Leading Off
TIPS, TRENDS & NEWS YOU CAN USE
O.D.s Reveal Solutions to Their Pet Peeves About Productive Staff
He/she does an excellent job, but occasionally displays a specific behavior that doesn’t meet your standards. Below are thoughts on those behaviors, and how your colleagues minimize them.
Poor phone etiquette
To fix this problem, Justin Holt, O.D., of West Point Eye Center, in West Point, Utah, says he explained the correct way to answer and speak with patients via phone. “‘Honey,’ isn’t professional,” he says.
Recurrent tardiness
Mary Anne C. Murphy, O.D., of Front Range Eye Associates, in Broomfield, Colo., says she’s solved this issue by using an electronic time clock.
Last-minute vacation requests
Charles H. Aldridge, O.D., of Aldridge Eye Institute, in Burnsville, N.C., says he instituted a policy in which vacation time must be requested at least two weeks in advance.
Uniform violations
Dr. Holt has created a $30.00 shoe allowance and specifies shoes must be athletic and black to match uniforms.
When staff present with tattoos visible or they wear leggings instead of pants, Dr. Murphy says she asks whether they are going to a fair after work.
“This way, they know to re-evaluate their attire and comply with policy,” she explains.
Cell phone use
Dr. Aldridge tells staff, “I will not ask you to turn in phones in during work. But, I am asking you not to use them during work. In the event of a personal emergency, use your cell in a non-public area, and quickly complete your call.”
Private conversations
Dr. Murphy developed the question, “Did you see the smoking princess outside?” to alert staff members to this.
“It’s a funny way to remind them that personal conversations should be kept to a minimum,” she explains.
Vendor freebies
Dr. Holt says he has overcome the problem of free frames to opticians by establishing the policy that he must approve all comps and rewards.
“I have told vendors that if this occurs without my knowledge, I’ll drop their account,” he explains.
Leaving equipment on
To prevent staff from leaving small pieces of electronic equipment on overnight, a Midwestern O.D. has the opening employee provide him with a list of still-operating equipment. Staff know he stops by the office once or twice a week at night, so they can’t fudge it.
Giving You the BUSINESS
■ When traveling for business, keep an energy bar in your carry-on bag so you’re prepared should the airport run out of food or the food lines be too long for you to catch your flight.
— Dorie Clark, www.entrepreneur.com, June 16, 2014
■ To find out what your patients really want, talk with them in a natural environment, and develop a comfortable dynamic, in which you know for sure that they’re answering you honestly.
— Ilan Mochari, www.inc.com, June 18, 2014
■ To get more people to view your practice videos, create a search engine-friendly title, develop tags that identify your video’s content, and send the video to video sites.
— Bryan Lovgren, www.entrepreneur.com, June 18, 2014
■ To become an excellent public speaker, teach the audience something they may not know, share personal stories, use more pictures than text, vary your pitch, tone and pace, be mindful of your body language, share the stage with colleagues and practice. – Carmine Gallo, www.forbes.com, July 22, 2014
■ To promote creativity, take a 20-minute walk, sans phone.
— Peter Gaska www.inc.com, June 13, 2014
TOMORROW’S TECH:
■ Microsoft and MIT researchers are collaborating on a display that uses algorithms to change an image based on one’s spectacle prescription along with a light filter, so glasses aren’t needed. Specifically, the algorithm changes each individual pixel’s light so that when it’s guided through a tiny hole in the filter, light rays enter the retina in a way that projects a clear image. The display may also provide clear vision for those who have visual problems, such as spherical aberration, that neither spectacles nor contact lenses can correct. One of the researchers says the next step is to construct prototype displays that can be used in the real world. He believes this could take a few years.
PHOTO COURTESY: MIT
■ Stanford University researchers have created an IOL that enables the self-monitoring of IOP. Specifically, the device is composed of a small tube with one end open to the eye fluid and the other end containing a tiny gas-filled bulb. As the eye fluid fills the tube, the gas end resists the flow, and a smartphone camera placed over the eyes takes a photo of the fluid pressure and converts it into a specific measurement via a special app. The researchers have applied for a patent on the sensor and say they believe the device will undergo clinical trials within three years.
EMRE ARACI, PHD, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
■ Cornell Medical College retinal specialists are transforming 2D OCT images of the retinal layers into 3D images (see inside the choroid, right) they can manipulate and assess as if they were inside the retina (think the 1980’s film Innerspace sans the capsule) via the Computer-Assisted Virtual Environment (CAVE) (Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.) technology, reveals Retina Times. Specifically, CAVE consists of three walls and a floor (12ft x 12ft x 12ft) that display computer graphics, 3D glasses to provide depth perception and radio-track one’s head and a wand that enables the user to move the images. The technology’s applications: Studying pathophysiology, surgical preparation and as a teaching tool for both students and patients. CAVE is currently impractical for individual practitioners due to its exorbitant cost, although one of the retina specialists using it says he believes it will eventually become mainstream.
PHOTO COURTESY SZILÁRD KISS, MD, WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE, NEW YORK, NY.
RESEARCH Notes
■ People who have large amounts of macular pigment in the eye may have enhanced distance vision in haze, reveals September’s Optometry and Vision Science.
■ A total of 3.8% of those ages 35 to 44 were shown to suffer from the early form of AMD in the population-based Gutenberg Health Study of the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, contradicting the current belief that AMD occurs in those older than age 50.
■ A study recently published online at JAMA Ophthalmology suggests a greater burden of DME among non–Hispanic blacks, individuals with high levels of hemoglobin A1c, and those with longer duration of diabetes.
■ The NEI has awarded an $8 million grant to the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial (CITT) Investigator Group for a five-year randomized clinical trial to determine whether successful treatment of the condition improves attention and reading in those ages nine to 14.
Tracy McIntyre, O.D., tests LPGA champion golfer Paula Creamer’s convergence and accommodation skills prior to the Meijer LPGA Classic as part of Alcon and High Performance Vision Associates’ Vision Evaluations for Golf Pros event on August 6 in Grand Rapids, Mich. Specifically, High Performance Vision Associates — a group of sports-minded eye doctors — tested more than 80 athletes, and Alcon provided education on its contact lenses, such as its DAILIES Total 1 lenses.
PHOTO COURTESY: JAYSON TEIG /HIGH PERFORMANCE VISION ASSOCIATES
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