5 MUST-HAVE TECHNOLOGIES

CONSIDER THESE ITEMS TO IMPROVE PATIENT CARE, PROFITABILITY AND EFFICIENCY

Ken Krivacic, O.D., M.B.A, Irving, Texas

FROM THE latest smartphone to cars that can park themselves, today’s consumers place a high value on technology to make their lives easier, and your practice is no exception. Not only can the latest technologies help improve practice efficiency, they can help you provide better care to your patients, which in turn, can give you a leg up on the competition. Case in point: A patient has the choice between two doctors: one who has equipment from the 1990s and one who has advanced equipment that the patient has never seen before. Which provider is that patient more likely to choose?

Here, I discuss the five must-have technologies that span all areas of your practice and how each can lead to improved patient care and a more efficient and profitable practice.

1 A STRONG ONLINE PRESENCE

Having an online presence is no longer an option; it’s a requirement. An appealing website is the modern equivalent of the business card, but with the capability to transmit an exponentially larger amount of information to your current and, more importantly, potential patients.

Going hand in hand with a good website is the importance of maximizing your SEO (search engine optimization). Having a top-notch website means nothing if your practice name is at the bottom of a search page. By maximizing your SEO, the searcher is more likely to pick you to provide his or her eye care.

Using social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, in conjunction with your website, can help promote your practice as well as increase your online footprint when patients search the web for information about an eye doctor in their area or your practice in particular. Our practice has a Facebook page, and we use it to inform and entertain patients and potential patients. Our experience is that most patients relate more to the entertainment content rather than the information-driven content. You may not be educating your patient, but you are connecting with them and building a bond, which I believe is just as important.

There are a number of website marketing providers that offer a variety of services, including web design, content creation, SEO management, and more.

2 PATIENT COMMUNICATION SOFTWARE

Patient communication programs can transform the way you communicate with and manage the flow of patients both before and after their exam. These programs help get patients to your office through automated alerts (via the patient’s preferred method of communication) to remind them when it’s time for their eye exam. Then, after the appointment, the software can also be used to contact patients to let them know their glasses or contact lenses are ready to be dispensed.

There are a number of programs available, and most allow you to create custom messages and set your interval of contact. What’s more, they can be integrated with your EHR system to make the process even more seamless.

Using such technology frees up your staff to concentrate more on customer service and sales rather than the tedious job of making phone calls or drafting reminder emails or mailers. Keeping the lines of communication open with your patients also increases compliance with your care schedule and can help reduce the number of no-shows, which equates to a more robust schedule.

3 EHR

This offers increased efficiency and better time management of staff. For instance, our office has close to 60,000 patient records. The task of looking for, pulling, filing and re-filing thousands of physical charts can now be done with the click of a button. Again, this frees up staff to focus on other duties, such as providing great customer service.

EHR technology can also improve practice compliance with regard to billing and coding, which will result in better reimbursements. Most EHRs have built-in codes and will guide you to match the code with the diagnosis. And, this will become even more valuable once the switch to ICD-10 is implemented this fall.

4 DIAGNOSTIC DEVICES

In the clinical portion of your practice, the latest instruments not only increase productivity and efficiency, they also provide information that aids in the early detection, diagnosis and management of ocular conditions, such as glaucoma. This, of course, translates to better patient care.

In some cases, these instruments may help promote sales in other areas of the office. For example, using an auto-phoropter, you can show patients small changes in refraction with the push of a button. This simple, yet technologically advanced way of presenting your findings can lead to the sale of a pair of glasses because patients can see the immediate difference in as little as a 0.25D change by just pushing a button — a change that cannot always be appreciated or immediately seen when you are comparing old specs to a phoropter.

One caveat: While I am a big fan of adding as much technology as possible, it is imperative to consider the initial and operational costs, ROI, staff time and whether you have adequate space (see “Evaluating Affordability,” p. 16)

Evaluating Affordability

Before taking the plunge and purchasing an instrument, consider the following:

Do you have the space to house the equipment?

This includes both the square footage as well as the right location. It’s important that the device be housed in a convenient location for its intended purpose. Shuffling a patient from room to room can disrupt the flow of the exam, which can decrease efficiency and hurt the patient experience.

Is the technology user-friendly?

If testing cannot be performed easily and in a timely manner, it may not get enough use to justify the purchase.

Who will use it?

Can technicians perform the test, or must it be performed by the O.D.? If the former, consider the time and money that will be spent on staff training; if the latter, consider how this will affect the number of patients the O.D. can see on a daily basis.

Can you afford it?

Whether you can afford a new diagnostic instrument involves some calculations and projections. At worst, you would like to break even on your investment; at best, you will provide better care and increase your profits.

Before purchasing a piece of equipment, perform a break-even analysis. You can either project this monthly or for the life of the loan/lease if you finance the instrument. This involves a few variables: revenue per test, number of tests per month and cost per month. If your revenue per test multiplied by your number of tests per month exceeds your monthly payment, then it would make sense to add that piece of technology to your practice.

Still not sure you can afford it? There is no great harm in waiting. As is the case with TVs and computers, optometric technology historically becomes more affordable through time.

Let’s consider the example on whether to add an OCT to your practice. The decision process will hinge on both known (usability, space limitations) and estimated information (profitability). In terms of space, most sales reps can provide information on the square footage needed to house the instrument. Vendor reps can also answer questions about usability, as can colleagues who currently use the instrument.

Profitability can be tricky to calculate, and you must rely on estimations based on educated guesses. Key variables to consider include the cost of the instrument, the reimbursement per procedure and how many procedures you expect to do per month. In the example of an OCT, let’s use $50,000 as the instrument cost and a reimbursement of $50 per test performed. In our simplified example, a practice must perform 1,000 tests in order to break even. In simple terms, after that quantity is achieved, any additional tests will generate a profit on the instrument. If you finance the instrument through five years, then the break-even point is 16.67 tests per month (1,000 exams/60 months). This is where the guesswork comes in. Will your patient base warrant the need to perform a minimum of 17 OCT tests (though preferably more) per month? If so, your practice may benefit from the purchase, not only to generate a profit, but to provide better, quality care for your patients.

5 MEASURING DEVICES/SOFTWARE

Not only are spectacle lenses being improved by digital surfacing, but new instruments allow you to provide a better product and a better experience for your patients. These include new measuring devices that make the PD stick look like something out of the Stone Age to software programs that help manage your frame inventory and easily track which frames are bestsellers and notify you when it’s time to order more product.

In addition, many practices are taking to the web to offer patients a virtual optical where they can shop frames. This allows patients to shop prior to their appointment, so they have a better idea of what’s available and what appeals to them. This simplifies the shopping process and saves both patient and staff time during the visit, ultimately leading to a more efficient process.

In terms of contact lenses, many distributors have software that can analyze your purchasing practices and help you stock and price products accordingly. This is a great aid in ensuring your inventory matches the pace of sales in your practice. It also helps in maximizing practice profits and helps cash flow. Many of these distributors also provide a scanner that can be used daily and integrates with your EHR to make ordering contact lenses easier and more efficient. Orders can be batched, again resulting in efficiencies in time and cost.

TECH TIME

Recently, I attended a talk given by Michio Kaku, an American futurist, theoretical physicist, bestselling author and popularizer of science. The main emphasis of his lecture was that “those who use and own the most current technology will prosper.” Utilizing the latest technology can help you attract patients and build a strong, prosperous practice. OM

KEN KRIVACIC, O.D., M.B.A., is the senior owner/partner of Las Colinas Vision Center in Irving, Texas with three doctors and 20 staff members. The office places a large emphasis on contact lenses and has been involved in numerous contact lens studies. He is a member of the AOA, TOA and is a Professional Affairs consultant for Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. Visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment on this article.