“The innovation that has most greatly impacted my practice is the reintroduction of the art of conversation and personalized care,” says Robert Steinmetz, O.D., F.A.A.O., Chicago. “People leave our office with my personal email address, phone number and the knowledge and assurance that we will care for them, their family and their future referrals.”

− Robert Steinmetz, O.D., F.A.A.O., Chicago

TIP: “Provide your personal contact information to create concierge service and grow your practice,” Dr. Steinmetz says.

“The appointment is an opportunity to provide personal service that leaves your customers saying ‘Wow.’ Our staff has the freedom to surprise and delight the customer. The minute a customer walks in the door, our staff will serve specialty coffee drinks, fresh baked cookies, fruit, and we encourage our staff to make our customers’ day with small gifts, such as gas cards or other small-value gift cards.”

− Justin Schweitzer, O.D., F.A.A.O., Sioux Falls, S.D.

TIP: Create opportunities for a variety of positive experiences for the customer. “We place a stamp in the front of each patient’s chart,” says Dr. Schweitzer. “It includes information, such as favorite food or music, what they want to do with vision, any activities, loved ones, etc. so on their return visit, we already know they prefer Coke to Diet Coke [and] what type of music we should play in the exam room.”

“The Internet has touched many different areas of the practice. [My staff and I] build and strengthen our patient base with social media. We have made email our preferred mode of communication. So much so that we don’t have a traditional phone line. We embrace new ways of communicating with our patients and regularly use text messaging, instant messaging and social media messaging to do so. Nearly all of our appointments are scheduled online by the patients themselves. We have established ways for our patients to buy from us online. We have experimented with video conferencing. We are optimistic that as Internet-based technology advances, we will be able to find positive and creative ways to utilize such technology to provide outstanding care in new modalities.”

− Justin Bazan, O.D., Brooklyn, N.Y.

TIP: Take inspiration from what others are doing online. “Internet ads are everywhere,” Dr. Bazan says. Adapt something that you saw and thought was clever, and implement it at your own practice. (For more see Dr. Bazan’s column on p. 56)

“From a practice management perspective, our most positive innovation over the past few years has been the implementation of an image management system. Our system connects all of our diagnostic instruments and devices in server-based software, and it facilitates clinical case visualization with specific clinical displays. Our patients love it!”

− Craig Thomas O.D., Dallas

TIP: Create an action plan to purchase an image management system in your office, which should include doing your research and identifying the best system for your practice. Then make the purchase. “Anything one optometrist can do, another can do,” says Dr. Thomas.

“I have founded Eye Wellness, a retail center and clinic that brings together nutrition and eye care and has education and caring as its main core values. During this process, I have developed many innovative products that have been implemented into the patient experience at Eye Wellness.” Examples of the products include “Eyefoods” and “Eyefoods for Kids,” books that educate on what to eat for optimal eye health.

− Laurie Capogna, O.D., Niagara Falls, Ontario

TIP: “Direct your passion into creating a mission statement, core values and business plan that are centered around wellness and prevention,” Dr. Capogna says. “Execute your plan, and use your core values and mission statement to help you persevere through the peaks and valleys that always accompany any worthwhile change.”

“From mailers and newspapers, to creating Vision Optique’s YouTube channel, how we communicate with our patients has changed dramatically. We have had to learn and adopt numerous social media platforms, starting with Facebook and Twitter in 2006, to adding Instagram (2010), Google+ (2011), and Pinterest (2012). As of October 2015, we had 278,388 views of our Google business listing. Long gone are the days of [The] Yellow Pages!”

− Bridgitte Shen Lee, O.D.

TIP: “For practices that would like to increase their online and social media presence, the first step is to ask your most socially active millennial employee to create a practice profile on Google My Business (Google +), Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Then, display and share your practice’s exact social media account name, aka ‘the handle,’ to gain followers,” Dr. Lee advises. “For example, “Vision Optique” for Facebook and Google+ and “@visionoptique” for Twitter and Instagram. The final step is to publish regular and engaging content, either by delegating to social media savvy staff (and doctors) or outsourcing to various services.”

“We have invested heavily in the latest digital diagnostic devices,”

− Alan Glazier, O.D., F.A.A.O., Rockville, Md.

TIP: Cover your bases by educating staff on how to use your diagnostic devices and your patients on their existence. “We started with marketing campaigns, usually YouTube videos, and then we share the links to the videos on social media,” Dr. Glazier says. “We market them internally as well. I was able to get featured on local news for some of these technologies. . . . We educated our technicians on set up and had office meetings to determine how much time was required for each procedure and then instituted a specialized recall system for the patients who needed certain technologies that were above and beyond standard eye care needs.”

“At TearWell, we didn’t want to be a one-trick pony, and that required an investment in technology from both diagnostic and therapeutic perspectives,” says Whitney Hauser, O.D., Memphis Tenn. “[Tests] are used to drill down and identify the origin of the patient’s complaint. Accuracy of diagnosis gives me the confidence in not only proposing treatment options but recommending premium elective procedures. . .”

− Whitney Hauser, O.D., Memphis Tenn.

TIP: “In private practice, the capital expenditure for heavy-hitting equipment can be daunting. However, with proper pairing of diagnostic technology and elective procedures, ocular surface care can pay dividends,” Dr. Hauser says. She adds that implementation with active outreach to the community and education of staff members will aid in that success.

“To be innovative and to differentiate my practice from the competition, I decided years ago to become a dry eye specialist,” says Margie ReCalde, O.D., F.A.A.O., Fresno, Calif. “Ten years ago, the tests for dry eyes were limited to Schirmer tests and vital dye staining. Thanks to innovative technology, dry eye specialists are [now] able to incorporate more tools to enhance their dry eye evaluation.”

− Margie ReCalde, O.D., F.A.A.O., Fresno, Calif.

TIP: Educate yourself and your staff on the latest in technology to manage dry eye disease. It is vital to successfully launching a new test in practice. “The eye care provider also needs to understand the pros and cons of the test, become proficient in interpreting lab results, to know where to refer patients if the lab results are abnormal and how to communicate the test results to the patient,” explains Dr. ReCalde.

INNOVATION IS SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT

Mike Rothschild, O.D., Carrollton, Ga.

Innovation comes in multiple forms, for example a new piece of equipment or education to deliver a new service. Both are an investment with the trust that they will generate enough new business to pay dividends.

Innovation means stepping into the unknown and the unproven. Not all innovations will stick. But innovation is always worth the risk if you are willing to talk about it — a lot:

• With your team: The discussions should begin with the entire team, and input should be gathered from everyone. It is not essential that everyone agrees, but everyone should offer input.

• With your patients: Make sure patients really understand this investment. It should be the feature of a newsletter or other marketing materials. It must become a part of the scripting for every patient encounter. Find a way to bring it up.

• With the community: Unveil the innovative changes to prospective and current patients. The announcement should be big! Prepare a script for employees to discuss it consistently in interactions.

“I am a big believer in measuring technology both in the clinic and in the optical. . . . You must always support the delivery of your products with scientific proof they are going to do what you claim. When a patient picks up their glasses, show them the UV meter results, and use the [photochromic lens] demonstrator to show them they got what they paid for, and end it with letting them know again why these features and benefits are important.”

− Jay Binkowitz, Huntington, N.Y.

TIP: To decide which measuring devices to bring into the business, ease of use, both in terms of how long it will take staff to learn and how long it will be utilized with the patient, is important. “If takes more than a minute with the patient, it is too long,” says Mr. Binkowitz. “Set them up at dispensing, and practice using them with your team and discussing them with your patients.”

“Innovation means staying ahead of the curve,” says Jason Miller, O.D., M.B.A., F.A.A.O., Powell, Ohio. “An innovative [practice] offers these new technologies to all of their patients, not just those that are complaining. Many patients present without complaints and are looking to refill their old prescription. They are busy in their own world and really have no idea what is going on in the contact lens technology world. An innovative practice sees this patient as an opportunity to improve their experience with contact lenses. They make the offer to their patients. Eventually their patients present asking what is new!”

− Jason Miller, O.D., M.B.A., F.A.A.O., Powell, Ohio

TIP: “A simple tip is to wear the newest products,” continues Dr. Miller. “Most doctors and staff like to wear the newest lens and frame technology. Do the same thing with contact lens technology. When everyone is wearing the newer technology, they will remember to talk about them with their patients.” (For more on new contact lens materials, see Dr. Miller's column on p. 33.)

“In my practice, we have three doctors that fit scleral lenses and a fantastic group of technicians and staff that assist with the scleral lens process,” says Melissa Barnett, O.D., F.A.A.O, F.S.L.S, Sacramento and Davis, Calif. “Some of my patients . . . have a very complicated ocular history, have seen multiple other doctors, and scleral lenses may be their ‘last hope’ prior to surgery.”

Melissa Barnett, O.D., F.A.A.O, F.S.L.S, Sacramento and Davis, Calif.

TIP: Have multiple members of the staff who are knowledgeable about scleral lenses reassure patients who are hesitant about trying these lenses. “By having competent staff at multiple touch points, patients are reassured about the fitting process and know that they are in good hands,” says Dr. Barnett. OM