MBA Intelligence

March 8, 2012

Bi-weekly information and advice to manage optometric practices
from the Management & Business Academy™ (MBA)

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Ziegler

Sticky Situations

Dr. Dave Ziegler

A doctor wonders...

"I wish our patient flow were smoother."

The staff sees the patient first …then I do part of my exam and dilate them…then they are out in the optical…but before they complete that transaction, I bring them back to the exam room to complete the fundus exam…then I put them back in the optical to finish up…but the person they started with is not available… so they have to start over with someone new…and all the momentum is gone, and ….what a log jam!

This sequence of events is common in many optometric practices. Too many different stops along the way makes for a disjointed process—and a poor patient experience. It also reduces sales because the power of the doctor’s recommendation is diluted with all the different handoffs. Is there a better way?

We delegate a great deal of the exam to our pretesting staff.

READ MORE »

Dr. Dave Ziegler, who lectures and publishes regularly, is a member of the MBA Faculty.

 

"Empower Staff to Solve Problems"

Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO

Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO, believes that empowering staff to solve common problems is a key to providing superior customer service. In her practice, each staff member is allowed up to $200 to immediately rectify a patient problem or address a complaint without first having to seek the doctor’s permission. Dr. Sorrenson lectures on staff management issues at "Total Practice Success: Building a World Class Staff," a new MBA seminar that premiered in 2011.

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Market Facts

Market Facts

Patient Wait Times for Eye Exam Appointments Are Usually Short

A Jobson Optical Research survey of U.S. adults conducted in June 2011 indicates that 84 percent of patients are able to schedule an eye exam within two weeks of their call to an ECP. Seventy percent are able to book exams within a week or less of their call. This indicates that an excess supply of available appointment slots exists in most eyecare practices.

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Spotlight on Accounts Receivable

The MBA Monograph "Managing Accounts Receivable" is presently featured on MBA-ce.com. Author and MBA faculty member Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD, counsels that the financial strength of an optometric practice can be undermined when insufficient attention is paid to managing collections from patients and third–party sources. He advises that a practice assigns accountability for collections and keeps accounts receivable to less than one month of average gross revenue.

READ MORE »

MBA Updates


Carole Burns, OD


The schedule of MBA seminars for 2012 has been finalized. The first MBA seminar of the year is on Sunday, March 25, at Vision Expo East. See the MBA site for registration information.

2012 MBA Seminars:


Vision Expo East, NYC, March 25

North Carolina Optometric Assoc., Myrtle Beach, June 7

American Optometric Assoc.
First Practice Academy
Chicago, June 28–30

Texas Optometric Assoc.,
San Antonio, July 28

Vision Expo West, Las Vegas, September 8

GWCO Congress, Portland, September 30

California Optometric Assoc., Monterey, November 8

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About the MBA

The Management & Business Academy™ (MBA) is a professional education program, sponsored by Alcon and Essilor, dedicated to assisting independent optometrists to improve business management processes. The MBA conducts live seminars, conducts on-going research to establish national optometric practice performance metrics, publishes MBA Insights (a quarterly practice management journal) and maintains www.mba-ce.com (a premier practice website with business-building resources).

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Copyright © 2012 Management & Business Academy™ (MBA). All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.