Take steps to identify the problems. Then, formulate a plan and take action

As all businesses do, optometric practices may go through periods of rapid growth, followed by periods where growth slows or “stalls out.” The reasons are varied, from staffing issues, to office-size constraints, to loss of an associate doctor. When practices hit the proverbial wall, getting back on track can seem daunting. Identifying problem areas, formulating a plan that allows for a reboot, and setting that plan in motion are all critical to turning things around.

FACING THE DOWNTURN

Our business went through a challenging time after the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009. Many area employers laid off workers or downsized. Others canceled or reduced benefits, such as vision insurance. The result was a sudden reduction in our examination numbers and a schedule that was no longer full or booking as far out. To add insult to injury, we had just bought a new building and nearly doubled our office space. New staff, new equipment, and more overhead infused a sense of urgency that we turn things around, and fast!

A DEEP DIVE INTO ACCOUNTING

It was during this time that I learned how to take a deep dive into the details of a profit and loss statement (P&L) and balance sheet. I also went to a local bookstore and bought a copy of Accounting for Dummies. I was determined to navigate through those choppy waters. Understanding the basics of accounting and working on a plan to change some of the numbers on our P&L became our mission.

For example, we discovered that our contact lens capture rate was one of the biggest problems. Many patients were leaving our office and filling their prescriptions at online and local “big box” retailers. The problem: I had become complacent in my contact lens recommendation. I sent patients out of my practice with the same contact lenses, the same modality, and the same tired spiel. Not surprisingly, my failure to take the time to educate my patients on modern materials and lens designs was contributing to patients’ non-compliance and bad habits.

My partner and I knew that compliant patients tend to return for their annual eye exams more quickly and visit the office more frequently. So, we embraced a paradigm shift in our thinking regarding our contact lens fitting strategy. We proactively re-fit patients into modalities that garnered more compliance, which proved to be a huge boost: We recommended single-day use contact lenses to any eligible patient.

We also began to track all the important areas of our practice. Specifically, we established and monitored key performance indicators (KPIs) for our contact lens business, our optical, our associate doctors, and our front-office. We began clearly communicating the direction we wanted to go, and trained our staff with the assistance of our industry partners. Incentive programs that were based on clear-cut goals and how to achieve them became the norm.

THE HARD WORK PAYS OFF

By finding the problem area(s) in our practice, formulating a plan to address them, and then tracking our practice, we began to see growth within the first year. Seeing the hard work pay off, we began to track more areas and developed more efficient systems to help us to attain those goals. We learned that we can only affect those areas that we identify and proactively track. As a business owner, identifying, understanding, and monitoring the KPIs that will propel our business forward is critical to sustained practice growth, even in the hard times. OM

DR. EARLEY serves as a therapeutic optometrist at Northeast Ohio Eye Surgeons in Medina, Ohio, where he spent 23 years as vice president/secretary, and was the director of human resources. He is the clinic director of Bright EyeDeas Vision Clinic, a free clinic serving the uninsured, and a member of the AOA and the Ohio Optometric Association. Dr. Earley speaks nationally on specialty contact lenses, macular degeneration, dry eye disease, and practice management. He is a consultant for Alcon, and serves as a KOL for Notal Vision, MacuHealth, and Maculogix. Email him at tearley@neohioeye.com.