Practice Management

A new service wants to bring the staffing and hiring best practices from some of the most successful companies in the world to eye care.

What does it mean to have a premium practice? What does premium customer service deliver? These are common questions posed to medical practices and businesses as they seek out advice on how to thrive in today’s ever-competitive environment.

Several years ago, our office was facing a space crunch. We were out of room for our charts. We’d used every spare inch of available floor space for cabinets, and those cabinets were full.

The decision to own your own optometric practice is likely one of the biggest decisions you have made in your lifetime. And the decisions you will make regarding your exit strategy will most likely be just as challenging and possibly even more difficult.

The landscape of cataract surgery has changed rapidly-first with premium intraocular lenses (IOLs) and now additional refractive cataract options such as laser-assisted cataract surgery (LACS) and intraoperative aberrometry.

Katie Gilbert Spear, OD, MPH, and April Jasper, OD, FAAO, have found a way to succed in the face of managed vision care challenges and shared some tips at a presentation during SECO.

During a presentation at SECO, Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD, outlined 10 common practice management mistakes that are affecting your patients’ experience and your bottom line.

During a presentation at SECO, Adam Parker, OD, shared his advice for using mobile payment apps at an optometric practice.

When you’re caring for your patients and running your practice from day to day, legal protection may not be at the front of your mind, but there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your practice from litigation.

“How do you give raises to your staff?” This is a common question among ODs. I have learned after several years of working with eyecare practices that we are all over the place in how we compensate our staffs.

Many eyecare providers use some type of electronic health records (EHR) system by now. I also realize that almost all eyecare providers seem to have complaints about whatever system they use and quite a few would prefer to go back to paper charts.

A Vancouver optometrist has accused online review website Yelp of extortion, according to The Globe and Mail.

A recent report from Accenture says two thirds of U.S. health systems will offer self-scheduling services online by 2019.

The new rule in Tennessee has reignited a debate across the country about similar rules creating a separation-both physical and professional-between ODs and retail spaces.

Check out our most-read stories of the whole year.

We recently asked some ODs what they think are the biggest challenges facing the profession in 2015 and beyond. Here’s our list of seven challenges-and we think all are important.

You can be the best clinician in the world, but if you cannot effectively run a business, you are likely to struggle. Having the right office manager is a key part of that success.

I will tell you, though, my residency year was the most fun I’ve had as an optometrist. I worked the hardest and most hours I’ve ever worked in my life, but man, did it fly by. And when it was all over, I didn’t recognize the same young punk who started the residency.

I believe that residencies give an opportunity to catapult us into our careers. When approached with the right mindset and the fortitude to work your tail off, you will be surprised what one more year of training can bring you. Rarely do we get a guarantee in life, but I’ll give you one here: When you set out to crush it, are willing to work hard, are flexible, and consider failure as a learning opportunity, you are guaranteed to succeed.

A year and a half after the Think About Your Eyes campaign launched to bring attention to the need for regular eye exams, the campaign is seeing results thanks to support from industry partners.

While millions of people hit up the big box stores to grab the best deals on Black Friday, this Saturday is for the locals as communities across the country celebrate Small Business Saturday.

Seems like everyone is focusing on baby boomers as they enter a new phase of their lives, but vision in particular is a big topic. And why wouldn’t it be? What is more critical to healthy aging than maintaining healthy vision?

One of the most stressful days in a person's life is the first day on a new job. If you remember the first day at your current job, you can probably remember the discomfort of walking into an unfamiliar place, not knowing where to put your stuff, and being nervous that you may have made a big mistake by accepting this job.

During the American Academy of Optometry’s Academy 2014, Hector C. Santiago, OD, PhD, dean of the college of optometry at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, said he believes cultural competence “will drive success in the new face of America.”

A recent report from business research firm IBISWorld ranked optometry as one of the top industries for women. The firm analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a database of more than 700 industry reports to identify six industries that offer unique employment advantages for women, characterized by strong growth in revenue and employment, particularly in the number of female workers.

The International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition (ICD-10) code is scheduled for implementation in the U.S. on Oct. 1, 2015-less than a year from now. Many optometric practices will likely be unprepared and therefore at risk for serious claim-filing and cash flow problems, according to Rebecca Wartman, OD, the American Optometric Association's (AOA) point person on ICD-10.

The discussion of providing Saturday office hours can rile a group of ODs like few other topics. In the non-healthcare world, Saturdays are revered as a day off from the daily grind and a chance to spend time with family and friends.

During the Global Contact Lens Forum at Vision Expo West, Jeffrey Sonsino, OD, FAAO, shared tips on how to establish a specialty contact lens practice.