Practice pulse

Optometry Rated Number One as High Pay and Low Stress Profession

O.D.s MAY QUESTION SURVEY CONCLUSION

TIPS, TRENDS & NEWS YOU CAN USE

■ Do you find that practicing optometry provides you with big bucks and little aggravation, or is it perhaps, the exact opposite? Well, according to PayScale.com, an online database, optometry ranks number one in high pay ($99,200 median annual salary) and low stress.

Ted A. McElroy, O.D., president and CEO of Vision Source-Tifton, in Tifton, Ga., agrees he “makes a good living,” and that he has been able to give his family more than he had as a kid, but he says he questions the low-stress findings:

“I think the thing that gets left out of surveys like this is that we [private practice owners] are all small business owners. Maybe they [PayScale.com] are looking at the entire profession as a whole. We small business owners have to make sure the books are balanced, our family and work lives are balanced and many times that our sanity is balanced,” he explains. “I still have to be a husband, dad, friend and business owner. I have to make sure that my co-workers have health insurance, have benefits that make them know how much I appreciate them, encourage them to become active in the plans of our business while at the same time doing what is best for the practice and be the leader they need me to be.”

The other high-paying, low-stress-careers, from number two through five, according to PayScale.com:

► Materials scientist. This person, who creates lubricants, synthetic fibers, leak-proof materials, etc., has an annual median salary of $90,600.
► Economist. Keeping tabs on the distribution of resources and goods provides this number cruncher with a median annual salary of $85,600.
► Aeronautical engineer. This flight fanatic rakes in a median salary of $82,800.
► User experience designer. Enhancing human interaction with objects, such as cars and board games, this job earns median annual salary of $79,100.

PayScale.com amasses both career and salary data from employees throughout the United States. The aforementioned findings are based on the annual salaries and all bonuses, commissions and profit sharing of full-time workers who have five-to-eight years of experience.

Your thoughts?

Do you feel the PayScale.com survey adequately reflects your experience as an optometrist? Since you're in the trenches, we want to hear your thoughts on this.Please e-mail Jennifer.kirby@springer.com, to let us know.

TASK FORCE SEEKS TO BRING OPTOMETRY AND OPHTHALMOLOGY TOGETHER

ASCRS Announces Task Force Members

■ The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) recently announced the members of its Integrated Ophthalmic-Managed Eye Care Delivery (IOMED) Task Force. Its mission: to develop a model for eye care that will focus on creating a connection between optometry and ophthalmology.

“For too many years, the two professions have acted independently of each other, often to the detriment of patient care, frequently with significant redundancy and certainly in a method that creates inefficient utilization of resources,” according to Richard C. Edlow, O.D., a member of the Task Force, who also practices at Katzen Eye Group in Lutherville, Md. “This trend has been slowly evolving as more and more optometrists and ophthalmologists find themselves in practice together, which creates a rewarding cooperative practice modality and, more importantly, allows for enhanced patient care and patient satisfaction.”

The IOMED task force features five optometrists as well as three ophthalmologists who say they expect to share their findings and make formal recommendations to the ASCRS leadership in the coming months.

Having such a task force makes sense, given the expected increase in the aging population and thus eye disease, says Randall Fuerst, O.D., F.A.A.O., and chair of the American Optometric Association Contact Lens & Cornea Section.

“The population is aging, living longer, and, unfortunately, experiencing substantial increases in almost all categories — from cataracts to diabetic retinopathy, to glaucoma and macular degeneration,” he explains. “To see the recognition by ophthalmology that optometry and ophthalmology (must) work together to meet this burgeoning need is encouraging given the long history of animus between the two professions.”

Currently, the task force does not include independent O.D.s or those employed by corporations. However, the task force could someday lead to an expansion of the model beyond only those optometrists employed by MDs or those who work in hospitals or industry, says Dr. Fuerst.

“The majority of optometrists today are not in this particular mode of practice [O.D. working with M.D.],” he says. “While this task force does not represent the majority of optometrists, it potentially holds promise as a good first step.”

ASCRS is an independent, nonprofit, ophthalmic, sub-specialty society that has been dedicated to advancing the art and science of ophthalmic surgery since 1974.

CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES PROPOSES REVISIONS TO PHYSICIAN FEE SCHEDULE, ETC.

CMS Issues Proposed Rule

■ As we go to press, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a proposed rule that regards alterations to the physician fee schedule, payments for Part B drugs, among other Medicare Part B payment policies, the implementation of provisions of the Affordable Care Act by making a face-to-face encounter a condition of payment for certain types of durable medical equipment and the implementation of statutory changes regarding the termination of non-random prepayment review under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003.

So, how is this proposed rule related to you, the optometrist?

Overall, CMS expects O.D.s to receive slightly higher Medicare payments next year, but that is not consistent for all optometrists or for all services optometrists bill, according to a spokesperson for the American Optometric Association. In addition, Congress must act to prevent a 30% cut in 2013, which would negatively impact all doctors.

The proposed rule, which is almost 800 pages long, can be accessed at https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2012-16814.pdf.

To comment on the proposed rule, visit www.regulations.gov, and follow the instructions for “submitting a comment.” All comments must be received no later than 5p.m. Sept. 30, 2012.