Issue 31 September 5, 2014

In This Edition

Issue 31


The Gazette
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Contact Vision Source® at 888-558-2020 or [email protected]


Top Story

wsd

Vision Source® Support Extends Beyond Community Eye Care

Since 2006, Vision Source® is proud to be the largest donor for Optometry Giving Sight. Through the generosity of our doctors, vendors, employees and patients, we have donated an overwhelming $1 million. In 2014, it is our goal to increase this momentum and, as a system, continue to support the mission and call to action of 2014 World Sight Day, which is "no more avoidable blindness."

World Sight Day is Thursday, Oct. 9, and we encourage our membership to take part in the World Sight Day Company Challenge by creating a fundraising campaign or event. It's a great opportunity for each employee to make a difference in the lives of so many affected with vision problems worldwide.

greenwood

As we have seen recently with the ALS Bucket Challenge, social media is a great way to put the fun back into fundraising. I encourage you to challenge your staff to find new ways of creating awareness and raising the bar in 2014. I would like to start by initiating a system-wide Facebook challenge. For every "new page like" that we receive on facebook.com/visionsource, Vision Source® will match the like with a $1 donation to Optometry Giving Sight. At the Member Support Center, we also plan to double our contribution from the previous year by creating teams who will work together and complete for the highest donation.

For more information and to register, order tee shirts, wristbands and receive access to press releases, images, and tools to promote your World Sight Day events, click here.

Be well,
Jim Greenwood
President and CEO
Vision Source®


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Jim Greenwood's ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Video

See Jim Greenwood accept the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge from Vision Source® SVP and Chief Marketing Officer Bryan Pinciaro. Click here to view the video.

  Breaking News

Vision Source® Hosts Reception at VEW

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Join with your Vision Source® colleagues, Member Support Center team members and key vendors for a cocktail reception at Vision Expo West on Friday, September 19th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Public House. Public House is located in the Venetian Hotel just steps from the Vision Expo exhibit hall. RSVP during online registration. You will need to enter your Vision Source® office ID during registration to see the option to RSVP for the party. Click here to register.

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Getting the Most From Your Free Vision Source® Office Website

Webinar: Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014 at 8 p.m. CDT

Join the Vision Source® Marketing Team and Avelient, the developer behind your free office website, for an informative webinar on Wednesday, Sept. 24, at 8 p.m. CDT. Learn about the technology available inside of your website that lets you track the source, location and estimated dollar value of all your new online appointment requests. See if you are getting new appointments from nearby cities, direct mail campaigns, Yelp.com, Google Adwords, HealthGrades.com and more. Also, learn how you can

  • Add a reviews pages to your website;
  • Make certain your practice name, address and phone number are correct and consistent on all online directories;
  • Get all of your Google items working correctly

Click here to register.

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safety

Keep Your Eyes Safe At Home

October is Home Eye Safety Awareness Month. To help you inform your patients and your community of the of the need for protective eyewear when working in and around the home, Vision Source® has prepared the following for download.

  ICD-10 Coding Challenge

How Would You Code This Case?

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Take advantage of these regular ICD-10 challenges to bolster your understanding of the new coding system to take effect in 2015. Your financial future depends on understanding how to use these new codes.

Case #14

25 YO WM

  • CC: contact lenses are uncomfortable
  • HPI: both eyes, for a couple weeks, getting worse, contacts move a lot, itchy too
  • Medical Hx: systemic allergies
  • Ocular Hx: unremarkable
  • External: 4+ GPC of palpebral conjunctiva of upper and lower lids OU
  • Internal: unremarkable

How would you code this case using the ICD-10 Code Set? Email your answer to [email protected]. You will automatically receive an acknowledgement and the correcting coding for the case.


  Fresh Day™ and Fresh 30™ Success Stories

FreshDay

Doctor Likes New Option for Daily Disposables

"I believe that daily contact lenses are where the market is going. Fresh Day™ is a good product. Patients have said that they get a great end-of-day comfort, and I am anxious to order Fresh Day™ Multifocal and Fresh Day™ for Astigmatism. Overall, it's wonderful to have a daily disposable contact lens with silicone hydrogel material at such a low price point."

Ashley McFerron, OD
Canby Eyecare, a Vision Source® practice in Canby, Ore.

  Words from our Vendors

In this section, you will find the latest offers and promotions from Vision Source® vendors. For more details, log in at visionsource.com and view the vendor book.

Essilor Extends Vision Source® Offers

Essilor has extended its $5 Viso rebate for Vision Source® offices exclusively to single-vision and other branded products for EyeMed patients. Learn how to maximize your EyeMed rebate potential with the rebates from Essilor. Essilor has also rolled back its prices exclusively for Vision Source® practices. Visit the vendor book for full details.

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A New Point-of-care Test for Dry Eye

rps

InflammaDry® is a rapid, in-office dry eye test that identifies MMP-9, a biomarker for inflammation that is consistently elevated in the tears of dry eye patients. InflammaDry recognizes elevated levels of MMP-9 to identify patients who may otherwise be missed with other dry eye testing methods.

Using four simple steps, InflammaDry test results are achieved in just 10 minutes, aiding in the clinical diagnosis of patients with inflammatory dry eye diseaseas and allowing an appropriate dry eye plan to be established with the patient during their office visit. At the same time, InflammaDry is a valuable tool to identify those patients at risk of contact lens drop-out due to contact lens induced dry eye. Visit the vendor book for full details.

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New Texting Laws & Mobile Communications Webinar

demandforce

Confused about the new TCPA texting laws? Wondering what you can and cannot do in terms of communicating with your patients via email and text? On Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, join us for this free webinar for Vision Source® members in which we will cover the most effective (and legal) ways to connect with your patients outside of the office. The webinar will also review ways in which Demandforce can automate these communications.

  Around Vision Source®


  Member Services

Leaning on Vision Source® Team’s Experience

The Member Support Center team received this email from Kim McLeod, OD, a Vision Source® member in Auburn, Mass., whose EyeMed participation had been canceled. The team members helped her get back onto the provider panel quickly.

mcleod

"I wanted to thank each of you—and will do personally—for your advice, your help, your patience and your support. I joined Vision Source® knowing full well that EyeMed might not happen for me. And even knowing that, I was thrilled to be a member of this 'family.' But knowing that this kind of power and support is behind me —and all of us, for that matter—only solidifies for me that this is the place to be. Being independent is tough enough—being alone is impossible. I learn new things about my membership every day—and I am slowly going through the website and learning what I can. The possibilities are endless!"


  Practice Development

trustedcolleague

Trusted Colleague Gears up Faster with Vision Source®

This is the tenth installment in our Trusted Colleagues series—profiles of high-performing offices that exemplify the best practices of Vision Source® membership—networking with colleagues at local meetings and The Exchange, trustedcolleague engaging with elite vendors and delivering the gold standard of patient care.

In the Vision Source® spirit of collegiality, these members have also agreed to answer any questions you may have about their experience and included their email addresses.

Our Trusted Colleague for this edition is Francisco (Frank) Dozon, OD, of Omaha, Neb., who credits the fast growth of his new practice to being part of the Vision Source® family. Click here to read his story.


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goldbook

Finding the Best—and Then Some—in a Situation

Here's a Gold Standard story from Brandi Burgard, the VSR Facilitator at Midwest Eye Associates, a multi-location Vision Source® practice in the St. Louis area, who explains how a little extra attention turned a sad patient into a delighted one.

"One of my favorite patients has a tough Rx—she is -8.00 and has been a habitual contact lens wearer since she was a teenager. Now in her late 30s, she's having dry eye issues that make her contact lenses unwearable. She was devastated a few years ago when the doctor recommended more time in her eyeglasses and out of her contacts. He brought her out to the optical and told me to help her find glasses she'd fall in love with…Three years and nine pairs of eyeglasses later, she is one of our most loyal patients. All it took was a little extra time, a little education about lens options and a fabulous frame selection in our optical. We helped someone who has always hated eyeglasses turn into a patient who has a whole wardrobe of them."

How has The Gold Standard book helped you raise the bar? Email [email protected].


  Marketing

New Website Provides New Opportunities

Laura Ligocki from Bonsett-Veal Vision Source® in Madison, Wis., raves about the website switch.

"Jeff Logan of Avelient Marketing has been amazing. He always makes a point to invite us to the Avelient marketing webinars that show the members how best to promote their practices online. At times, I email Avelient with simple website change requests but when the request is more involved, I call. The customer service is great either way. Avelient also helped us customize our new site so that we can easily link to our appointments."

web

If Eye Hub is still hosting your website, and you have not yet requested an Avelient website, please be sure to fill out this form today.


  Vision Source® Member News

Creating Awareness During the Back-to-School Season

To promote August's children's eye health and safety month, Peter Mogyordy, OD, of Cleveland, appeared on an Access Cleveland radio show to discuss back-to-school issues about vision and learning and other health and safety issues. He also discussed the Vision Source® network of independent ODs. Listen to the interview here.

  Your Feedback Counts

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©Vision Source L.P. 2014. All Rights Reserved.