Sue Downes, CEO, MyEyeDr.
VIENNA, Va.—Foresight and planning. Systems that track, evaluate, anticipate and scale. Marketing and product selection that emphasizes both the patient and the customer. Software—some collaborations, some home-grown—that measure and identify trends and patterns. Digital tools which help acquire new patents and build bonds and traction with existing patients. Regional teams and groups that meet, talk, cross-train and share wins, improve any misses.

This is only a top-line description of the approaches being taken by the leadership and manager teams at MyEyeDr., today one of the fastest-growing businesses in the U.S., with approximately 325 locations, and projections targeting 500 by the end of next year. The company in calendar year 2016 operated 310 locations which generated estimated revenue of $411 million, placing the group as number 7 in the annual Vision Monday ranking of Top U.S. Optical Retailers.

From its start in 2001 with one doctor and one location, through its rapid growth and its recent escalation with leading partner investors (see sidebar, page 16), MyEyeDr. embraces a “Total Vision Care Concept, where the group provides for all aspects of vision care: eye exams, contact lenses, eyeglasses, sunglasses, and medical eye-care services.”

It’s a company that anticipated its infrastructure to onboard newcomers quickly, analyze and further build out systems to oversee both managed care and inventory and operations.

CEO Sue Downes said, “We look at focusing on the patient experience through three pillars, like a stool with three legs, all needed for balance. One is health care, engaging the patient and using technology to make the patient experience even better. We create a MyVision Wellness Plan and talk about the meaning of that. On the retail pillar we build a complete solution, we welcome all insurances and we have fine-tuned how to maximize patients’ benefits and improve practice profitability.

“And practice management, how we monitor and operate is distinctive. Our point of sale system makes insurance calculations easy, we bring best practices and back office support on many levels from IT to financing and HR so that we have the data to manage things.”

The MyEyeDr. senior team brings a mixture of optical professional, marketing and business skills to the group ranging from finance to systems and logistics. (L to R) David Sheffer, chief growth officer; Jim Durkin, COO; Angela McCoy, EVP business operations; Joe Sherrier, VP culture and talent; Dr. Artis Beatty, chief medical officer; Sue Downes, CEO; Dr. Florian Safner, VP professional services; Kermit Littlefield, chief information officer; Diane Vaccaro, chief marketing officer; Neil Collier, VP operations; Bob Teixeira, CFO; and Billy Murray, director acquisition strategy and analytics.
Today, MyEyeDr.’s home office departments (about 340 people) span real estate and facilities, product strategy and distribution, operations, HR, finance, IT, marketing and professional services. They are part of a multi-state organization with more than 3,200 associates, nearly 2,400 regional and field associates and some 510 doctors—as of today.

In a visit with Vision Monday, Downes, and Angela McCoy, EVP business operations, and Artis Beatty, OD, chief medical officer, toured a group of different MyEyeDr. practices, sharing a peek at the company’s communications center, which serves patients and offices to keep things moving and add a dimension of service and support that are not the norm in the U.S. optical business.

In the arena of managed vision care, MyEyeDr.’s systems process some 150,000+ claims filed monthly, monitoring the ins and outs and reimbursements/benefits of some 150+ insurance contracts and the teams to handle the contracting, connectivity, medical and vision claims and credentialing necessary to make it all work. Medical and vision claims processes and administration are very different but MyEyeDr. has built its proprietary expertise to help them all work.

The company’s communications center in Virginia averages more than 4,000 calls per week, answering the phones for some locations directly; others routed via 1-800 numbers. That team is trained and familiar with patients as well as practice particulars so that a clear and genuine interaction can occur with callers. The office and the center speak the same language.

This type of support for its offices ensures that by the time the patient walks in for their appointments at a location, there is much more time for interaction with the doctor for comprehensive eye exams and then more time to be spent in the retail side of the office to discuss frame, lens and contact lens options.

McCoy said, “This reinforces that practice management leg of the stool. And while each office is different, our approach to systems and measurement is consistent, which helps everyone deliver the best experience. “

Noted Downes, “We spend a lot of time analyzing how to make systems work and how to move the data back and forth so that it’s meaningful.”

Looking ahead, Downes said, “We discuss among us all the time: how we provide eyecare today may not be how we can provide eyecare in the future. We as a business but as an industry, too, need to make it more about eye health in such a way that the patient feels part of it. And that in addition to their exam and how they’re educated about that, they feel confident about the purchases they make and understand the technology of it.

“We see today that patient education hasn’t changed fast enough on the eye health side, overall, but consumers’ education about fashion and product is changing more rapidly. We believe that if we marry an incredible doctor exam experience with a strong and appealing retail experience, we can continue to retain, attract and grow our patient base.”