There is no shortage of new technology competing for the investment dollars of optometrists who have the funds. As a result, it can be easy for us to make the wrong one or more purchases. The good news? We have found that answering the following questions can often prevent the OD from regretting a purchase.
Will It Get Lots of Use?
A busy existing practice that has a deep patient base related to a specific technology will have a far shorter ramp up period to achieve the usefulness and profitability of a new technology than a practice that does not.
As an example, if the OD diagnoses a lot of dry eye disease (DED), chances are that buying an in-office DED treatment device is a great investment. On the other hand, if the optometrist isn’t managing many elderly patients or patients who have risk factors, such as a family history, poor diet, or obesity, for age-related macular degeneration, investing in a related diagnostic device, as state-of-the-art as it may be, would not make sense.
We suggest the optometrist assess their patient population to determine use, including items that can affect its utilization, such as patient willingness to pay out of pocket for the technology, should the patient’s insurance plans not cover it.
To determine whether an investment in technology will result in profitability, we suggest projecting the number of procedures per month and multiplying that by the average reimbursement per procedure. Then deduct the monthly hard and soft costs associated with implementing the new procedure. This will give you a good ballpark starting point to determine whether the technology will be profitable. Additionally, we suggest getting input from staff on how to integrate the new technology into the practice easily before making the purchase. If the optometrist springs the purchase on allied health staff or associate doctors, we have found that these folks won’t be excited about its potential to enhance patient care or their jobs. Instead, they’ll feel slighted that they weren’t made aware of it, and/or they’ll worry the new purchase will affect their jobs. Either reaction won’t create staff motivation to employ the new technology.
The bottom line is that no practice owner wants to see a new piece of technology collecting dust.
Does It Have the Desired/Required Features?
Regardless of the optometrist’s patient population, we would argue that enhanced patient care, improved clinical outcomes, practice efficiency, and ease of operation are universal OD requirements of new technology. Therefore, we recommend the optometrist determine whether the new technology they are assessing has features to accomplish these requirements.
An additional required feature is com-pliance with state board of optometry reg- ulations. If a technology is not approved by the OD’s state board, chances are that receiving reimbursement from insurance plans for its use will not occur. Worse, the optometrist’s malpractice insurance may not cover them if any related patient complications arise from the use of the new technology. Our advice: Consult your state board directly to determine whether a procedure is within your scope of practice.
Another consideration: Whether the new technology is completely optometry friendly. For example, a new electronic health record (EHR) software package may offer excellent features for surgical billing, but have a poor optical package. As a result, this software package wouldn’t meet the requirements of the private-practice OD, who has an optical.
We suggest the optometrist make a list of their required features to refer to when assessing any new technology.
Does It Require Additional Capital Outputs?
For example, will the OD have to pur-chase additional technology (eg, a new EHR) for compatibility purposes? Will the new technology require any consistent and expensive consumables? Will the optometrist need to invest in a practice buildout to accommodate the new technology’s footprint? Will it require additional office time and expense? Will the technology require more staff or doctor investment to implement it?
Answering all these questions enables the OD to determine whether purchasing the new technology will cost them more than it’s worth.
Is Its Life Expectancy Acceptable?
When will the technology physically wear out? When the life expectancy of the instrumentation expires, is there a resale value? Can the technology be depreciated and if so, how does the depreciation schedule line up with the technology’s actual life expectancy in the optometrist’s practice?
Additionally, life expectancy includes when the technology becomes obsolete. In the not-too-distant future, we believe artificial-intelligence-enhanced retinal cameras, ocular coherence tomographers, and corneal topographers, among many other technologies, may well become the standard of care for medical optometry.
The answers to these questions will enable the optometrist to decide whether the new technology’s cost is commensurate with its duration of use.
Is It Made by a Reputable Company?
Does the company that makes the device have an exemplary reputation for producing reliable and long-lasting technology? Is an annual maintenance contract provided as part of the cost? If not, what is this cost? Does the technology have a reasonable warranty? Does the company have a history of superb customer service both during and after a sale? As examples, does the company provide the buyer with free and timely updates? Does it give in-office training?
Looking Before Leaping
New technology can be mesmerizing with its sleek shape, colored lights, switches, and more. Therefore, we encourage ODs to ask themselves the above questions before making a purchase. That new technology may look amazing on the exhibit hall floor or company website, but if purchasing it is going to be expensive in multiple areas vs. enhancing patients’ lives and increasing practice revenue, the bells and whistles are not worth it. OM
