By David Schaeffer, OD, FAAO / Contributing Editor
Sunday, June 18, 2023 1:58 AM
It seems that nearly every year, contact lens manufacturers are trying to innovate and release new products to market, and this year is no different. Many of the products that have either recently launched or that are soon-to-launch are targeted at the growing presbyopic population.
By Joseph P. Shovlin, OD
Wednesday, June 22, 2022 1:29 AM
The first drop for presbyopia, Vuity (pilocarpine hydrochloride, Allergan), has recently gained FDA approval and has received much attention. It provides a pharmaceutical option beyond spectacles, contact lenses and surgery. The new drug is now readily available and easy to administer with fast onset and sufficient duration for most (about six hours). Even though this product has only been used for just a few months, reports have been positive.
By Mark Wright, OD and Bob Schulz, CEO, VisionOne Credit Union
Wednesday, April 1, 2020 8:15 AM
NEW YORK—If the pandemic has not impacted your practice yet, it’s just a matter of time until it does. One of your goals in a time of decreased revenue collected is to downsize expenses to avoid going negative on your practice cash flow. This specially designed spreadsheet is designed to help you achieve that goal. This article will show you how to use the spreadsheet to guide your practice not only in these difficult times but also as we climb back out of this problem.
By By Nikki Iravani, OD, of Santa Clara, California
Friday, January 31, 2020 12:19 PM
We took a new approach in hosting our trunk show at the end of last year, showing our appreciation by inviting patients to join us at Fleming's restaurant, which is located in our shopping center. We thought our patients would appreciate an invitation to a holiday champagne brunch at a nice restaurant versus bringing them back in our office as we've done in the past. As much as our patients like our office, it's still a nice change to be treated at a fine restaurant. The special format, which we advertised as a Sip + SEE, was well-received and a big success.
By By Miki Lyn Zilnicki, OD, FCOVD,
and Jessica Fulmer, OD, FAAO, FCOVD
Friday, January 17, 2020 10:22 AM
Social media is where many, if not most, of your patients spend vast amounts of personal time. You can leverage posts to sites like Facebook and Instagram to market to them where they already are, rather than hoping they open promotional e-mails or postal mail messages. Here’s how our practice, which has a vision therapy focus, and no optical retail business, uses social media to communicate with current, and prospective, patients.
By Naheed Ahmad, OD
Monday, December 16, 2019 12:00 AM
Driving home 19 years ago from my work at a wonderful private practice in the Atlanta area, I saw a sign for a Walmart Supercenter coming soon. Although my colleagues and the working experience at the private practice were wonderful, I wasn’t happy – personally or professionally. It was a difficult time in my life as I was a newly single mom to two daughters, and I needed more freedom and had to find a better way to work. I contacted the Walmart district manager and discussed the lease opening, but I didn’t tell him I was looking for a break. I expected to practice at Walmart for maybe a year or two to get myself on solid ground again, but today, 19 years later, I cannot imagine practicing anywhere else.
By Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD and Carole Burns, OD, FCOVD
Wednesday, February 20, 2019 11:30 AM
NEW YORK—When you care about your patient, you learn about their lifestyle and incorporate these important facts into your medical history. Often, we think of the Lifestyle History as separate from the Medical History and the Demographic History. Because documenting the Medical History is essential to coding correctly and it is often time consuming, it’s not unusual to find that the Medical History has increased in importance and the Lifestyle questioning has decreased in importance.
By Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD and Carole Burns, OD, FCOVD
Tuesday, October 16, 2018 11:20 AM
NEW YORK—Coding for Medicare can be challenging. Here’s an online resource that can answer your questions as they arise, and help you increase your reimbursements. Medicare created resources to help providers and the
Medicare Learning Network is one of those resources.
By Agustin Gonzalez, OD, FAAO, ABCMO
Monday, May 22, 2017 4:15 PM
Your patients receive e-mails every day from many businesses. Shouldn’t an e-mail, at least once in a while, be from your practice? This is how my practice ensures e-blasts to patients have an impact–even when they aren’t opened.
By Maria Higgins, OD
Thursday, March 9, 2017 12:15 PM
Social media presents a prime opportunity to market your practice, but missteps can bring major downsides. Here are five common mistakes–and how to avoid them.
By Maria Higgins, OD
Wednesday, December 14, 2016 1:15 PM
FREDERICK, Md.—As the owner of The Unique Technique, a business and marketing consultancy, where I am heavily involved in social media marketing for both clients and myself, I advise practices on how to use this new medium to communicate with their community and promote their practice.
By Gary Gerber, OD
Monday, April 11, 2016 12:00 AM
Current systems for electronic health records (EHR) and practice management (PM) include specialized tools that allow you to enhance your practice efficiency, workflow and patient experience. These features help you schedule more efficiently, avoid exam lane bottlenecks and analyze how you can increase profitability by being more effective from the front office all the way through to billing
By Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD
Friday, February 5, 2016 9:05 AM
One of the issues that always comes up is should I bonus my staff, or should I just pay a flat salary. There are two different sides to this argument. One side says just pay a healthy wage and they’ll do everything that you ask of them. The other side, which is the side I tend to think about more, is that we all work on bonuses.
By Jennifer Jabaley, OD
Wednesday, January 13, 2016 12:45 PM
A few years ago, I found myself in an interesting predicament while shopping for clothes to wear to a party. When I exited the fitting room to look in a mirror, the sales girl smirked that the skirt I was tugging down my legs was, in fact, a tube top. Enter humiliation. And a realization that I could no longer, in good faith, shop in the junior’s department. But where to go? I wasn’t ready for the old lady stores with boxy, embroidered sweaters, either.
By Gary Gerber, OD
Monday, June 15, 2015 12:00 AM
FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J.—At The Power Practice, we work with hundreds of doctors who are constantly challenged with improving their practice workflow using EHR and practice management technology.