PRACTICE MANAGEMENT EXPERTS SHARE FAVORITE BUSINESS BOOKS

With this month’s theme “Business Planning,” and the new year in sight, many O.D.s are looking for inspiration and new ways to improve their businesses. With this in mind, we asked some practice management experts to share their favorite business books.

• Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant. “This book gives you a completely new perspective on positioning your business in an arena where competition doesn’t exist,” explains Mile Brujic, O.D., of Bowling Green, Ohio. “I know it sounds weird, but read the book. You’ll be glad you did!”
• BuyOlogy: Truth and Lies About What We Buy. This book teaches what drives and leads us to make purchasing decisions,” explains Scot Morris, O.D., OM’s chief optometric editor. “There is a way to control the process without ever saying a word.”
• Contagious: Why Things Catch On. “It discusses how to create something that can make people talk, share, stop and stare,” says Trudi Charest, R.O., and columnist for OM’s “Personnel Pointers.”
• Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless. “The book provides you with the knowledge to provide people with experiences they love to have and love to tell everyone about,” explains Justin Bazan, O.D., and columnist for OM’s “Social Media” column.
• The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. “I don’t want to have a business that solely relies on me being in the office and taking care of patients,” says Jason Miller, O.D. M.B.A., and columnist for OM’s “Contact Lenses.” “This book challenges my thinking every day. It challenges me to work on the business and not just in the business. That is a big difference.”
• Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results. “The author really understands how we all need to embrace the lessons learned from the hospitality industry in order to support a true destination location that can rise above all the noise we have to compete with,” explains Jay Binkowitz. “The chemistry and culture of our business is everything.”
• The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals. “There are way too many books about, ‘do this task or use this strategy to achieve better success.’ Even customer service, team building or general business concept books will still, by design, have to include, ‘Do’ items,” explains Gary Gerber, O.D., and OM’s “Business Strategies” columnist. “The challenge isn’t finding the lack of good ideas to use to build your practice. Instead, it’s getting them done! Our consultants have been trained to use the systems in this book to allow clients to build their practices.”
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. “Applying Habit 3, ‘Put First Things First,’ was a game changer in both my personal and professional life,’” says Steve Vargo, O.D., M.B.A., and OM’s “CEO Checklist” columnist. “The book taught me the value of focusing ‘First’ on the highest priorities and saying ‘No’ to low priorities when necessary.’”
• Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business. “This book sets the stage for becoming the business you always hoped for!” says Mark Hinton, OM’s “Scriptopedia” contributor. ■

GLAUCOMA DROP GETS FDA NOD; O.D.S WEIGH IN

Latanoprostene bunod ophthalmic solution, 0.024% (Vyzulta, Bausch + Lomb) has received FDA approval for the treatment of IOP in patients who have open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Specifically, the drop increases aqueous humor outflow through both the trabecular meshwork and the uveoscleral pathways.

“I think this drug is important primarily because of its nitric oxide component,” explains Robert E. Prouty, O.D., F.A.A.O., a member of the Optometric Glaucoma Society, who practices at a multiple-location practice in Colorado. “What it appears to do is to relax the trabecular meshwork and Schlemm’s canal, so it enhances the traditional outflow.”

Justin Schweitzer, O.D., F.A.A.O., OM’s “Glaucoma” columnist and member of the Optometric Glaucoma Society adds, “Having another prostaglandin analog medication available just adds to the already nice arsenal eye care providers have available to them. One medication may work for some patients, while another may work better for another patient,” he explains “By having more tools to choose from in managing glaucoma, the doctor has a better chance of finding a medication that is effective. Also, when a new medication is approved for any disease state, it raises awareness about the disease to the public as well as to doctors. This is a win-win for both patients and doctors.”

The once-daily prostaglandin analog metabolizes into two moieties, latanoprost acid, which increases aqueous humor outflow in the uveoscleral pathway, and butanediol mononitrate, which releases nitric oxide (NO), to increase trabecular meshwork and Schlemm’s canal aqueous humor outflow. (Incidentally, NO is a metabolite found in reduced levels in glaucoma patients and increases aqueous humor outflow through the trabecular meshwork and Schlemm’s canal in normal eyes, says Bausch + Lomb.)

Ian “Ben” Gaddie, O.D., F.A.A.O., member of the Optometric Glaucoma Society, who practices in Louisville, Ky., says the drug will be a, “great option for patients who are new to treatment and those who either need a stronger foundational treatment or who are progressing and need more IOP control without adding additional bottles of medicine.”

Vyzulta decreased mean IOP to 14.4mmHg in open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension patients who had a mean low baseline IOP of 19.6 mmHg, according to a one-year, single-arm, multicenter, open-label Phase 3 study of 130 patients.

“Vyzulta will likely fall in to the glaucoma algorithm where the other once-daily prostaglandin medications are located,” explains Brett G. Bence, O.D., F.A.A.O., a member of the Optometric Glaucoma Society, who practices in Seattle. “Whether this drug comes to the forefront of consideration in this category depends on many variables, including affordability, local side effects and effectiveness for sustained lowering of IOP for primary and secondary glaucomas.”

The most common ocular adverse events: conjunctival hyperemia, eyelash growth, eye irritation, eye pain, instillation site pain, iris pigmentation and blepharal pigmentation.

Joseph C. Papa, chairman and CEO of Valeant, Bausch + Lomb’s owner, says the drug could be available before the year’s end. ■

RETINAL SCREENING KIOSKS IN THE WORKS

Pursuant Health, an Atlanta-based consumer health care engagement company that has a network of more than 3,600 self-service kiosks, is preparing to add retinal screening to its fleet of self-service kiosks to, “reduce instances of preventable blindness and overall healthcare costs,” according to a Pursuant Health press release. Specifically, the company says it is in the process of negotiating pilot locations for the first 10 to 20 systems in retail pharmacy and healthcare provider settings.

The Kiosk, developed by ophthalmologist and Pursuant Medical Officer Kevin Lavery, contains a non-mydriatic exam that does not require dilation. Upon the exam’s completion, an eye care provider, currently part of a network of board-certified ophthalmologists, will evaluate the images, which are encrypted and sent electronically via secure HIPAA-compliant software. (Pursuant says it can work with O.D.s testing for eye diseases and conditions.) The company and the network of ophthalmologists additionally coordinate to provide all exam results to the patient’s appropriate primary care physician, explains Alvonice Spencer, Director of Quality, Pursuant Health. ■

OMS CLINICAL AND BUSINESS TRACKS OFFER THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

At the 2017 Optometric Management Symposium (OMS), held Nov. 2 to 5 at Disney World’s Yacht & Beach Club, in Orlando, Fla., close to 400 attendees descended on the resort to personalize their education by attending courses from across various optometric disciplines. The attendees chose from a total of 60 hours of CE credits offered through courses in four separate tracks: Clinical Management, Retail Strategies, Clinical Business and the Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS) Contact Lens Track. (GSLS, an annual meeting, is presented each January by Contact Lens Spectrum, a sister publication of OM.)

“The ‘personalize your education’ aspect of OMS is giving O.D.s the clinical management information they need to care for patients, plus business and retail strategies, which help them to learn ways to grow their businesses and be more successful,” says Maureen Trusky, PentaVision’s Conference Director. (PentaVision publishes OM.). “We’re seeing more O.D.s bringing their team along to hear these great business-building tips and ideas.”

The Clinical Business Track was comprised of 10 courses covering full-scope optometry, HIPAA, common treatments for ocular disease, opportunities with presbyopes and the aging eye, vision rehabilitation and more.

The Clinical Management Track covered an array of topics, such as ocular pathogens, traumatic brain injury, glaucoma, geographic atrophy, rosacea and herpes keratitis.

The Retail Strategies Track presented a panel on industry trends, as well as topics including websites and sales, social media, schedule management, office design and more.

The Contact Lens Track included courses on custom contact lens fitting, scleral contact lenses, corneal reshaping options, custom soft and hybrid contact lenses and a panel discussion on myopia control.

Next year’s OMS will take place Nov. 1 to 4. ■