WELLNESS

  health

Creating PRACTICE WELLNESS

Shield your patients’ eyes from disease with these three tips

LAURIE CAPOGNA, O.D., NIAGARA FALLS, ONT.

Healthcare delivery has undergone a paradigm shift from reactive to proactive. Specifically, instead of merely treating disease, practitioners are now also educating patients about disease prevention.

I became inspired to embrace preventive care after 10 years of practice and witnessing too many patients suffer vision loss from AMD, among other chronic ocular diseases. The more I learned about the power of nutrition in the prevention of ocular disease, the more I felt it was my duty to share this information with my patients.

When I started putting nutrition education into practice, my relationships with patients strengthened because they felt better cared for and empowered to take an active role in disease prevention, or, in the case of those already diagnosed, an active role in precluding disease progression. As a result, I gained more of their trust, which led to more referrals and practice growth and, ultimately, an increase in sales in all aspects of my practice — nutritional supplements as well as eyewear.

Here, I discuss how you can integrate wellness into your practice, so both your patients and your team make better everyday choices that will lead to healthier eyes.

1 Offer appetizers

To inspire both your team and your patients to get on board with wellness, include nutrition information in your reception area, exam room and optical. (See “Motivating Your Sous Chefs,” below.)

Specifically, neatly display posters or counter cards throughout the office that are eye-catching, engaging and simple. For example, why not create a poster that says, “Did you know that your eyes use nutrients to create vision?” Also, have an eye health library or bookstore at which you display books and magazines that include articles about nutrition and exercise. In addition, display “fun” food photos or posters of your team or family with healthy food.

And, don’t forget about feeding your current and prospective patients’ minds via your online presence. After all, the first impression patients have of your office is often your website or social media page(s). If you have prevention and nutrition sections on your website, for example, patients will feel your office is proactive in wellness from the start. To engage patients who interact on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, share seasonal eye health recipes (see http://bit.ly/1xmgsO4, http://bit.ly/1iwZYrt, and http://bit.ly/1uzfGeJ, among others) and nutrition tips regularly. Tweet this: “Kale — a handful a day helps keep AMD away.” Also, why not challenge your patients to create recipes using eye healthy foods?

To keep yourself current in the field of ocular nutrition, attend CE courses on the topic, which are available at an array of eyecare-themed trade shows. You can also join the Ocular Nutrition Society (www.ocularnutritionsociety.org), which has a wealth of information and resources available to educate the nutrition-minded optometrist.

Here’s an example of a “fun” food photo of a team member (in this case, me.)

2 Provide the prevention recipe

One of the first things you will learn as you start to introduce ocular nutrition to your patients is that they need simple tips they can integrate into their daily lives. Therefore, create a “Prevention Recipe” for every patient, and prescribe it, just as you would medication and eyewear. The recipe:

• Eat foods that contain nutrients important for eye health and function. A handful of leafy greens, such as kale, spinach, collard greens and romaine lettuce daily, help keep AMD away. In addition, two orange peppers per week (raw and cooked) and four eggs per week, yolk included, are great for eye health, too.

• Exercise, and maintain a healthy weight. Adults should perform 30 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity per day, and children should have one hour of moderate to intense physical activity daily. BMI is one way to get an estimate of healthy weight. Check out http://bit.ly/WpDfIb.

• Eat fish three to four times per week, or take a high-quality omega-3 supplement. Wild salmon, sardines, mackerel and rainbow trout are high in omega-3s (DHA and EPA) and low in contaminants. See Seafood Selector (http://seafood.edf.org) and Seafood Watch (www.seafoodwatch.org) for fish that contain little or no contaminants, such as mercury or PCBs.

With regard to supplements, create individualized nutrition plans for your patients, taking into account their current nutritional status, ocular status and risk factors for AMD, diabetes and ocular surface disease.

Here’s an example of an eye poster you could place in your practice with the tagline “Did you know that your eyes use nutrients to create vision?”

3 Give them a “to go” bag

Offer supplements in your practice for both patient convenience and compliance to your prescription. (See “Choosing Supplements,” below.) A plethora of products are available at pharmacy and health food stores, so even the most savvy, health-conscious consumer can become confused or overwhelmed. Or, the patient may take a friend or family members advice instead of your prescription.

Transfer patients to the team member who will complete the supplement sale. In my practice, this happens in the optical boutique and is usually part of the entire dispensing process. Why not create a “Wellness Corner” that includes supplements, sunglasses, blue-light filters and sports eyewear?

Food for thought

It is time to embrace the aforementioned paradigm shift, and help your patients make better everyday choices for their ocular health. You will gain more trust from your existing patients, grow your practice with referrals and ultimately increase your bottom line. OM

Dr. Capogna is an active partner in Peninsula Vision Associates and operates a low vision clinic. In addition, she is a member of the Ocular Nutrition Society and co-author of Eyefoods: A Food Plan for Healthy Eyes and Eyefoods for Kids: A Tasty Guide to Nutrition and Eye Health. E-mail lcapogna@cogeco.ca, or send comments to optometricmanagement@gmail.com.