CO Analytics: 73% of ODs are involved in the optical.

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One misconception in the industry is that Corporate ODs aren’t involved in the optical. A recent survey illustrates that 73% of ODs are meeting with optical managers to collaborate on company initiatives and their sublease needs.To increase optical sales, the optical manager can collaborate with the Optometrist. Corporate ODs prescribe lenses from the exam chair. Corporate ODs are decision-makers in our industry.  Whether the collaborations are daily or once a month, bridging the gap between the optical and the OD side of the business is vital. Historically, the better the communication between the two the better both businesses operate and generate higher revenue.

When it comes to the OD/optical staff meeting there are several important topics that are discussed. Some topics include exam business, # of exams, # of cancellations, # of walkins and OD coverage. Those topics coordinate with the optical sales. Optical business metrics are discussed and both parties look to partner to accomplish the goals that they have for the month and for the year.

Here are some topics for ODs to discuss with their optical managers about their subleases.

  1. Your Financial Performance: . Discuss revenue, profitability, cash flow, and the volume of managed care in your practice. Analyze previous month to date exam count and financial statements.
  2. Market Analysis: Evaluate the optical’s position in the industry. What is their acquisition cost per patient, growth in new customers, and competition in with 10 mile radius.
  3. Sales and Marketing: Review the effectiveness of sales and marketing strategies. Discuss the performance of various marketing channels, advertising campaigns, and sales efforts. Explore customer acquisition and retention strategies and analyze their impact on the bottom line.
  4. Efficiency: Assess how your sublease and optical can work efficiently to see walkins and increase patient volume during the hours of operation that you have. General rule is each day of coverage you are providing you are supposed to see 10-12 patients a day. Do not add days to the week until you are booked consistently.
  5. Customer Satisfaction: Examine customer satisfaction levels and feedback. Discuss strategies to enhance customer experience in order to increase patient retention. Many opticals have a NPS system.
  6. Outlook and Strategy: Discuss your objectives with the sublease and what you are looking to do in the future. This could be taking on a new sublease, expanding to hiring an associate, adding new equipment etc. . Identify areas for improvement, ask for feedback from optical.

88% of Employed Corporate ODs Need Angle Closure Kits.

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The incidence of angle-closure glaucoma varies depending on the population and geographic location.

In the United States, it is estimated that angle-closure glaucoma accounts for about 10% of all cases of glaucoma. The incidence of angle-closure glaucoma is higher in certain ethnic groups such as Asians and Eskimos. In these populations, the incidence can be as high as 50% of all cases of glaucoma.It is estimated that up to 90% of glaucoma cases in some Asian countries are due to angle-closure glaucoma.

It’s important to note that angle-closure glaucoma can be a medical emergency and requires immediate treatment to prevent irreversible vision loss. If you are experiencing sudden eye pain, redness, blurred vision, nausea or halos around lights, seek medical attention immediately.

In a recent poll in the Corporate Optometry Facebook Group, a member ask if Employed Corporate ODs have angle closure kits?

88% of employed corporate ODs stated they didn’t have the resources supplied by their employer to assist the patient with an angle closure. Some ODs stated that they work next to a pharmacy so they don’t need one.

In Corporate optometry, many ODs might see these cases as new patients. Since hours of operation are extended hours compared to other practices, ODs need to be equipped with all the tools and resources to help our patients. If you are an OD without a kit, I urge you to call your Eye Care Director, your immediately treatment can save that patient’s vision.

Contact Lens during Covid-19

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If there’s one thing we’ve all learned during the COVID-19 crisis, it’s that one of best ways to stay protected against the Coronavirus is to avoid touching our faces and washing our hands for at least 20 seconds.

We’ve also been advised to use alcohol-based hand sanitizers in situations where water and soap aren’t available as these are found to be quite effective in fighting off most germs.

People have started wearing glasses as opposed to contact lenses to avoid contracting the disease.

The AOA and doctors of optometry want the general public to know that contact lenses are perfectly safe and effective for millions of people. Here’s what you need to do to take proper care of your contact lenses and protect yourself from contracting the Coronavirus:

1. Don’t Touch Your Face While Inserting or Removing Lenses

It’s important to note that wearing contact lenses alone won’t give you COVID-19, but you should maintain good hygiene when you’re handling your lenses and avoid touching your face and eyes when you’re inserting or taking your lenses out.

2. Wash Your Hands Properly

It’s also necessary to wash your hands properly with soap and water and then dry them with clean and unused paper towels. You should do this right before inserting your contact lenses and right after removing them.

If you don’t have water and soap at hand, it’s advisable to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Touching your face, including your nose, mouth, and eyes with unclean hands will spread germs and increase your risk of getting Coronavirus.

3. Disinfect Your Contact Lenses

You should also disinfect your contact lenses regularly. Dispose of your daily disposable contact lenses every evening or disinfect your two-week or monthly lenses as per the instructions provided to you by your doctor of optometry. If you’re feeling sick and showing COVID-19 symptoms, it’s best to stop wearing lenses.

People who are switching to glasses should note that glasses aren’t proven to provide protection against COVID-19 and other viruses.

4. Postpone New Contact lens fits

Offices should postpone new contact lens fits because of being close to the patients and handling of the lenses between the two parties.

Final Thoughts

You must avoid touching your eyes when you’re in high-risk places. If your eyes feel itchy, resist the temptation to rub them. It’s recommended to keep a cold compress or a bottle of artificial tears just in case.

Guidance for Optometric Practices during Covid-19 Outbreak

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In the light of Covid-19 pandemic, doctors of optometry, who happen to be frontline healthcare providers, have an obligation to make sure appropriate guidelines and requirements are being observed in their respective clinics.

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some guidance provided by the AOA so you can ensure the well-being of all your staff members and patients and maintain a healthy and safe environment.

Steps to Take Before and After Patient Care

Educate yourself and staff on the signs and symptoms of COVID-19

It’s also necessary to ask your staff if they’re experiencing as these can be presenting signs of Covid-19. If any of your staff remembers report that they’re ill, you should ask them to seek immediate medical attention.

Make sure all your equipment is properly disinfected with a diluted bleach or alcohol solution with at least 70% alcohol.

Staff members are also required to wash their hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds right after they arrive, before and after interacting with a patient, prior to eating and after using the restroom.

Provide alcohol-based hand sanitizers to your staff, if possible. The CDC recommends using hand sanitizers that have greater than 70% isopropanol Everyone must maintain social distancing and disinfect all technologies devices before and after use.

Stock up masks, gloves and goggles. Breath Shields are available via Topcon for free to providers. Make sure there are protocols to wipe surfaces and equipment before and after the patient.

Steps to Take During Patient Care

To make sure your patients are aware of the guidelines provided by the AOA, you need to share them via email and post them on your official website and social media pages. Advise them against coming into the office if they’re experiencing any flu-like symptoms.

Instruct the patients to seek medical attention right away if they’re showing any of the following emergency warning signs:

Temperature

Flu like symptoms

· Continuous pain or pressure in the chest

· Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

· coughing

shortness of breath

conjunctivitis

Inform your patients via email and on your office door about COVID-19. If they have traveled or have a temperature they are to reschedule and return after quarantine.

. Tell your patients to only bring a limited number of people to accompany them.

If any of your non-emergent patients are 60 years of age or older, have pre-existing conditions with weaker immunity, offer to reschedule to avoid putting them at risk. Make sure there are limited points of entry into the office and only a limited number of people can sit in the waiting area. Try and book 1 patient per hour and limit number of people in the office.

The chairs should be placed at least six feet away from each other to maintain social distancing. If there isn’t enough room in the waiting area, you should ask the patients to wait for their turn outside or in their respective cars.

These are just some of the guidelines offered by the AOA. For more details and clarity regarding these instructions, go to their website

Signs of Fear-Based Work Environment

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Do you feel discouraged and anxious every time you go back home from work? Do you feel that you don’t have a voice? Are you scared that if you say the wrong thing you will be spoken to? Notice the people around you, your co-workers might be feeling the same. Your workplace has a fear-based culture.

Trust and fear don’t go hand in hand. In a healthy work environment, managerial fear never overpowers trust. Either they trust you or they don’t. When the managers start worrying less about their employee’s

well-being and start worrying more about maintaining their status quo at any cost, it creates a toxic environment for the employees.

If you are still in doubt then here are seven unmistakable indications of a fear-based work environment

Your Focus is different.

In a fear-based work environment, everyone has to complete their daily targets. The only focus is on making goal. One cannot get motivated or be innovative if they are constantly told about only one focus. If your focus does not align you may be ignored, spoken to or labeled as not a team player.

Employees Get a Constant Reminder of Who the Boss Is

In a fear-based work environment, all the control is in the hands of the managers and the HR. They don’t listen, try to resolve issues with them or celebrate any successes. Titles and positions are used in the wrong way.

The Truth Doesn’t Matter

In a fear-based work environment, employees know that being truthful is of no use. The truth doesn’t matter there and no one wants to hear it. They are well aware that they will have to face consequences if they do so. It an OD brings something up, he or she is dismissed as complaining or not a team player.

Job Security

In a fear-based work environment, employees never know when they’ll lose their job. No matter how well they perform, it does not guarantee a longer employment span for them. They can be punished and terminated for a minor mistake or minor issue.

If you think that your work environment is not psychologically safe for you, there are two solutions to this problem. Either you quit because your talent and sanity are worth protecting or you simply stand up for yourself and demand the powers that be to do the right thing. But you have to be ready for whatever comes next. Hopefully, the outcome you receive is a positive one because you deserve great things!

How Corporate Optometry allows ODs to focus on Patient Care

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Corporate optometry is a great option for ODs who want to practice optometry but do not want to feel overwhelmed by the business aspects of the job.  It is ideal both for optometrists who do not feel they have enough business experience to start their own practices and for those who simply want to focus more on the patient-centric aspect of their career.  Here are some ways that corporate optometry may allow you as an OD to focus on your patient care first and foremost.

1. Your job is to focus on the patient.

As a corporate optometrist, your main focus is to see patients without the distractions of the optical and managing staff. Focusing on the patient is what we went to school for. We don’t have to worry about competition, we can focus on our patients and use the extra time to stay up to date on the latest clinical trends. Corporate optometry allows you to see different types of patients because the volume is usually greater, thus enhancing your clinical skills seeing a wide variety of patients. his is a great way for you as an optometrist to see a wide variety of conditions such as diabetes, glaucoma, and gain experience recognizing and managing these conditions. 

2. Technology

Corporate optometry will provide you will have easier access to resources and discounts from corporate partners.  You will also be able to purchase technology a lot sooner if you are a sublease or the latest technology will be offered to you as an employee. Many young ODs are learning the latest in the eye care. Why not be able to utilize that knowledge by working in a corporate setting? Many offices have digital refracting lanes, optos, octs. Different corporate opticals have different approaches. Don’t lump all corporate opticals as the same!

Corporate optometry may be right for you if you are not interested in the daily practice management struggles that many ODs face with the optical side of the business and managing staff turnover. Retail optometry will continue to grow over the next 10 years. Find which corporate optical is right for you and your career goals.

Health Tips for Corporate ODs working a lot of Hours.

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In your race towards success, you end up neglecting your health, forgetting that it affects your performance in all aspects of your lives.

As working professionals, you need to be extra careful where your health is concerned. That’s because your brain needs fuel and energy just like the rest of your body. Any form of malnourishment can adversely impact your day to day performance.

Even if you are on a tough schedule, it will only take a couple of minutes of your time and conscious effort to start living a healthier lifestyle.

From physical exercise to being mindful of what you put in your body, here are some health tips that will get you on the right track in no time.

Don’t Lose Sleep It is important to get enough sleep because lack of sleep can cause many health problems like heart disease and diabetes, etc. It significantly slows down your cognitive processes making you inefficient at reasoning and problem solving. This can be really detrimental to your performance at work.

Make sure you are getting at least 6 hours of sleep every night. You’ll wake up feeling refreshed and energized and this will help you do better at your job.

Find Healthier Alternatives

It may seem easier to reach for a cheeseburger at lunch, but after taking one look at the ingredients you’re about to ingest, you’ll realize that you’re not giving your body the right kind of carbohydrates.

Opt for simpler meals like grilled chicken, fish, fruits and vegetables over processed foods, your body will thank you. Have snacks at your office

Instead of drinking coffee at odd hours of the day, drink water. Drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day is important for muscle stamina, digestion, and boosting your brain. Having a large water bottle can help you achieve your daily goal.

Exercise

Make room for exercise in your schedule. Walk during your lunch break. Take advantage of down time or a no show to get in some extra steps or to sit in your office and meditate. Exercise helps in regulating your energy levels and allows you to sleep better. It also reduces the risk of heart disease and alleviates the effect of stress hormones.

Just taking 15 minutes out to work out everyday can make a huge difference on both your mind and body.

Adjust your schedule

Make sure that you are able to adjust your schedule. Don’t miss out on lunch breaks. Having time in the day to recharge and continue to see a lot of patients is critical. This will also lead to less frustration in the work day and help with mental health. Make time at the end of the day to finish any charts that need to be completed, you don’t want to bring work home with you.

Take regular vacations and time off when feeling stressed out. Take advantage of the slower times of the year in optometry. Learn when to say “NO” in order to keep yourself on track for a healthy lifestyle.

Track Your Progress

One way to stay motivated about making healthy choices is to track your progress. When you start seeing noticeable changes, you will feel a lot better about yourself and make active efforts to stay healthy.

Tracking your progress will also make you feel accomplished once you reach your targets. As a result, you will be encouraged to reach personal and professional goals you’ve set for yourself.

Just spending a little bit of time on yourself everyday can produce amazing results within just few weeks. When you give your body what it needs, it repays in wondrous ways.

Your work requires consistency in terms of quality and expertise. If your health isn’t where it needs to be, then your work will be affected in the wrong run. Make smarter and healthier choices today for a better tomorrow.

Brand Identity in Corporate Optometry

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Creating a brand within a corporate optometry setting has never been more important than today, yet a lot of ODs ignore the power of creating a brand identity for their own practice. Your practice brand is what patients identify you as. Developing a brand successfully will be able to differentiate yourself from other optometrists and the corporate setting.

Being affiliated with a corporate setting inside a Sears Optical or JcPenny Optical has the power of brand recognition for attracting patients, yet once there you don’t want patients to remember you as the eye doctor inside Sears Optical. You want patients to remember your name and create loyalty where they come to the office to see you, not just for the optical sale or because you take their insurance. Brand identity is important, if you choose to move your practice to a different location.

 

Check out more at https://corporateoptometry.com/product/brand-image/