RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—The VSP Global Premier Program is marking five years since its inception and the company is sharing new data about the program, including that it has grown to nearly 7,000 participating locations across the U.S. Designed to provide VSP network doctors with greater opportunity for more patient flow and increased revenue, the company stated, “the Premier Program also offers VSP members ways to make the most out of their benefits.” New data released by VSP shows that over 32 million patients have chosen a Premier participating practice location for their eyecare and eyewear needs over the past five years. With those milestones, VSP Global today is also announcing news of five new program sponsors who are being added to Premier, joining five previous sponsors.

“Premier participating practices are the core of the VSP network, allowing members to maximize their benefits and doctors the opportunity to grow their business,” said Mary Anne Murphy, OD, VSP Global board member. “In addition to VSP claim payments to doctors, more than $83 million has also been paid to participating doctors through the Premier Program’s offers since 2013. As the market evolves, so will the Premier Program with even greater enhancements and valuable products and services we know VSP members want and that also advantage the independent doctor.”

Of the more than 32 million patients who visited a Premier participating practice location in five years of the program, the data also revealed that over 15 million of them were new patients.

“We’ve heard from doctors that they want more choice and exclusive offers to help their practices differentiate and compete,” continued Dr. Murphy. “Based on that feedback, we are pleased to share that the Premier Program has added five new sponsors, complete with best-in-market value and benefits designed to help practices differentiate themselves.”

New sponsors of the program offer Premier practices special discounts and other services and include eyewear suppliers WestGroupe, Modo and Fatheadz along with Weave, a patient communication system and Abyde, a HIPAA compliance software company.

The five new sponsors join renewing Premier Program sponsors, which include: Zeiss, Bausch + Lomb, CareCredit, Optovue, and Staples Business Advantage. Premier Program sponsors offer a range of special offerings and services, explained here.

The new sponsors benefits programs are separate from the enrollment requirements for the Premier Program among VSP providers. Premier Program targets 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 one of the following: submitting Eye Health Management data, having Eyefinity EHR, or offering retinal imaging capability, the company explained to VMAIL.

In addition to exclusive offers, practices that participate in the Premier Program also benefit from increased visibility on VSP.com and marketing support to help them reach more patients. Data shows that practices with the Premier Program indicator are averaging 2.5 times more clicks than those without, VSP said.