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Job of the week

Contact Lens Dispensing

June 14, 2011 12:04 AM




 
Steven Loomis, OD
Mark Kruchen, OD
Kent Yount, OD
Tara Peterson, OD
Mountain Vista EyeCare and
Dry Eye Center
www.visionsource-mountainvistaeyecare.com
Littleton, Colorado

“What is good for the patient, is good for the practice.”

Strong leadership and staying connected within the profession through organized optometry have been the hallmark strengths of this practice which was started by Steven Loomis, OD, in 1981. A former Optometrist of the Year in 1993 and a member of the American Optometric Association, Loomis has surrounded himself with equally high-powered colleagues, including Mark Kruchen, OD, and partners Kent Yount, OD, and Tara Peterson, OD.

Today, the single location practice with 16 employees has set itself apart by focusing on training staff and embracing new technologies. Peterson said careful electronic tracking of contact lens inventory keeps tabs on new products, rebates and discounts with CLs account for nearly 25 percent of the practice’s business. “We’ve seen growth due to the use of daily disposables and the pediatric patient and young professionals are our main markets,” Peterson said.

In addition, Mountain Vista EyeCare is part of a study group with nine other practices that share ideas on staff, products and managed vision care—all part of an effort “to learn from others’ successes.” Peterson said.

 
RAJEEV RAGHU, OD
Solo Private Practice
The Eye Center at Jackson
www.theeyecenteratjackson.com
Jackson, New Jersey

“We are committed to providing state-of-the-art, patient focused eyecare. Our promise to our patients is to ensure a positive environment consisting of honesty and ethics.”

Rajeev Raghu, OD, has remained at the forefront of contact lens practitioners for 12 years by knowing that the “science in the box” is not the only thing that matters to patients. “We are completely, unconditionally focused on the individual needs of our patients from the moment they see our website, to meeting us in person, through their entire exam and selection,” Raghu said.

For Raghu, named New Jersey’s Young Optometrist of the Year in 2006, up-to-date technology and a sophisticated office atmosphere set the practice apart. “In addition to being completely paperless, we have the new VisiOffice from Essilor, a computer-based system that measures the patients’ pupillary distance, segment height and equates facial contouring into the digital lens. We spent extra time on staff training and had patients waiting in line to get their eyes measured.”

Raghu, along with his eight-person support staff, takes pride in being “patient-focused.” He cites the economic downturn as an opportunity to offer premium products. “We implemented a financing program for our patients, whereby they can pay for glasses or CLs over a 3- or 6-month period. Patients love that they can still buy the best and pay over time,” Raghu said.

 
STEVEN WILSON, OD
Owner
Wilson Eye Center
www.wilsoneyecenter.com
Valdosta, Georgia

“Customer service, attention to detail and hard work result in success.”

In 1981, when Steven Wilson, OD, hung out his shingle he had one employee and was facing an economy that boasted 11 percent unemployment rate and 21 percent interest rates. Some 30 years later, the shifting economy is still presenting challenges but Wilson’s story has taken a more positive trajectory. Now in its 30th year of practice, Wilson Eye Center has grown to become a 5-OD group practice with 35 employees spanning 12 exam rooms, a Lasik suite, state-of-the-art optical lab and a dispensary featuring over 5,000 designer frames.

“All inventory is bar-coded so we can track what’s selling and gain better control of frame, spectacle lens and contact lens inventory with specific target goals in each category, all monitored on a monthly basis,” Wilson said.

Wilson has strived to increase office efficiencies which today include integrated insurance, exam, and material codes via automated spreadsheet allowing for more efficient coding and billing.

The most recent practice booster is Wilson’s “branding” baby, the “EyePod” (Personal Optical Delivery) program featuring free home delivery of contact lenses and eyeglasses. “We purchased a car and custom wrapped it with our name and logo. It’s proven to be a big hit offering great customer service and brand recognition that allows us to effectively compete with mail order CLs,” he said.


 
NANCY WOJCIK, OD
Senior Managing Director
LensCrafters
www.lenscrafters.com
Arlington Heights, Illinois

“Patients don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. My patients return to my practice because we demonstrate the best car anywhere.”

Senior managing director Nancy Wojcik, OD, has been a mainstay at the LensCrafters in Arlington Heights for some 25 years and credits a loyal patient following for much of her success. Being in a corporate optometric setting, the practice is open seven days a week with plenty of evening appointments. “I know being there when the patients need us helps to drive customers in our doors,” she said.

In 1985, Wojcik was one of the first optometrists to make daily disposable contact lenses her lens of choice. “I have always wanted to use the newest, best products for my patients so when dailies came out, while it was a huge change from conventional contacts, it just made sense—a fresh clean lens every day and it was so easy for the patient. From my perspective there was nothing healthier, and there still isn’t.”

Today, this suburban-based LensCrafters is a high volume contact lens practice specializing in dailies, torics, multi-focals and gas permeable CLs. As a participant in one of LensCrafters’s trial study committees, Wojcik is able to try out new CL products to see how she and her patients like them.

“I see contact lenses as a lifestyle choice offering me an opportunity to try and meet patients’ other needs, such as sunwear and eyeglasses,” she said. But it’s the personal touch with her patients that has enabled Wojcik to survive the recent ups and downs of the economy. “My practice has grown by the personal attention we provide to our patients and our focus on making a personal connection with everyone who comes into our office.”