o.d. to o.d.

Your Future is Right in Front of You

If 20% of your practice’s patient visits aren’t medical visits, then how can you be treating ocular surface disease?

BY SCOT MORRIS, O.D., F.A.A.O.
Chief Optometric Editor

People often ask, “What is the best way to build a practice?” Though there are many potential answers, depending on the practice, there is usually one common one that comes to the top. My first question is, “How many medical patients do you see every day?” If the answer isn’t at least 20% of your schedule, then you have room for growth.

The 20% solution

Why 20%? At least 20% of the normal practice’s patient base has some form of ocular surface disease and, more specifically, dry eye or ocular allergy. These are the low-hanging fruit diseases that we all see. It takes little more than a slit lamp (you have one of those, right?) and some vital dye staining strips to get started. Pretty low cost of entry.

By just looking at a few simple risk factors, such as medication use, and asking a few easy questions, such as, “do your eyes feel healthy?” you might be amazed at how many dry eye and allergy patients you have and didn’t even know about. (See “The Dry Eye Summit in Review” for new diagnostic and management standards on page 20.)

Take the challenge

Here is my challenge to each of you: Look at your schedule for the next three days. Write how many appointments you have. Now, write how many medical appointments you have that are dry eye or allergy follow-ups. Is that 20%? If not, you have some changes to make.

I never fail to be amazed at how many people suffer from this disease in one form or another. When you really start asking the right questions, it seems like it is everywhere.

But why should we as a profession care? I mean, “What’s in it for you and your patients?” Dry eye and allergy are the primary causes for contact lens intolerance and, ultimately, dropout. If your contact lens practice isn’t growing as fast as the rest of your practice (or at all), then take a look at how much of your dropout is occurring from dry eye and allergy. Fix the disease, and get contact lens patients back into the visual solution they prefer.

Bottom line impact

Adding a few medical patients to the schedule also has an impact on your bottom line. Medical visits are usually relatively quick — 10 minutes or less of doctor time — but a schedule that has 20% of these visit can generate upward of another $100,000 per provider. Do I have your attention now?

Of course, there is the indirect impact of increased free marketing. In my experience, the dry eye and allergy patients that I have treated and helped have become our very best referral sources. They are happy that their eyes “feel normal” and that they can wear their contact lenses.

Happy patients tell lots of other people, and that word-of-mouth referral is priceless. Treating ocular surface disease will build every part of your practice. Read on and learn how. OM