| Issue 15 | January 24, 2014 |
In This Edition
Issue 15
The Gazette
Archives
Contact Vision Source® at 888-558-2020 or [email protected]
Top Story
"One if by land, two if by sea."
One or two lanterns hung in the tower in the Old North Church in Boston alerted Paul Revere to the direction from which the British soldiers were coming. In April of 1775, the future of the young nation hung in the balance.
In 2014, Boston will serve as the site where Vision Source® members and guests will spend several days focused on the revolutionary change taking place in our profession and our efforts to preserve independent optometry. Between the Essilor-sponsored opening reception at the Sheraton Boston on Wed., Apr. 9, and the Night at the Museum closing reception on Sat., Apr. 12, The Exchange will be packed with pertinent information from Vision Source®, vendors and guest speakers such as work/life balance expert Dan Thurman and The RESULTS Guy™, Tony Jeary, with his message on Strategic Acceleration through Communication Mastery.
New this year, The Exchange will offer up to eight hours of free CE credit. As always, the Exhibit Hall will be an important site for making purchasing decisions. Vendors typically bring their very best deals and offers to The Exchange.
A special website has been set up for The Exchange (vstheexchange.com) where you can register for the meeting and get hotel information, view the agenda, see an FAQ and download the social media app (coming soon), a highly useful tool to guide you through the meeting and alert you to last-minute changes in schedule or room assignments.
The Vision Source® room block is filling up quickly, so be sure to register now. See you in Boston!
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Be well,
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Jim Greenwood |
Glenn Ellisor, OD |
Breaking News
The New Vision Source® Site is LIVE!
We are pleased to announce the launch of our brand new website! The new website reflects a new initiative to grow Vision Source® into an even more effective network that attracts new members and an overall better user experience that helps direct patients to members' websites more efficiently and accurately.
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Here are some highlights:
- Improved find-a-doctor functionality that uses geo-location to connect patients with doctors quickly and easily
- A responsive design that adapts to the devices that visitors use, making the site mobile- or tablet-friendly
- New social and blogging tool that will allow Vision Source® to produce more shareable content that will be valuable for members to boost their online presence and bring in more traffic
- Better flow and more information that will attract new doctors to the Vision Source® network
Have you seen the new site? Take a look and see for yourself at visionsource.com.
Vision Source® Administrators Meet
The 2014 Winter Administrator Meeting is happening today and this entire weekend in Houston. Topics being discussed will come back to all local meetings in the coming weeks and include latest news from The Vision Source® Member Support Center, goals for the year, vendor updates, managed care updates and much more. Be sure to attend your upcoming, local member meeting to get all the details, as you will want to hear all of the news for 2014 to maximize your membership.
Webinar: Are The Yellow Pages Really Dead?
Wondering how your practice gets "found" these days? Join us for a webinar on Thurs., Jan. 30, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. CST presented by The Company of Others (formerly Connect FKM). The Company of Others (TCOO) offers a unique perspective on the topic as they provide both traditional print Yellow Pages services as well as online marketing through Pay-Per-Click programs or Internet Yellow Pages. TCOO currently serves about 500 Vision Source® offices as well as several regional marketing co-ops. Click here for information on attending.
Words from our Sponsors
In this section, you will find the latest offers and promotions from Vision Source® vendors. For more details, visit the vendor book at portal.visionsource.com.
TruClear® Availability on EyeMed® and DEFINITY® Lenses Solution
Vision Source® members received a letter recently from Essilor noting that the new EyeMed® contracts don't yet include TruClear® and Viso® lenses on the product catalog. (Read the full letter on the Essilor page in the vendor book at portal.visionsource.com.)
Recognizing that exclusive, premium, private-label products distinguish Vision Source® practices from competition and let doctors serve their patients better, Essilor®, EyeMed and Vision Source® have been working together to make TruClear and Viso available on the EyeMed product catalog exclusively for Vision Source® in the second quarter of 2014.
In the meantime, Vision Source® recommends using DEFINITY® lenses with Crizal® No-Glare lenses as they are our product of choice for managed care patients and are best suited for EyeMed patients in particular:
- DEFINITY lenses are premium digital progressives with unique Ground View Advantage™ that helps you differentiate your practice offerings
- EyeMed is one of the few vision care plans that has DEFINITY, DEFINITY® 3 and DEFINITY® 3 PLUS lenses categorized in the product catalog
- DEFINITY 3 and DEFINITY 3 PLUS are categorized in Premium or Premium Tier – IV and DEFINITY® 2 is categorized in Premium or Premium Tier – III (depending on plan type) and offers great value for patients and your practice
- Vision Source® members receive a significant rebate for using DEFINITY lenses.
Alcon Updates MPDS Starter Kit Policy
A recent letter from Vision Source® Senior Vice President, Clinical Strategies, Bobby Christensen, OD, to Vision Source® members outlined the changes to, and Vision Source® support of, the new OPTI-FREE® PureMoist MPDS starter kits. As of Dec. 1, Alcon outlined this policy. (Read the full letter here on the Alcon page in the vendor book at portal.visionsource.com).
- OPTI-FREE® PureMoist® MPDS Starter Kits can be provided for all new contact lens patients of frequent replacement silicone hydrogel and soft contact lenses and those patients you believe should evaluate an Alcon lens care product.
- Patient educational cards with $2 coupons for OPTI-FREE® PureMoist® MPDS will be provided for refits/returning patients.
- There is no change in the policy for CLEAR CARE Cleaning & Disinfecting Solution starter kits.
Around Vision Source®
Marketing
Marketing Toolkit Testimonial
"We think the Marketing Toolkit is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful tool. I have ordered stationary, business cards, monthly eye health awareness posters, counter cards and event banners. We find this tool to be easy-to-use, comprehensive and effective, and it resulted in an extremely positive patient experience. The toolkit is truly something that puts us at an advantage for effective patient contact. The one thing that we are disappointed about is that more people are not utilizing the Marketing Toolkit."
Gordon Price, OD, and Denise Price
Vision Source® Scituate Harbor, Mass.
New Website Testimonial
"I LOVE the new website. I think the new look is great. I have noticed that there are a lot more appointment requests due to the better layout. The process was simple, and working with Avelient was very helpful."
Moes Nasser, OD
Family Center, Vision Source®, Houston
Practice Development
Vision Source® Takes on a High Profile At SECO
Vision Source® is partnering with SECO this year, providing free continuing education for attendees to SECO 2014, March 12-16. Vision Source® Vice President of Practice Development Walt West, OD, will present two lectures on Wed., March 12:
- 10 a.m.: Managed Care Update 2014
- Noon: Preparing to Deploy ICD -10 in Your Practice
Vision Source® will also host a reception for members in attendance on Sat., March 15 from 6-8 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom Foyer of the Omni Hotel at CNN Center, 190 Marietta St NW, Atlanta, Ga.
For more information and to register, go to seco2014.com.
A Golden Impression
This story seems an apt ending to this issue of The Gazette. It was sent by Kathy Yang-Williams, OD, from Roosevelt Vision Source® in Seattle to Washington administrators Ivan Hyde, OD, and Joe Pfeifer, OD, about an experience while on vacation with her mother-in-law, who has a complicated ocular history with advanced Grave's disease with exposure and unstable strabismus.
"She woke with severe pain on Saturday morning and couldn't even keep her eyes open. My differential diagnosis ranged from corneal abrasion (most likely) to Acanthamoeba (being splashed in eyes in the hot tub by grandkids while she has compromised corneas). The first aid kit at the resort looked like it had not been opened since WWII, but we did eventually find some eye pads and adhesive tape to use.
"As we pondered our options of going to the Leavenworth emergency room or driving back to Seattle to my office, I decided to look in the Yellow Pages to see if there were any closer options for care. I found a listing for the Wenatchee Vision Source® and thought, 'Here's an office I can trust and someone who will give me good direction in unfamiliar territory.'
"So, I paged the doctor on call for the office and was pleasantly surprised to get a response in less than five minutes. Dr. Steven Koch returned my call promptly and listened to my story. His immediate response was to invite me and my family down to Wenatchee where we could use his clinic for care. [Unfortunately, his daughter who resides in Leavenworth was not available to open his Leavenworth office.]
"Dr. Koch was waiting in his office to help us out. I was able to examine my mother-in-law and see that she had a central corneal abrasion of the left eye in addition to exposure keratitis of the right eye, made worse by the dry conditions. Dr. Koch provided us with bandage contact lenses and an antibiotic sample to get us through the next few days."
The abrasion healed within 24 hours, but the impression on Dr. Yang-Williams and her mother-in-law is indelible. "I have to say that this was a very heartwarming experience. It made me value the relationships between our Vision Source® offices and the support that the doctors provide for each other even more," she wrote.
You can share your gold standard moments with us here.
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