ATLANTA, Ga.—How to reach people who normally do not access vision care services?

Solo Health’s EyeSite is a self-service eye health awareness and new patient-generating kiosk that provides eye health information and makes recommendations to schedule a “complete eye examination” with a local eyecare professional (ECP), based on the users’ results and history. Noted Bart Foster, CEO and founder, “In today’s era of consumer-driven healthcare decisions, this public service puts consumers in the driver’s seat to take the first step toward pursuing visual health.”

Prospective patients answer a series of questions on a touch screen. The vision test takes less than three minutes.

The kiosk also provides relevant eye health messages based on a prospective patient’s responses to various questions. For example, someone who is African-American and more than 40 years old might receive the message, “Did you realize that you are five to seven times more likely to have glaucoma?” These messages and eye exam recommendations will be summarized in a Vision Test Report that patients take home with them.

Schaeffer Eye Center is using kiosks in Birmingham, Ala.

Foster emphasizes, the EyeSite kiosk is not a diagnostic device. An example of the Vision Test Report can be found on www.solo-health.com/report.

SoloHealth has two business models: One is based on manufacturer sponsorship where manufacturers lease a number of units for one year and have exclusive control over the advertising content and ECP referral listings. Kiosks are placed in grocery stores, drug stores, malls and large employers. Transitions, Optos, and other optical companies have joined forces to deploy 30 EyeSite kiosks in St. Louis.

Another approach is eyecare practitioner sponsorship where ECPs lease a number of units and have exclusive control over the advertising content and ECP referral listing. ECPs may choose to work with their vendor partners and use co-op money to support the EyeSite fees.

Schaeffer Eye Center in Birmingham, Ala. is using a number of EyeSite kiosks in local supermarkets to promote all 13 of their locations. Schaeffer told VM, “Schaeffer Eye Center has always taken a community centered approach to advertising and marketing and Solo Health serves the ideal partner. Solo Health has built a first-class eye screening device that is attractive to patients. The device also serves as a mobile high tech representative of Schaeffer Eye Center. During tests, over 120,000 people have used the EyeSite kiosks in Atlanta over the past 6 months with only 12 kiosks installed. ■