Starting a Practice

I’ve been working on an article for AOA News regarding location analysis.  Below is an excerpt from the article with some very practical tips for making your dream a reality.  The complete article will be published in the May or June issue of the AOA News.

Key components of location analysis.

1. Decide where to practice (family considerations, school, church, job opportunities for spouse, small town, medical emphasis, VT emphasis, etc.)
2. After narrowing down the cities/towns to 3-5 then evaluate the number of surrounding optometrists  (OD) for your location
   1. The analysis should factor in age of practicing ODs and any niche they may have.  This will give you a clearer understanding of your competition.  If 5 optometrists are in the area and they are all over age 60 and you are 28-32, then you just found yourself a great practice opportunity.
   2. I would recommend by starting with Google maps, searching “optometrists in City, State,” and then draw a 3 mile, 5 mile, and 10 mile radius circle around your location.  Use a “screen capture” or clipping feature for the map.  Evernote is a great tool for this.  Also, there is a great free program called Skitch that works great for drawing on an image capture from your internet browser of the map results of what city you Googled.
3. Research demographics and population statistics
   1. The demographic information on the Chamber of Commerce website should indicate the population base within those various areas.  The average household income and average age of the area are also key characteristics to match your interests and the best location.  Then note how many optometrists are practicing within your circles and compare population to number of optometrists.  A single full-time OD needs approximately 5000-7000 people to support their practice. (reference Business Aspects of Optometry)
   2. The Chamber website should also help with: average household income, schools nearby (age range of nearby schools, average age of children per household), residential or commercial area (patients like convenience), surrounding insurance plans utilized by companies in area (email/visit HR departments), age of practicing ODs around area (30 y.o. optometrist attracts patients +/- 10 years of age)