequently wake you. "The IOP was 22 mmHg, the fields were fair and the C/D was 0.3. If only I had an NFL analyzer, I'd be sleeping right now!"

Few of us would argue that older technology is clinically inferior to new technology. We know it intellectually and emotionally. We are reticent to change even though we know our technology is clinically "broken." Our only obstacle is the cost (see "Putting it Into Practice" at left and "Choosing Equipment That Works for You," on page 40). Like point number one above, our optometric experience and knowledge base tell us it's time to replace older "guessing" technology with new "it is" technology.

5 " Doctor Dinosaur, can we please get a new Opto-whatever?" asks your trusted staff member. If your staff is asking, then pay attention. They're probably hearing from patients that something needs replacing.

6 Put it out of its misery. There comes a point of diminishing returns with maintaining faulty older equipment. Just like newer cars, newer optometric technology requires less maintenance and is more easily upgraded. Cut your losses with technology that continues to break down.

How to pay for it?

While we all would like to drive a Lamborghini, most of us don't because of the cost. The problem with replacing our equipment is that we view it the same way as we would the Lamborghini. The same "What I'm driving is fine; I don't need anything as extravagant as a Lamborghini" emotions come into play. But unlike the car, our equipment, when correctly chosen and used, actually makes us money instead of costing us money. New technology isn't a luxury -- it's a necessity.

Think about when you bought your original equipment. Sure, the absolute cost was a significant consideration. But you still bought your equipment and started practicing. Your thought was, "I need this equipment to practice. I need it so I can do two things: Take care of my patients and run a profitable business."

Start saving

Fast forward to today. I'm asking you to once again do the exact same thing: Buy equipment just like you originally did -- but this time with the reassurance that it will take better care of your patients and be more profitable almost immediately.

Unlike the car, it won't use a lot of gas and require much maintenance. And certainly unlike the car, it's better for your patients, staff and bottom line. So get over the cost and move on. The longer you wait, the more money you're losing instead of saving.

Dr. Gerber is president of The Power Practice, a company specializing in making doctors more profitable. You can reach him at (800) 867-9303 or at www.powerpractice.com.