January 2025

Clear Your Agenda for Clearwater Meeting

Board members (l-r): Lisa Hamilton, OD; Richard Hults, OD; Milissa Stone; and Ken Kopolow, OD

By the SNAPP Board

The beach in November is where it’s at! We’ve heard from SNAPP members that they would like to hold our annual meeting apart from other shows. So this year, we’re going solo.

Make plans to join us Nov. 2-4, 2025, in Clearwater, Florida. We’ll be staying and playing at the J.W. Marriott Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa. Your SNAPP board is working on the program and details, but we wanted you to know about the time and place right away.

You can expect the same level of education and engagement as we’ve had at every SNAPP meeting. But the entire focus of your trip can be on just that—the SNAPP meeting.

The venue has changed, but we think that’s an added attraction to what is already a must-attend event each year.

Visit our website as we add details and a registration link soon.

Practice Spotlight

Small Details, Big Impact

Andre Duplantier and Dr. Duplantier, center, with their sons, Jayden and Andre II

For Andre Duplantier, Licensed Operator and general manager of Pearle Vision New Forest Crossing in Houston, Texas, one small moment sparked a major change in how he approached a simple task: answering the phone.

“I had called another optical office because some of my glasses had mistakenly been shipped there,” Duplantier recalls. “The way they answered the phone was so inviting. They were polite, professional and genuinely helpful. I was so impressed, I asked them to pass along a message to the owner, letting them know how much I appreciated it.”

In fact, he called his own staff around and called the office again, on speaker, so that staff members heard it. That simple experience stuck with him. “It was an ‘aha’ moment,” he says. “I realized that something as small as how we answer the phone could completely shape someone’s perception of our business.”

Script for success

Inspired by that call, Duplantier created a phone script for his team that became non-negotiable. “We made it mandatory,” he says. “Every call begins with, ‘Thank you for calling Pearle Vision, this is [name]. How can we make your day delightful?’ It’s simple, but it sets the tone immediately.”

It has made a difference in the way that patients respond, too. “Even if a customer is upset, like if their eyeglasses are late or they’re ready to argue, the way you answer can disarm them. It’s hard to stay mad when someone is that polite and professional.”

Similarly, the staff member answering the phone never says “please hold” without an acknowledgment from the caller. Instead, they say, “Do you mind holding for just one quick second?” Duplantier says that ”they usually say fine or they might respond with, ‘I just want to know what time you close.’ Those little touches matter.”

Thriving in a competitive market

In Houston, competition is fierce. “Our Pearle Vision is one of five optical stores within a tenth of a mile,” Duplantier explains. “We even share a parking lot with another one. So, everything matters—how the store looks, the quality of frames we offer and the level of service we provide.”

Duplantier and his wife, Lestavia Duplantier, OD, are intentional about creating a premium experience for their patients throughout the entire exam and optical process. “We don’t carry $19 frames,” he says. “From the moment someone calls, we want to convey professionalism and quality. That’s our brand.”

Learning from others

Duplantier credits the SNAPP meeting he attended last year in Las Vegas for reinforcing his focus on the little things. He had not been to a SNAPP meeting in some years, but he appreciated the networking, support and ideas. “I sat across from someone who shared their bonus structure,” he recalls. “We didn’t talk money, but hearing how they incentivized their staff gave me ideas. It was another ‘aha’ moment.”

Duplantier appreciates the value of connecting with other professionals and taking the time to refine his practice. “It’s all about creating the best possible experience for every patient, every time.”

Practice Compliance Solutions

A Q&A With Dr. Joe DeLoach…Continued

Joe DeLoach, OD

Editor’s note: Joe DeLoach, OD, FAAO, president of Practice Compliance Solutions, answered many questions covering a wide range of compliance and medical reimbursement issues at the SNAPP Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. If you missed the first set last month, you can read that here. Now you can check out what else he heard and shared in this Q&A format.

Is accounts receivable (AR) the most important metric?

I believe that over-30 AR is likely the most powerful metric to follow but only if you are also watching your write-off reports. Excessive write-offs can make anyone’s AR look perfect.

We use the CMS client services and have had no issues with payment.

That is pretty amazing. An accepted medical reimbursement authority did a pilot study on the accuracy of information provided on the CMS client service department. Over 60 days, they found the information provided to be accurate less than 10% of the time. I would not rely on provider help desks…ever.

We use a billing service out of India, and it seems to work great. Are you against them?

In general, most complaints and failed relationships with billing services are those in foreign countries. Poor communication and lack of follow-up on unpaid claims are common issues.

Do you trust blogs?

Information provided by individuals without credentials who are predominantly focused on ways to “get paid” should be ignored. A few folks are providing correct information on these blogs—Steven Gadsby, CPB, CPC, CPPM, and Tom Cheezum, OD, CPA, COPC, come to mind—but they are few and far between.

How do you know who to trust?

Listen to people who tell you how to understand the basic tenets of reimbursement, not the way around the rules. Listen to medical necessity, fraud and abuse laws and experienced contract auditors—not for ways to get around the rules. Make a presenter provide documentation for their beliefs.

Could you review the estimated percentages of EM code use?

Again, these are estimates and vary based on your patient demographics, but you should be pretty close to these.

Evaluation and Management Code Percentages
Level 2 - Less than 10%
Level 3 - No more than 30%
Level 4 - At least 40%
Level 5 - No more than 15%
Percentage of medical visits billed using 92004/14 - Less than 30%

There seems to be a great deal of opinion regarding the use of the G2211 add-on code. Should we use it?

I encourage use of the G2211 code when appropriate but only when used with the evaluation and management code set. Remember, it must be a patient with a complex condition (NOT dry eyes or allergies, for example); require ongoing care for more than a year; require more time, counseling and testing; and NOT be a patient you are referring to another provider to manage or coordinate care with on the condition. Experts I trust have stated use of the code could easily fall between 20-40% of medical encounters.

Can we force patients with diabetes to use their medical insurance?

If a patient owns payment assistance (including managed vision plans) and the plan reimburses for a comprehensive examination for diabetic patients, the patient has the right to mandate which payment assistance they want to use. They OWN the coverage. In general, many optometrists make patients really mad to make a few more dollars on the examination. Patient satisfaction still matters if you want to grow your practice. This does not apply to patients with complications related to diabetes, which would not fall to the routine column and therefore be an obvious medical submission.

Eye care professionals are getting paid for submitting fundus photos on diabetic patients with no complications. Do you disagree?

Getting paid means nothing—people get paid all the time for incorrect things, and, in an audit, they will pay the money back. Also, it is stated E11.9 (diabetes without ocular complications) is on the “allowed” list of diagnoses for fundus photos. Understand that the “allowed list” only means it would be allowed if you can demonstrate medical necessity. CMS national policy on fundus photos clearly states that photos of nothing would not be considered medically necessary.

HR Advice From AmCheck

Total Compensation Statement Can Be Eye-Opening for Employees

What is a total compensation statement?

A total compensation statement is a document that provides employees with a view of their compensation beyond just wages or salary. It’s meant to give employees a complete picture of what the company has invested in them. It details not only base pay but also bonuses, paid time off, health and wellness benefits, retirement program matching and any other perks that the employer funds.

If you decide to provide a total compensation statement to your employees, we recommend explaining the purpose of the document to them and preparing managers to answer questions that may come up.

What’s in a total compensation statement?

In addition to salary, here are the elements you could include:

Health and welfare benefits: These can include employer contributions for medical, EAP, wellness programs, short- or long-term disability, life insurance, 401(k) contributions or a pension plan.

Paid leave benefits: This is where you’d itemize vacation or annual leave value, sick leave, personal days, paid holidays and any other allowances for leave, such as bereavement, jury duty or military obligations.

Federal- and state-mandated benefits: You would include the employer payments for Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and worker’s compensation.

Other: Finally, think through any other costs that you pick up for employees, including training, annual bonus or any contributions to flexible spending accounts or childcare, for example.

Subtotal each of these categories to determine the total value of employer-provided benefits and add those to the employee’s annual salary.

This Q&A does not constitute legal advice and does not address state or local law.

News of Interest

Update Your Coding for 2025

Important changes were made to billing codes for 2025. Key changes that took effect on Jan. 1 include revisions to CPT codes 92132, 92133 and 92134; the addition of optical coherence tomography to the descriptor for codes 92132 and 92133; the addition of an OCT angiography code and more. Read more and access the American Optometric Association’s resources here.

Visual Problems May Be a Factor in Paranoia

In a study in the December 2024 issue of Communications Psychology, researchers looked at how patients with paranoia or teleological thinking (ascribing excessive meaning and purpose to events) performed on visual tests of dots "chasing" each other. Both groups performed worse than their counterparts, seeing dots being chased that were in fact not, or chasing when they were not moving. "One thing we're thinking about now is whether we can find eye tests that predict someone's risk for psychosis. Maybe there is some very quick perceptual task that can identify when someone might need to talk to a clinician," said one of the researchers. Read more.

So Long, Red Dye No. 3

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned red dye No. 3 in foods, drinks and ingested drugs in January. Manufacturers have a few years to reformulate their products, and the ban applies to imported products as well. Some companies have already begun to phase out use of the dye that is linked to cancer. Read the FDA update here.

Genetic and Demographic Factors in AMD

Using a much larger database of patients, including more Black and Hispanic patients, researchers have expanded genes linked to age related macular degeneration from 34 to 60. Smoking and alcohol use increase the likelihood of developing AMD. Read more.


Photo credits—Hotel: J.W. Marriott Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa || Getty images: spotlight: ADAM CALAITZIS; questions: Edgars Sermulis; policies: VADIM KUSHNEROV; news 1: Mykyta Dolmatov; news 2: picture; news 3: canbedone; news 4: Kamionsky

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