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Cheyne Eye Center
City, State: Granbury, Texas
Number of Locations: 1
Key executives: Chris Cheyne, OD, owner, Robert Yeaman, OD, associate
Year founded: 1999

GRANBURY, Texas--Some might consider Cheyne Eye Center, with two doctors and 12 employees, a little fish in a big pond. Local competition in town includes a Wal-Mart, a private franchise called Vision City and two ophthalmologists. So what sets this practice apart from its neighbors? According to Meghan Langley, manager of insurance accounts for Cheyne Eye Center, up-to-date diagnostic equipment coupled with cutting edge software allows this optometric practice to achieve their number one goal: improve the level of patient care.

Chris Cheyne, OD, owner of Cheyne Eye Center, with Optomap Plus diagnostic equipment.
Robert Yeaman, OD is an associate at Cheyne Eye Center.

Owner Chris Cheyne, OD, purchased the practice in 1999 following the sudden death of the previous owner, Dr. Larry Moore. In 2002, Dr. Cheyne moved the practice to a new building down the road signaling the beginning of an expansion effort. Although computers were being used (a DOS-based program only capable of filing Medicare claims), it became apparent that the practice needed to upgrade their systems in order to remain competitive. Enter Langley, who joined the practice at their new location. More computers were added and access to the Internet became available but something was missing.

“Then one day in 2004, our rep from Essilor walked in and turned me on to VisionWeb,” Langley said. She describes the VisionWeb package as the “greatest thing since sliced bread - it completely changed and improved the way we do business.” 

VisionWeb Essentials is a basic online ordering service. Cheyne uses it to order frames, contact lenses, etc. “It’s not only made us more efficient, it’s made the labs [we do business with] efficient as well, “ Langley said. “There’s no room for miscommunication, like when we used to fax orders, which was deadly if you couldn’t tell the difference between a plus or minus sign.” 

The other part of the package called VisionWeb Enhanced is designed to provide ECPs one location where they can process their insurance transactions with multiple eyecare payers.

“It has dramatically improved the practice’s efficiency and bottom line,” according to Langley. Before turnaround times on claims were as long as 28 days. “VisionWeb Enhanced has cut that time in half and now our claims are paid within 14 days,” Langley said. Before using the software, the practice only processed Medicare claims and now they are able to accept over 15 insurance plans with ease, she said. Dealing with more insurance companies translates into generating more customers.

Langley sings the praises of both VisionWeb products. Her favorite features about the software: it’s Windows-based, available through the Internet (doesn’t take up valuable network memory), and is available 24/7. And what about if something goes wrong with the software or you have a problem? “I’m a squeaky wheel, so if there’s something I can’t figure out, I call tech support and they are always there to help me. It was one of the features that sold me on the package in the first place,” she said.

On the patient care side, Cheyne Eye Center uses Optomap Plus, a diagnostic machine that gives the doctor a 200 degree radius view of the eye without dilation. The machine then generates digital images that are instantly available on the computer network. “This is a handy feature since we sometimes have to email images to surgeons. We recently had a patient come in and he was diagnosed with a hemorrhage. We emailed the images to his surgeon and it turned out he had a retinal tear and needed surgery. So time was of the essence,” Langley said.      

--Mary Kane