EYECARE: Optometry VSPs Premier to Incorporate More Choice Options for Patients and Providers By Marge Axelrad Monday, November 14, 2016 12:14 AM RELATED CONTENT Board Chair Daniel Mannen, OD and CEO Jim McGrann Outline VSP Global’s Goals for ‘Patient Access’ VSP Global at a Glance Daniel Mannen, OD, FAAO, chairman of VSP Global addresses nearly 360 attendees, including doctors and senior practice staff members, at the recent SHIFT (Shaping the Future Together) meeting for long-time Premier providers. NEW YORK—According to VSP’s top execs, the VSP Global Premier Program provides doctors with opportunity for more patient flow and more ways to increase revenue. “The program gives VSP members a patient-centered experience that maximizes their benefits. Practices that participate have access to exclusive offers, increased visibility on vsp.com, and marketing support to help them reach more patients.” Today, there are approximately 3,600 Premier practices in the program. Here are some highlights: Current Stats on the VSP Global Premier Program (As of Oct. 2016) • 3,600 Premier practice locations. • Practices with the Premier Program indicator are averaging 2.5 times more clicks than those without. • Practices with the Premier Program indicator are averaging 31 percent new VSP patients while other VSP practices are averaging 20 percent. • 9 out of 10 VSP patients said they would return to the same Premier practice. The Premier program targets/criteria vary by practice size, with different targets set for practices with one, two, three or more locations. The primary targets for practices include specific net sales, in different dollar amounts, of Marchon/Altair frames, Unity lens purchases and the submission of Eye Health Management data. More recently, last May, VSP kicked off Premier Design Thinking Workshops to engage doctors participating in the Premier Program and listen to their ideas on how to make it more valuable to them. More than 300 doctors and their staff in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Anaheim and Los Angeles participated. The sessions challenged participants to explore how the Premier Program can better support and strengthen private practice to thrive in the market of the future. One of the main pieces of feedback from participants was the need for more choice for both provider and patients. Doctors participating in the Premier Program have expressed the need for more choice for their practices, including unique and exclusive offers that help them compete. VSP research shows that consumers, including VSP members, are also looking for opportunities for more choice and value, ranking discounts and promotions among the most important decision-making features. In order to bring more choice and higher-value experiences for VSP members and those practices, VSP is looking at partnerships to meet those needs. As a result, starting last month, Premier has partnered with Essilor to offer an exclusive rebate to VSP members on select Essilor lenses and coatings available at all Premier locations. VSP members can take advantage of rebates for as much as $35 (depending on the combination) on the following Essilor products: Varilux with Smart Blue Filter, Crizal, Transitions and Eyezen. Jim McGrann, VSP’s president and CEO said, “More partnership opportunities like this effort with Essilor will be evaluated for the Premier Program to support provider choice and member value. The Essilor offer is the newest example of non-VSP products/supplier offers to be included in Premier. Premier Practices already have access to exclusive offers from CareCredit, Bausch + Lomb, and Optovue.