AOA 2026: Integrating AI into everyday eye care practice

For independent optometrists, artificial intelligence is no longer a distant, futuristic concept — it's a practical tool already reshaping day-to-day practice. In this Q&A, Jessilin Quint, OD, MBA, MS, FAAO, breaks down how ODs in small group practices can put AI to work right now, from streamlining continuing education and staff training to automating front-desk communication and financial analysis. She also addresses where the technology carries risk, why clinical judgment must remain central, and what questions independent practitioners should be asking as they consider integrating AI into their businesses.

Transcript

Edited lightly for clarity and length.

For ODs who are in small group practices, how can AI right now make a difference for them?

Jessilin Quint, OD, MBA, MS, FAAO: I feel like in AI, we have these 3 buckets, and 1 bucket, which is more futuristic, more pipeline of the clinical side of how we can help diagnose patients early, maybe treatment plans maybe streamline a lot of data. Then I feel like there's this other bucket that's a little bit more applicable right now to, how can I be a better clinician? How can I take all of this research and development that's out, all of these amazing peer-reviewed journals, and streamline it to elevate my learning capability, so that I stay up to date, and I stay cutting edge? And then there's this third bucket, where we can use AI in everyday practice to really help amplify the patient experience, help staff education, communication, really just make the whole office experience just a lot more efficient, a lot more effective. So that's a really exciting time, because that's here. While some of it is still pipeline, it's stuff that we can use in our everyday life, regardless of the clinical setting, whether you're in a corporate setting, private practice, OD, MD, there's so many different facets that you can just really utilize at this point.

Outside of the imaging and diagnostics, specifically, where do you feel like ODs are maybe underutilizing these tools, and what do you think is maybe holding them back in some of those instances?

Quint: I think some of our colleagues are maybe underutilizing AI at this point, because it's an ever evolving landscape, and it is new, and there's not just 1 direct resource that you can go-to that tells you exactly how to apply. It is very much open-ended, and you have to almost just dip your toe in, and then you start seeing this evolution of all these different applications for it. So, my kind of advice is always just like, just get started, right. So, whether it's even something like Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, just even something like that, that's a good starting place, and then you can evolve. So, within my own application of AI and just everyday life, that's where it started, but now I'll use different programs like Hagin to make little avatars of myself to help with patient communication or different staff training or staff education.

Now it makes it to where I'm vetting different software programs. Like Addit, for example, has an AI front desk version that allows me to have somebody to answer the phone and talk with patients outside of hours, so that's not somebody necessarily like a real person that I have to have on payroll, but still allows me to take care of my patients in a very positive way. And so now I just look at all these different applications and software programs that we're already using. Is there like an AI component that can just help amplify, furthermore, what we're doing. So this is an evolving landscape. Of course, there's different legal and ethical and regulatory components that come with that, but I always just tell colleagues, “Think about just your average day. What are the components that are taking the most time that are the biggest time sucks, or the little inefficiencies? And is there a way to streamline that, whether it's like an AI scribe that patient communication?” There's every little facet you just have to sit down and analyze those little hiccup points, and then just start. Be open to trying something different. If it doesn't work, that's okay; pivot and try something else.

Do you think there are places where [AI] does create risk for a professional, where these are the things you need to be aware of, or at least literate in?

Quint: Yeah, that's a really great question. You know, I've always heard the phrase, and I wish I would have come up with this … is that: “AI will not replace doctors, but doctors using AI will replace doctors not using AI.” And I think that that's very true. AI is here to stay, and even though it's evolving landscape, we do have to get a little bit comfortable with that evolving landscape, and so on a lot of ways we have to be open to it, but being open to it means that we can apply it in the best, most transparent use. Be really aware of it, be really cognizant of the bias sometimes that can come with AI. AI has a lot of good things, of course. AI can have a lot of not so good things with that, and so we've seen both sides be really applicable, but I think on both of those, learning from that. What are the things where AI is not so fun? We deal with insurances, and sometimes my practice has [experienced], unfortunately … [when] AI says that we need to down code it, right, and then we have to appeal it and fight it and prove what we know. Yes, it's very much like a hiccup, and it's very annoying to do that, but the other side of that is that AI can allow us to do a lot more things.

The flip side of that is that I've been able to communicate with patients easier, I've been able to streamline a lot of processes. So with everything, there's probably always going to be a little bit of good and bad, but the bad stuff we just need to recognize, hopefully pivot, fight for our rights, what we know, what we value, our brain power. But I think that's very much also a lesson to, as docs, as these other pipeline things, clinically the decision-making part becomes clinically more applicable and more readily available. You still have to use your brain, right? Like the perfect combination is when a doctor uses their doctor brain in combination with AI. AI should not replace the doctor brain, that's where all the red flags are. So I think we just need to remember what we train so hard for. Remember the knowledge that we do have. Don't get lazy, let a machine think for you. Always question it, because the data that comes out of AI is only as good as the data that goes into [AI]. So always be screening it and vetting it to make sure that it does align.

We see sometimes with OCT, when we have an image, it'll give us like red, green, yellow colors. Well, we know as a doctor, never to diagnose off the colors. You have to look at the actual data that's there. So that's going to be the same thing with AI. It can really help amplify us, help augment us, but we have to make sure that we are vetting it appropriately, clearly, and then realizing that anything is going to have both pros and cons.

Are there are there questions that you wish you had asked at the beginning [when integrating AI into your practice], or do you have any advice for your fellow ODs out there who are maybe considering enabling some technology with AI?

Quint: I think as a small business owner, AI is really exciting, because sometimes where it's really tough to compete with these big corporate players is oftentimes when it comes down to financial resources. As a small business owner, those are just naturally a little bit more limiting, even if you have this really booming successful practice. So I think ways that I can save on payroll, that I can still keep my patients informed, that they know how to get in touch with me, like social media content, [reduces limitations]. I mean, sometimes these huge corporate groups have full-time staff on dedicated just towards that. That's really tough to do as a small business owner, but yet, our patients still expect us to have a social media presence online, and you have to create good content to be really relevant. And so I like using AI for those kinds of tools, even for the financial side; if you have an in-house financial person, that's great. Then, even if you have an MBA, sometimes it's always helpful to have like a financial consultant, and so even running like your financial statements, your P&L, through some version of AI, to [find] what patterns I am missing. What am I not seeing here? I think that AI can almost be like your little financial consultant now. Of course, vetted, and make sure that you know that that's applicable.

I grew up in a state that isn't anywhere near where I practice now, and so when I first moved here, it took me a little bit to start establishing relationships with other healthcare colleagues for those comanagement pieces. Part of one way that I did that is that I wrote a lot of patient letters to open up that line of communication that took a lot of time 10 years ago, and now I can use different resources to speed that up. And so now it takes 20 seconds for me to generate those letters. Now, of course, I'm vetting them, and of course, I have that human edit briefly passing over them. And, of course, never plug in patient identifiers and information directly into these AI resources, unless it's HIPAA compliant. I just think about all those little things that it really can just help you stay relevant, compete with these big practices.

Even though you might have some very limited financial resources, the beauty of AI right now is that a lot of it's very affordable, and so now's the perfect time to lean in and try it and see what really works for your practice. I think the exciting piece too is that now a lot of communication is coming out, different software platforms that are going to be integrating into our EHRs, like AI scribing and different tools like that. So get comfortable with it now, because even more applications are going to be here soon.