Working as an editor in business publications for more than 30 years, I’ve attended scores of conferences in a variety of industries. Whether the meeting addressed health care, construction, supply chain management or transportation, there was a common denominator: Time management presentations always were among the most well attended.

Chances are, you regularly investigate ways to improve time management, and in this issue of Optometric Management, we present two areas that can help free up time and add value to your day: clinical technology and staff delegation.

IT’S ABOUT TIME

Dr. Selina McGee summarizes the who, what, how and why of delegation in “Delegate Duties to Staff” (p. 22). By developing a highly trained team that performs a variety of duties, including pre-testing and other tasks, Dr. McGee is able to spend more time on those tasks “that fall exclusively under the purview of the optometrist.”

Advances in diagnostic technology can offer time savings, as well as insights for improved patient care. One example: Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) is fast and easy to perform, providing opportunities for more efficient management of disease. Drs. Jenna Pyle and Scot Morris present an overview of these benefits in their article “Know the Many Functions of OCT-A” (p.28).

As the article “Is Telehealth Here to Stay?” (p. 34) demonstrates, telehealth can often save the doctor, patient, and staff time. It also may help with staff shortages and, in some instances, may allow the doctor to become more engaged in the visit. Additionally, Dr. Austin Lifferth discusses “teleglaucoma” in his column. (p. 49)

Imagine the time saved if your team did not have to retrieve a referred patient’s health record. Health information exchanges, which allow providers to securely share the health record, may provide such savings, as well as other benefits, explain Drs. Ronald P. Snyder and Michael J. Lipson in “What Is a Health Information Exchange?” (p. 40).

Recognizing the value of time, we are grateful for the time you spend with OM. We also invite you to join in the dialog by sharing with us (at james.thomas@optometricmanagement.com) those investments in time that yielded rewarding dividends for you practice. OM