YOUR TECH IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

HOW TO PREVENT THAT SHINY NEW DEVICE FROM COLLECTING DUST

CRAIG THOMAS, O.D.

ONE OF THE BEST things about practicing in 2015 is the availability of new diagnostic and treatment technologies that have the potential to improve the quality of care and allow us to deliver cost-effective, evidence-based eye health care to every patient.

When patients are examined in our practice, the optometric technicians who perform the preliminary testing have a lot of work to do and many decisions to make. Because our practice is medically oriented, not all patient visits are the same. First, my technicians are responsible for accurately recording the initial case history and measuring visual acuities. Then, depending on the nature of the patient’s visit, the technicians could also obtain blood pressure, IOP measurements and perform auto-refraction.

In addition to this standard preliminary testing, my technicians perform automated pupillography and lens autofluorescence ratio measurements on our adult patients before I begin my portion of the examination. However, not too long ago, one or both devices were not always used.

Unfortunately, many optometrists are familiar with the scenario that involves a new, expensive, potentially important diagnostic instrument sitting in the corner collecting dust because the staff is not using it.

Here, I discuss how to create a technology implementation plan that helps you integrate new instrumentation into your practice.

1 SCHEDULE A STAFF MEETING

This meeting should focus on the new technology and when everyone will start using it.

Specifically, let everyone know why you purchased the instrument, what it does, which patients should be tested on it, what your staff’s role will be with regard to the new technology and how, specifically, it is going to increase the quality of care that you deliver, which is not only better for the patient, but for the financial health of the practice as well.

For example, “Hi everyone, today we are going to review the benefits of providing automated pupillography to our adult patients. Automated pupillography helps to measure a patient’s pupillary reflexes, and we know that patients with abnormal pupillary reflexes are at higher risk of developing glaucoma and other neurodegenerative diseases. Because abnormal pupillary reflexes can be difficult to measure with the naked eye, the more accurate computer-assisted evaluation has the potential to increase our ability to diagnose eye disease.

“Increasing our diagnostic ability by adding technology is better for us and our patients. First, patients identified as ‘high risk’ based on abnormal pupil testing receive a different case presentation and a different diagnostic and treatment program compared with patients who have low risk or no risk. Also, incorporating automated pupillography test results into the case presentation produces a more customized and personalized eye examination.

“In addition, because most patients identified as high risk require diagnostic testing with advanced technology, the professional services component of our practice stays healthy and profitable.

“Last, some patients identified as high risk will actually have some type of eye disease, and the screening test you do will help us to diagnose their condition as early as possible.

“That’s one of the reason’s people come here — they know we will take care of them.”

Remember: The staff has to want to use new technology. If there is resistance from anyone, it makes the implementation process much harder. In fact, a positive attitude is so important that you should consider reassigning staff members who do not “buy-in” to the implementation process.

You may ask, “Should I consider getting ‘buy in’ by staff before I purchase a new technology?” My answer is, I don’t think this is necessary. Most modern devices are easy to use.

Additionally, if your practice has more than one optometrist, the doctors have to be “all in,” too. Lack of 100% commitment by every doctor can doom your technology implementation plan to failure before it gets started because everyone must be on board to make it a patient and practice success. If you bought it, you should use it.

2 CREATE AN IMPLEMENTATION TEAM

This team should be composed of your most experienced technicians, for obvious reasons. The head of this team is your project manager, the lead technician, in your practice. His or her role is to manage the implementation process, which is established during the staff meeting, and provide status reports to you and your practice colleagues as the process moves forward.

The first task of the project manager is to identify specific areas where the complexities of your office, such as process inefficiencies and/or structural barriers, may slow or inhibit the progress of your technology implementation plan. Then, he or she must develop solutions geared toward overcoming these impediments.

For example, when we initially added the lens autofluorescence biomicroscope, we placed the instrument in a room where our OCT and specular microscope were located. Its natural place was in the pre-testing room, but that space was full of other equipment at the time. Unfortunately, having the screening instrument in a different room made the preliminary testing procedure more burdensome for the staff and more time-consuming for the patient. As a result of this process inefficiency and the artificial structural barrier placed around the new instrument, sometimes the test was performed, and sometimes it was not.

Due to poor planning and poor decision-making on my part, I was not getting the clinical benefit that I wanted from the lens fluorescence biomicroscope, and it had become a victim of “system failure” in my office. Fortunately, once I realized what was happening, I stepped back and started over. I scheduled that staff meeting (mentioned previously), and I told everyone what I wanted to happen. Then I gave my staff the power to make it happen.

My project manager suggested moving several of the instruments into different rooms, and we put the lens fluorescence biomicroscope in the preliminary testing room where it belongs. Simple decision; big benefit. Problem solved.

PLAN AHEAD

Poor planning can result in nothing but lost opportunities, wasted time and wasted money. As a result, follow the two steps discussed in this article to ensure you get all the clinical and financial benefits you deserve for your hard-earned money. Don’t put yourself in a position where you have to step back, start over and use a duster. OM

CRAIG THOMAS, O.D., is a partner of First Eye Care – Southwest Dallas and a noted consultant, lecturer and author. He is a consultant for Konan Medical USA and Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. Email him at thpckc@yahoo.com, or visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment on this article.