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Optometric Management

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BUSINESS: PERSONNEL POINTERS

PRE-TEST PROTOCOLS

Optometric Management July 1, 2015
BUSINESS

  PERSONNEL POINTERS

PRE-TEST PROTOCOLS

BUILD A BETTER PATIENT EXPERIENCE WITH THESE TIPS

PRE-TEST IS an excellent opportunity to impart a great educational experience for your patients. They are often nervous, and light conversation with explanations on what measurements are being taken can put them at ease and help build a rapport.

Here are a few tips for talking to patients during this critical part of the exam.

Buzz Words

Changing your vocabulary can help put patients at ease and aid them in understanding what you’re doing during this part of their visit. For example,

    • DON’T call the exam “pre-test;” instead, tell patients you are “starting the exam.”

    • DO use the word “instrument” instead of “equipment,” which sounds like machinery, and “measurement” instead of “test.” Patients think of tests as something they need to pass.

    • DO refer to your pre-test technicians as “optometric assistants” or “diagnostic technicians,” again to eliminate the word “test.”

TRAIN STAFF

First, have each employee go through all the preliminary testing so they can understand firsthand what your patients experience during this part of their visit. Next, provide them with a training manual that includes the necessary terminology, as well as sample scripts of how you would like the information to be delivered for each measurement. Examples:

• Visual field. This measures peripheral vision. Limited peripheral vision could be an indicator of glaucoma or optic nerve damage.

Script: “Mrs. Smith, I’m going to assess your peripheral vision, or side vision. Simply look straight ahead at the screen, and when you see a flash of light, push the button. It’s that simple!”

• Autorefraction. This determines how the eye processes light. Autorefractors predict a person’s eyeglass or contact lens prescription with extreme accuracy. The optometrist will use these results to then refine the prescription during his or her assessment.

Script: “Mrs. Smith, this measurement will determine how your eyes process light and will help the doctor customize your prescription, should you require vision correction. For this measurement, you’re going to look at the image on the screen. The image will go in and out of focus, so don’t worry if it gets blurry at certain points.”

• Retinal imaging. Retinal images of the back of the retina, including the optic nerve, macula and retinal tissues, highlight changes through time if previous retinal photos have been taken, as well as help identify signs of early eye disease, such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and AMD.

Script: “Mrs. Smith, I’m going to take a few pictures of the back of your eye to assess the health of your retina. Similar to a dental X-ray, these images will allow the doctor to see what’s going on ‘below the surface.’”

• Tonometry. This is to estimate intraocular pressure.

Script: “Mrs. Smith, I’m going to measure your eye pressure now. Simply sit forward and look straight ahead. This instrument is going blow a light fluff of air on your eye. It’s so light, in fact, you won’t even feel it!”

FOLLOW THE LEADER

Providing proper training to your optometric technicians will ensure a consistent message. The more direction and training you give your staff, the better the experience your patients will have. OM

TRUDI CHAREST RO, ABO is the president and trainer for Total Focus Training & Consulting, as well as president and founder of Jobs4Ecps.ca, an online eyecare job site. Visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment on this article.

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