Corporate Optometry in India

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Optometry is a health care profession concerned with health of the eyes and the visual system. It focuses on diagnosing eye disease as well as detecting any defects and abnormalities concerning the eyes and our sight. The field of optometry earlier dealt with correcting refractive defects – often thought of, but not limited to, short and long-sightedness by the majority – by the use of spectacles. Practitioners who made spectacles were called dispensing opticians or prescribing opticians. But modern day optometry now includes intensive medical training for the management and diagnosis of ocular diseases such as cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, along with a study of optical aids and optical instruments.
Retail optometry is a field that has seen immense growth in India in recent times. The optical retail industry is going through tremendous technological developments, and to keep pace with such innovative development demands huge investment. This is one significant reason that large business brands like Vision, Titan, Reliance and Express have ventured into the field of retail optometry, offering job opportunities for trained optometrists.

There are several institutes in India offering certificate courses in Ophthalmic Dispensing leading to ‘Certified Dispensing Optician’. Such courses have been designed according to international standards of Western countries with the objective of refining the theoretical knowledge of opticians and training them with comprehensive concepts of ophthalmic optics and dispensing. These courses focus on upgrading the skills of opticians so that they can deliver better and accurate services to clients. These courses can also be accessed through distance education like the one-year ‘Post-Graduate Program in Optical Management’.

Lenskart was founded in 2010, with its headquarters at New Delhi. Mr. Peyush Bansal, the founder and CEO of Lenskart, began as an online optical retailer selling contact lens, eyewear frames, spectacles and sunglasses. Later, the company switched to outlets in stores, malls, hospitals, and now finally provides services in your homes. At present Lenskart has an impressive portal having 275 employees selling over 5,000 spectacles per day, with a revenue of $12 million. Titan Eye Plus is another big player in India in the optical world with around 400 outlets all over the country. Their competitors are Lens Bazaar, Deals4opticals, Yebhi and Healthkart.

The latest innovation in retail optometry is that users can book an eye check-up on an app, much like the modern version of booking a cab. Lenskart began home eye check-ups which was a new initiative appreciated by customers with more than 50% people finally coming back to Lenskart for purchasing eye wear.
To conclude, the optical retail industry is one of the fastest growing retail businesses in India with wide prospects for trained optometrists in the years to come. In fact, the Indian eyewear market is around $3 billion dollars with a growth rate of 15% annually.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By: Ruchi Bhargava

References

https://in.linkedin.com/userp/title/optometrist/india

http://www.lenskart.com/about-us.html]

http://www.lenskart.com/about-us.html

https://www.owler.com/iaApp/226005/lenskart-competitors

 

Business metrics in Corporate Optometry

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There are a lot of questions on business metrics in corporate optometry. What is a good net percentage compared to gross revenue and how many patients should you be seeing a day. How many days a week should you be working? It really depends on the brand that you are working with. Some ODs will work 3 days a week and see 30 patients a week others will work 5 days and see the same number of patient. It is negotiable. For the number of days you work you should be seeing 8-12 a day, if you are seeing less you should not be there more than 3 days a week and your rent should reflect that volume and number of managed care exams.

Net profit can range from 50%-80% of gross revenue.  Some fixed expenses that can change the net for each corporate optometry setting are  rent,EHR, accounting, payroll, business phone, office supplies, lease on equipment and optometry malpractice and licensing.

Your goal is to at least gross 1k per day of work that is 10-12 patients a day. It can vary on based on patient demographics and managed care plans.  Medical service fees are typically higher than routine eye exam. Check your explanation of benefits (EOBs) to determine your fees for those procedures.

Evaluate your  average Transaction Per Patient
Average transaction = Total visit fees collected/number of patients

It can be broken down even further to determine chair cost or revenue per hour. Being able to see more patients per hour efficiently can mean more income per hour and being able to do administrative duties during non peak times or moonlighting to increase income.
You should understand medical and non-medical visits. Medical exams typically are a shorter visit that can be done by a technician then evaluated by you.The average transaction for a medical exam can range from $100 to $200  The average transaction for a routine eye exam can range from $55 to $75.

Understanding these metrics in corporate optometry will help you be successful in the business. Read more at https://corporateoptometry.com/product/business-metrics/

How to use Snapchat to Attract Patients to your Practice

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By Dr Sandi Eveleth

The following are a mix of ideas on how to use Snapchat to attract more ideal patients to your optometry practice .

Let’s take a quick look at how to define your “ideal patient” to start attracting more of them.
Here’s a quick exercise to help. Ask yourself this question:
If you could have ten to twenty new patients this week that were a clone of your
favorite patient, who would that be?
You know the patient I’m talking about – the one that pays on time, refers his or her
family members, is an evangelist for your specialty services, and never complains
about anything!

Before we get started on ideas and examples, I want to stress the
importance that your practice must also be setup to attract the same ideal patients. In
other words, is the tone, look, staff, and overall feel of the practice congruent with the ideal
patients who use Snapchat? Are you attracting millennials?
Finally, before setting up a Snapchat account for your practice and implementing the ideas
listed below, make sure you have a staff member who is preferably the same age as your
ideal patient or understands them well, knows how to use Snapchat, and is designated as
the sole person to take the snaps (with your approval, of course) initially. Eventually, you
may want to have a different staff member take snaps each day, so the personality of your
practice becomes obvious. Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine!

If you’d like more information on how to grow your practice, please visit Sandi’s website at
DrSandiEveleth.com

And the full article at https://corporateoptometry.com/product/how-to-use-snapchat-to-grow-your-eye-care-practice/

A Guide to Merchant Services: What You Need to Know

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5 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT MERCHANT ACCOUNTS in Corporate Optometry.

Corporate Optometrists need to get a merchant service that is right for their business. Read more.

1) Are merchant services right for my business?
Merchant services can really help your business grow and control costs. Engaging a payment processor that uses their own products and technology is more likely to be cost effective. Fraud prevention and data security are as paramount online as they are in-store. Choosing a merchant provider that specializes in eCommerce, for example, will ensure that you can securely accept payments from all major credit cards, as well processing popular virtual payment types, such as Apple Pay.
The best merchant services can transform how your business manages transactions, saving you both time and money, allowing you to focus on other areas of your business.
2) Will I be approved for a merchant account?
This will depend on your type of business, and whether the credit card networks have assigned you any risk factors. You may experience a longer application process, or be required to pay higher fees for transactions with a bigger risk factor.
3) How much will it cost to have a merchant account?
The cost of accepting credit card payments can vary. It’s important to note what fees will be assessed for your company, which will be laid out in the initial contract. The fees you are responsible for will include both interchange rates and processing fees. Depending on the payment processor you choose, there may be room to negotiate a better, or lower rate for your business.
4) How long will it take before I’m up and running?
The setup process is dependent on different variables of a business, like size and card acceptance method. Larger more established businesses that require multiple POS systems in multiple locations, for example, could experience a more extensive setup.
5) What type of POS do I need?
The type of terminal you need will depend on the type of payment method your business will be accepting. If you are based in a single location, a POS terminal may be the best option, however, if you are on the move, then a virtual terminal or mobile device that works with an integrated app, for example, would be a better option.