Tag Archives: optometry

3 ways to get a PCP to call you

  By Chad Fleming | April 17, 2013 - 11:00 am |
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The larger the town or city the more difficult it is to incorporate yourself into the healthcare system.  You know, being respected by all the primary care doctors in the area you practice.  Many patients have a red-eye and end up going to their primary care physician for care.  If the primary care physician is unable to help them they are usually referred on to ophthalmology where they typically do not have a long-term relationship with the patient like an optometrist would.  With the right approach many of those patients can and will end up in your chair as the primary doctor.  If you are dissatisfied with patients turning to other providers for their primary eye care, consider this…

  1. Letter Writing – With advent of EHRs it is no longer necessary to dictate a letter and send to a transcriptionist.  An easy way to communicate to PCPs in your area about your knowledge and ability to care for the eye is to write a 3-5 sentence note in the management section of your EHR.  Put the doctor’s name, John Smith, MD, and then type your note that describes why you evaluated the patient.  In brief, describe your management plan in terminology they understand and then finish by letting them know they are welcome to call you or refer other cases similar to the one you are treating.
  2. Phone call – I received a phone call today from a PCP letting me know that he was treating a patient of mine for a conjunctivitis that was not getting better.  He gave the history and then asked what I would recommend that he do next.  Just as any OD would, I stated my thoughts and recommended that she be seen by myself or one of my colleagues to consider introducing a steroid.  He was extremely appreciative and sent the patient right over.  I had never talked to this particular MD on the phone, however, I know that I have written many letters to him regarding patient care.  He was familiar with the services our office offered.  Many MDs don’t know if you are an optometrist that treats primary care or just does refractions.  It is based on perceptions and communicating by phone is a powerful tool.  Call them the next time you need blood work or an MRI.
  3. Educate patients – Your patients talk to their other doctors and your patients are a marketing opportunity.  If your patients are aware of the medical eye services you provide, then they will communicate this to their primary care doctors.  Many times our office will receive a phone call from the PCPs office requesting that we take care of an eye condition.  The patient had voluntarily requested that they be evaluated by their eye doctor, which in those cases were one of our doctors.  At the end of each exam consider educating your patients with this statement.  ”As a patient Wichita Optometry, you have access to our after hours services for any eye problems you may have (ie – red eyes, something in the eye, “pink eye” etc).  We should be the first place you call and we file your medical insurance for these cases.”

Good communication is the key to building a practice that is part of the medical community.  Many PCPs would appreciate the opportunity to build a relationship with you.  It does take time, but once you establish these relationships your medical eye practice will grow.

5 essentials of an optometrist’s curriculum vitae

  By Chad Fleming | March 20, 2013 - 11:00 am | ,
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If you are a professional then you should keep a curriculum vitae (CV) updated and ready for the next big opportunity.  An optometrist’s curriculum vitae is a game changer for those looking to land a position with some of the best optometry practices in the United States.  Many students and new ODs spend more time worrying about where they are going to practice than time spent working on their curriculum vitae.  Finding an optometry associateship that will fulfill you clinically, financially, and emotionally takes time and intentionality.  There are five essentials that all aspiring associates should include in their curriculum vitae.

  1. Interests – This is typically included in a curriculum vitae but not in a standard resume.  This is the opportunity for you to “advertise” your interests that will draw new patients to an office and be an asset for your practice growth.  Interests to include would be, mother’s day out, social clubs, local memberships, church activities, book clubs, local social media sites.
  2. Professional memberships – A resume does not typically include professional associations.  This is an essential as potential employers are looking for those optometrist who are involved in the profession.  Such associations as the American Optometric Association, American Academy of Optometry, and local state associations, should all be listed.  If you are a ember of a local small business association, list it.  An eye doctor looking for a potential partner will see this as a positive association.
  3. Personal Information – Many professionals believe that their personal information is not important and submitting personal information crosses the line for employer-employee relationships.  This is quit the contrary with a curriculum vitae.  Listing your marital status, spouse’s name and occupation, and children’s name and ages, is a positive, especially if their associations could bring in a large number of new patients.  For example, if your wife is a teacher then the potential employer will see this as an opportunity to reach a large group of children to grow your practice.
  4. Awards – This is a difficult one and for some should be left out of the curriculum vitae.  There are many great optometrists who graduate without winning an award.  That is ok and does not put you at a significant disadvantage, it just means you have to work a little harder in the other four essentials listed.  If you have won an award make sure that you do not forget to put it into the CV and describe in brief why you were chosen.
  5. Research and Training – An optometry office looking to bring in a new
    associate will typically be looking for an associate that compliments the doctor or doctors already practicing in that office.  If you have done research in school or have taken a special interest in low vision or pediatrics, then list it.  This area needs to highlight how clinically you can bring a new dimension to the practice.  If you have completed
    a residency then list this and explain how this qualifies you to fill a niche in a practice.  If you did your residency and had numerous acute care cases, then state that you could grow the practices acute eye care.

Let’s face it, the last thing you want to work on this weekend is your curriculum vitae.  Unless you are extremely happy in your current position, it is a must that your curriculum vitae is the best.  Too many ODs are satisfied with a mediocre CV which communicates they are satisfied with a mediocre career.  Don’t let your career be mediocre, give yourself the best chance for success.

Comparison below of a Curriculum Vitae vs. Resume

Optometrist quoted in Wall Street Journal (WSJ)

  By Chad Fleming | January 9, 2013 - 12:15 pm |
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It is always exciting to see when optometry is represented on the national scene.  As an OD, you like to see that your profession is respected and referenced when it comes to eye care and the patients you serve.  It was my privilege to be interviewed by Louise Radnofsky of the WSJ.  Due to copyright laws, I was unable to post the complete article here, but for those interested in viewing the complete article it can be found on page A3 of the Tuesday, January 8, 2013 print version or by following the link at the end of this post.

 

 

This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser or click on link.  (Please note for non-subscribers of the WSJ, this link is only good for 1 wk)

 http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424127887323706704578227902858649758-lMyQjAxMTAzMDAwODEwNDgyWj.html?mod=wsj_valettop_email

3 improvements our optometry practice must make in 2013

  By Chad Fleming | December 27, 2012 - 8:00 am |
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One discipline that I have incorporated over the last couple of years occurs at the end of each year.  It is the discipline of celebrating the previous “wins” and goal setting for the future.  This discipline has been utilized by many successful professionals for years but this discipline did not have an impact on me until about 3 years ago.  During a Saturday morning conversation with my mentor, he discussed the impact that a year in review for his life was.  When he mentioned it I was intrigued immediately as I am a firm believer that reflective thinking is a key component to all successful leaders.  If my words are not convincing enough, check out the book Consider for some of the most powerful steps and examples of reflective thinking and our countries leadership.  Before this Saturday was over I had a clear understanding the importance of documenting my current year’s accomplishments and setting written goals for the next year.

As we reach the end of 2012, it is a good idea as eye doctors and leaders of an optometry practice to reflect upon what areas of the practice need the most improvement.  In my opinion, these are the areas we need to focus on in 2013.

  1. Cross-training staff:  This maybe one of the most debilitating areas of our practice.  We have struggled with setting aside time to train staff in the office to do other jobs throughout the office.  The first area to attack is the doctor’s assistants.  There are many balls that get dropped when one of the assistants is sick.  We typically run a little behind and we adjust by cutting out some of the “not so necessary” testing, like color vision and stereo.  If we had appropriately cross-trained staff then this would not be the case.  In 2013, we are committed to taking the time to cross-train and then allow the staff to go through the learning curve without the repercussions of making a mistake.  It is difficult to allow someone to learn when it is not forced upon you, like having to replace a staff member.
  2. Coding appropriately:  It is no mystery that optometrists can tend to code 99213 as though it is the only E/M CPT code.  With the addition of electronic medical records, the coding has become mostly automated.  A number of the EHRs have coding systems built-in that allows us, the doctor or professional coder, to code the correct CPT.  Unfortunately, we play the mental chess game that we do not want to bill a 99214 because we “think” that exposes us to litigation from the insurance companies.  Therefore, we think that the diabetic patient who came in with decreased vision and a red-eye was a relatively easy diagnosis so the level of complexity is noted as low.  If we would just follow the guidelines in 2013 our gross collected would increase without any increase in patient visits AND our coding would be more accurate.
  3. Compliment Staff:  It seems as though mistakes have the loudest voice of all staff actions throughout a typical day.  I have discovered that in the passion of leadership there are times when days go by without giving any of the staff or other doctors compliments.  The type of compliments that I am discussing are sincere compliments of gratitude and appreciation for a job well done.  It is easy for myself and the other two partners to focus on the areas of the office that are lagging behind.  Maybe a staff member was late ordering a dispensary job which results in a 2 week delay and the patient requests a refund.  Even though we do not hear this very often, we tend to believe that this is always happening and that the individual who dropped the ball or lab that dropped the ball always drops the ball.  Not a day should go by without telling a staff member or colleague something you appreciate about them.  In 2013, there will be many more genuine compliments given.

There are many more areas that our office could improve on in 2013.  Tomorrow I will think about 5 more that I wish I could add to the list.  What area would you like to see the most improvement on in your office?  Maybe your comments could be the catalyst that sets another office in the right direction to growth and improvement in 2013.

Associate Wishes She Would Have Chosen Production Based Pay

  By Chad Fleming | September 12, 2012 - 11:00 am |
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(Thank you to Ashley Blasi, O.D., for the guest post below)

My first associate position after graduating optometry school offered me a straight salary with benefits.  I was thrilled to be actually making a paycheck after eight years of going into debt and really did not think twice about any negotiation. A couple of years later an amazing opportunity was presented to me to join a different practice as an associate. I was excited to accept the position and eager to start but I first needed to make the decision on how I was going to be paid.

 

My advice: DO YOUR RESEARCH. I had the option of taking a straight salary or a percentage of my production. It is typical for a practice to pay 18-20% of gross collected and a healthy practice to pay upwards of 24-26% of gross collected. The contract was renewed yearly and I could change my mind after the first year. This was a very difficult and scary decision. That black cloud of school debt needed to go away ASAP. Obviously, you want to pick the option that rewards you the best. But how do you know?

Here are a couple of questions to ask before making your decision . . .

  1. Is the practice willing to schedule the majority of new patients with you? Yes favors PRODUCTION
  2. Ask the practice to see a copy of the schedule and pay special attention to how many new patients are scheduled. Also, look to see how far out the other doctors are booked.  Light Schedules (<1-2wks booked out) favors STRAIGHT SALARY
  3. Ask the receptionist how many new appointments they schedule on average per week? >10 favors PRODUCTION, 5-10 moderate risk for you, <5 go with STRAIGHT SALARY
  4. Where do most of the new patients come from? (online, word of mouth, friends or family of other patients) – The more removed the new patients are from the existing doctors the more likely they will accept the new doctor (i.e. – someone doing online search more likely to see the new doctor than a family member of an existing patient)  >50% of new patients removed from existing doctors favors PRODUCTION.
  5. How many charts (paper or electronic) have one or two visits >2 years ago and they haven’t been back since? <20% indicates that once patient visits the practice they tend to stay, this favors PRODUCTION

Also, the partners of the practice probably have an estimate of how much you should be expected to take in (gross collected) each month. Calculate your estimated take home required for you to pay your bills if you chose the option of production.

After crunching numbers and asking a list full of questions, my Type A planner personality picked a straight salary for the first year. Three months later I wished I had chosen production. It was a no brainer to go straight production when my contract was up for renewal the second year.

Lesson learned:  Production does offer more risk but it also can offer a fantastic return.

Ashley Blasi, OD is an associate at Drs. Fisher, Yarrow and Fleming, Optometrists, in Wichita, KS.  She has been with the practice for close to three years.  She is a success story of finding the perfect practice match and enjoying the fruits of a great contract.

Hiring Optometry Office Staff

  By Chad Fleming | August 1, 2012 - 11:29 pm | ,
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There are 5 questions that you should ask to find the perfect optometry staff member that will lead to a long-term high quality employee.  This is a statement that we want to believe but the truth is, you can have a great online posting, the best screening system, and the perfect interview questions, and you may still end up with an unsuccessful employee.  Hiring the right people is difficult and sometimes feels impossible.  If you search this topic on the internet you will find all kinds of advice for hiring.  Our optometry practice has found that character trumps all qualities and finding character is more than the questions you ask.  You can teach competence and you can coach chemistry, but you can not teach or coach character.  Below you will not find the magical questions for hiring good staff but you will find what works for us.

We first use an online application for screening potential employees because resumes hold little value and cover letters can be crafted from many online helps tools.

Online screening: (all applicants must go to our online application and submit answers to three questions below)

  1. In 150 words or less, tell us why we should hire you.
  2. What do you find is important in choosing a healthcare provider?
  3. In your work history, give one example of exceptional customer service that you were responsible for.

We receive the submissions via email and screen for spelling, punctuation, and well thought out answers.  If they pass this initial screening we request a 15 minute in office interview.

In office interview

  1. Why did you apply?
  2. What is an optometrist?
  3. Would you consider yourself detailed?  If so, why?
  4. Why should we hire you?
  5. What else should we know about you?

There are no perfect questions and those claiming that they have the perfect questions are just narcissistic.  The questions are never the key, it is the ability to get the interviewed to communicate why they are the best person for the job and why you should hire them.  If an individual can not sell themselves to you then how are they going to sell your office to potential patients, how are they going to communicate to patients, doctors, and other staff, or how are they going to sell product in the optical dispensary?  With today’s vast resources available at our fingertips, the answers to the most popular interview questions are only a click away.  So don’t spend your time looking for all the right questions to ask which result in all the pat answers, spend your time writing down the character qualities, staff culture (chemistry), and the competence required for the position.  Once you know what you want the questions become less relevant.

The above method usually narrows the options down to a potential staff hire of 2-5 individuals which we bring back for a 2nd interview.  The 2nd interview will be described in more detail in future blog posts.  Sign up to our RSS feed or by email to get follow-up posts.

Optometry Practice distracted by Social Media?

  By Chad Fleming | July 18, 2012 - 9:43 am |
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If you are not interactive and involved in social media your practice is going to die!  With the most recent buzz in small business marketing you may feel like your practice is suffering because you do not have a Facebook page or you do not have any reviews on Yelp.  Or maybe you Google “optometrist” and your name is on page 10 out of 10 pages for your local area.  There is a misnomer in optometric business that we follow the traditional lines of normal business practices.  Now I do believe that it is important for a practice to gain a social footprint but I do not believe that the impact is as strong as some believe.  The most important marketing you will ever do is in the exam room.  Whether you are on Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yelp or the like, the spoken word by a friend or relative is still the most powerful business builder of all.  Take a minute to examine your time management and see if you are spending the appropriate time on the most powerful stuff to build your practice.  A book on How Doctors Think is possibly the book you should be reading instead of What the Plus, Google+.

 Leave comments regarding your best management book recommendations.

3 key players all Optometrists must have

  By Chad Fleming | July 6, 2012 - 9:24 pm | ,
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Many of us have aspired to play golf at the highest level of the PGA tour, yet we find that breaking into the single digit handicap is much more difficult than the professionals make it look on television.  As with any business, sport, or profession there is always more to being successful then what appears on the surface.  To be the best, you must be surrounded by the best.  In golf the golfer is the one that gets all the accolades for their accomplishments, but it is more than the golfer that makes him or her successful.  What do all the top money leaders on the PGA tour have in common?  Great caddies.  It is no secret on tour that your caddy can make the difference between 100th in the world and 1st in the world.  Caddies are experts in different types of grass, experts in reading greens, experts in the dynamics of wind and rain, experts in crowd control, they are doing all the little things as the professional golfer focuses on putting a good swing on the ball.  Just like a top money leader on the PGA tour needs a great caddie, so does an optometrist looking to buy or sell a practice.  Many practice transitions have failed because the right team members were not in place to create success.  Here are the 3 most important team members any optometrist must have in buying or selling a practice.

  1. Financial Advisor – A good financial advisor will make sure that the seller has the necessary funds in place to support their retirement.  She will also ensure the buyer can afford to purchase the practice based on life goals.  She will assist the buyer in making sure they get off to a great start in money management.  She will relieve the buyer or seller of the pressures of managing their 401k, investment properties, college funds, and savings goals.  The optometrist is most effective and efficient practicing optometry.
  2. CPA –  A good certified public accountant will assess the financial health of the practice to determine if now is a good time to buy or sell.  He will direct the buyer and seller regarding the tax implications of a stock transaction or a cash transaction.  The tax laws are always changing and an accountant that keeps up will save you money as he adapts to the changes that occur in small business taxes, not to mention keeping you out of trouble with the IRS.
  3. Attorney – Not all attorneys are created equal and with that, I would highly recommend that you interview an attorney that you are considering.  Your attorney must know the laws associated with small business and understand medical business.  A good attorney will be the seal for ensuring a healthy relationship between the buyer and seller.  Practice transitions are not always smooth so you must be proactive in putting all the verbal discussion into writing.  As communication increases through good contracts, the likelihood of a smooth win-win practice transition goes up.

I have been guilty of believing that with enough studying and asking others questions I could do almost anything on my own. As a previously competitive golfer at a high level, I have played tournaments with caddies and I have played without them.  The caddy always gave me the extra edge that I needed to raise my game to the next level and put my name on the leader board.  If you want to lead in the profession of optometry business then build a team that will take you to the next level.

Please leave comments recommending good “players” in your area of the country that other optometrists would benefit from knowing.

How to Land a Good Optometry Job

  By Chad Fleming | June 27, 2012 - 10:52 am |
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Thank you to Joy Maiywa for her guest post today at OptometryCEO.com.

Today, there are many available resources for looking for a job. However, finding the ideal job will require you to not only have the right qualifications, but also to conduct a thorough research of the available job opportunities in your preferred field of work. Bigger search criteria will increase your chances of landing a good job with a good employer. To do this, however, you must broaden your search preference and resources.

Many job opportunities for board passers are available in varying fields of study around the world. The field of medicine in particular is experiencing an increased demand for qualified professionals due to various reasons including workforce constraints, which continue to have a big impact on health and the economy. Optometry is an important branch of medicine, and is therefore very much in demand by patients around the world who are suffering from various eye-related diseases including glaucoma, cataracts, night blindness, and many more. By looking into various job search resources, an optometrist can land a good job that matches his or her qualifications.

Some resources you can use for searching for an optometry job that meets your qualifications include people recommendations, classified ads and job fairs. This said, one of the best places to easily and effectively find prospective jobs is through the Internet. Many big industries and companies prefer to post their available job opportunities online. This increases their chances of landing qualified candidates and makes it easy to evaluate and contact them. By simply searching for optometry job opportunities, you will come across various websites that detail the available opportunities in various locations. By looking into the details of each job, you will be able to determine which one to apply for and which one to ignore. The employer’s contact information will enable you to quickly and easily apply for a desired job. However, like any other job search, persistence is key to achieving the desired position.

Because there is a constant increase in the demand for health care or medicine related work opportunities, a lot of agencies that advertise jobs in this field have also increased in number. It is therefore possible to find websites that advertise specific health care jobs. This means that you can search for particular posts, such as jobs for nurses and optometry job vacancies, and find specific websites that specialize in these jobs. You can also tailor your search to meet your preference, for example, optometry jobs in Kansas City. Through these websites, hospitals, medical centers and other global businesses can publicize their work opportunities and give qualified professionals an opportunity to contact them. These resources offer immense help to job seekers around the world.

Job search over the Internet is a resourceful tool for an optometry graduate trying to land a stable and rewarding job to start off their career. In addition, it saves a lot of energy, money and time while doing so.

Joy Maiywa is a professional freelance writer and blogger. She has worked with clients from different fields including technology, education, health, and business and entrepreneurship. She contributes to Degree Jungle online rankings, a resource for college students.

Success in the Chaos of Optometry Practice

  By Chad Fleming | June 21, 2012 - 5:34 pm | ,
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From the first day of clinic we were taught the importance of communication in the exam room.

As a doctor you must have information from the patient regarding the reason for their visit.  They have an eye problem, you have a solution.  It is that simple yet so many of us begin to miss the fundamentals of practice.  The fundamental of the chief complaint.  The space in our minds that the chief complaint resides soon gets filled with staff management issues, patients that can’t see out of their new glasses, the guy in the reception area with the foreign body writhing in pain, the office Facebook page just received a not so positive comment, the 3 y.o. that just threw up in the other exam lane, and the radiologist on the phone reporting that the suspected lesion is a pituitary adenoma.  No way could this happen in one day and at one time.  For many of you this is a day in the life of an eye doctor.  With all of this going on around you it is imperative that you do not miss the chief complaint of the patient right in front of you.  When you miss the chief complaint you miss the whole purpose of the visit.

In the midst of all the chaos, the chief complaint remains the secret to a thriving optometry practice.  Leave a comment about life as an OD balancing priorities in practice.