PATIENT MANAGEMENT

TO SELL OR NOT TO SELL

IT’S NOT A QUESTION, RATHER, IT’S WHAT’S IN THE BEST INTEREST OF YOUR PATIENTS AND YOUR PRACTICE

Whitney Hauser, O.D., Memphis, Tenn.

“I’M A doctor. A real doctor. I don’t ‘sell’ my patients anything. Recommendations are made, and that’s it — I have a reputation to uphold.” Optometrists are overheard saying this — or something similar to this — all the time. Most optometrists have no trouble charging a patient for frames, lenses or boxes of soft contact lenses, but products and services beyond what’s customary, such as warm compress masks, make these doctors shift uncomfortably in their chairs, sweat beading up on their foreheads.

Why does anxiety skyrocket when sales from the chair are mentioned? A white coat is not an invisibility cloak when it comes to sales in your practice. In fact, doctors’ recommendations are powerful and lead to higher sales conversions. Authority can be an impactful call-to-action for patients, and as Voltaire (and Spiderman) said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Physicians guard their integrity with their lives — and rightfully so. However, in-office sales and maintaining one’s integrity are not mutually exclusive. As I see it, there are three reasons for refusing to offer goods and services — beyond the conventional — which can be misguided. If you use any of these reasons, fortunately, it’s not too late for you to see the error, provide the best care to your patients and enhance your business.

1 “MY PRACTICE IS TOO MEDICAL FOR SELLING PRODUCTS.”

Medical practices across almost all specialties have embraced “one-stop shopping” for patients. For example, practices with sufficient volume have in-office pharmacies or labs for blood tests and radiology services. Similarly, optometry practices for decades have offered on-site lens fabrication — a practice found to increase patient convenience. Most naysayers find that acceptable. The line is crossed when we go to perceived non-essential sales.

Who gets to define “essential?” The doctor or the patient? Necessity is driven by both doctor and patient until a standard of care is established. Standard of care has evolved to make on-site optical labs and boxes of disposable contact lenses in stock essential, and aesthetics don’t appear far behind. Several aesthetic treatments originally designed to stimulate collagen, decrease erythema and create a youthful, glowing appearance have been found to relieve the signs and symptoms of ocular surface disease. Another example is intense pulsed light. Once confined to use in dermatology offices and operated by medical aestheticians, it has made its way into optometry and ophthalmology offices around the country.

Minimally invasive cosmetic procedures have increased by 158% since 2000, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Given that reimbursements continue to decrease, a quick, firm “No” to these services is unwarranted.

The doctor’s recommendation can be an impactful call-to-action for patients.

2 “MY PATIENTS GET WHAT THEY NEED.”

Consider this scenario: You recommend a nutraceutical to your AMD patient, though you don’t provide it in-house. The likely outcome: The patient either fails to purchase the supplement elsewhere or selects “what looks good” at a large discount retailer or grocery store. This could be a fairly innocuous error, or the patient, who’s a smoker, selected a supplement that contains beta-carotene and increases his or her risk of lung cancer. Not so innocuous after all. Making recommendations that don’t culminate in a transaction within the practice often do not translate into purchases of the same product.

Another scenario: A patient who has severe meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) presents. In addition to some prescription medication, you also prescribe warm compresses. While warm compresses may be effective for a segment of patients, they can be ineffective and time consuming for others. Providing silicone-beaded warming masks in office is a step in the right direction to help your MGD patients, but why not provide a thermal-pulsation treatment that takes your practice from “good enough” to “great” in your patient’s mind? With an average cost per treatment of $300 to $500, performed in a series of four to six treatments, the offering is not only good for your MGD patients, but for your practice as well. Now, you’ve given many more of your MGD patients what they need.

3 “I DON’T HAVE TIME.”

Initially, this does take some time. But if you don’t do it, you and your patients suffer.

Some patients, for example, millennials, expect recommended products to be available on demand, and when they are not — turn to the likes of Amazon to fulfill their wishes at the touch of a button. Therefore, that channel profits — at your recommendation. What’s more, your patient potentially has delayed treatment while products travel from across the country or world. It certainly seems much simpler and more convenient to open a supply cabinet, dispense the needed product to your patient and have him or her pay the front desk as he or she leaves.

YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL

You can be a real doctor who takes care of the needs of his or her patients and sell necessary goods and services for your patients. You can have it all, and the success that accompanies it. Don’t sell your patients or practice short by not selling anything OM

DR. HAUSER provides clinical care for patients at TearWell: Advance Dry Eye Treatment Center and the Advanced Care and The Eye Center at Southern College of Optometry. She is a consultant, speaker or board member for: Akorn, Alcon, Allergan, BioTeck, BioTissue, Lumenis, NovaBay, Paragon Vision Sciences, Rysurg, TearLab, TearScience, Shire, Science Based Health and DryEyeCoach.com. To comment, visit tinyurl.com/OMComment.