Issue 35 October 31, 2014

In This Edition

Issue 35


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


Top Story

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Progress Gains Momentum

What we've been building throughout 2014 at Vision Source® is truly taking on momentum. First, we have built a pipeline that includes 70 relationships with health plans, integrated health systems and innovative physician organizations. Of these, 22 groups are either sending patients to Vision Source® member practices already, or we are exclusively contracted to see their patients in the future or we are creating workflows for pilot programs. Since August of 2013, the administrators have participated in several training programs designed to help them identify, pursue and implement managed care opportunities. Kudos to the administrators, who have been responsible for more than 50 percent of the aforementioned opportunities.

To keep this momentum going, we need your participation. The conversations we enter with sophisticated medical groups regularly include questions regarding the aggregate medical outcomes and collective patient experience scores for our members in a geographic region. Your administrators need to be equipped with a few key metrics for every member who is a part of their respective network.

If you haven't yet taken the brief (12-question) survey, please do so as quickly and accurately as possible. The collection of this information is critical to our managed care initiative success.

Here's how you can access the survey. Log in to the member intranet at visionsource.com. Select Members and then Managed Care Initiative Survey, as shown below.


I'm also encouraging you to begin measuring the patient experience in your practice, if you are not already doing so. The collection of patient or customer feedback is an essential ingredient of success for any business, and in the context of the managed care world in which we operate, it is imperative that Vision Source® is able to market the fact that our members consistently measure this leading indicator as a means to capture information that will help improve their patient experience score.ipad

Be well,
Jim Greenwood
President and CEO
Vision Source®

* Complete Your Survey for a Chance to Win

All members who complete the survey by Nov. 15, 2014 will be entered into a raffle to win a new iPad.

  Is Your Optical Performance a Nightmare?

Dr. Walt West Introduces Dr. Doofus

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Over the next several months, each issue of the Gazette will include a link to a Walt West, OD-anchored video segment on ways to improve the management of your optical dispensary and pitfalls to avoid.

From the anchor desk Dr. West provides valuable information regarding optical sales trends and calls out some of the potential reasons why your optical profit might be reduced. Dr. West introduces Dr. Doofus, and through the management mishaps of Dr. Doofus, he teaches Vision Source® members the ways that they can avoid making the same mistakes and letting valuable opportunities for revenue and patient satisfaction slip out the door. In this introductory episode, Dr. West outlines the challenge, citing a 2012 Jobson study that found that 70 percent of eye exams are conducted in offices of independent eye care practitioners, yet only 40 percent of eyeglasses are purchased in independent ECP offices.

Dr. West says that while there are challenges, none are insurmountable. "While managed vision care reimbursements have reduced profit, there's likely as much profit missed within the independent practice as a result of the way the doctor communicates or doesn't communicate with patients and the optical staff, the way the optical inventory is purchased, the retail pricing methods used, the sales skill levels in the optical and the manner in which frames, lenses, and lens treatments are sold, and the list goes on." In each issue of the Gazette, Dr. West and Dr. Doofus will introduce a new video, showcasing ways to maximize optical dispensary sales and avoid Doofus-like mistakes. You'll also learn from Electra, Dr. Doofus' optical manager, some of the typical mistakes made in the management of the optical…and the doctor never knows!

Watch the first video here.

  Breaking News

Alcon Marketing and Vision Source® Loyalty Program Update

The 2014 Alcon marketing and Vision Source® loyalty practice agreements were re-emailed on Thursday, Oct. 30, to practices that have not already signed. The contracts that had not been signed or reviewed have expired and were voided. They will have come from Vendor Relations via DocuSign. Please check your spam, junk and trash boxes of your email.

These agreements replace the old Premier Practice Program. FAQs were included in the email to help explain the program better. Due to changing Pharma and Sunshine law guidelines, there was a delay in finalization of our Alcon contracts, which in turn delayed our ability to provide these agreements earlier.

We have a recorded information webinar that practices can review at their convenience and that provides additional program highlights. This webinar will reside in the vendor news section of the library tab on the Vision Source® member website. If you need additional information, contact the Member Support Center or email [email protected].

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The Next New Thing

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This is the 13th 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, 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 Reyna Hernandez, OD of Garland, Texas, who describes her passion for introducing new things in her practice. Click here to read her story.

  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 #17

6 YO WF

  • CC: "hit in the eye with a stick"
  • HPI: right eye, yesterday, was throwing a stick around "like an arrow," vision Ok, but painful
  • Medical Hx: unremarkable
  • Ocular Hx: unremarkable
  • External: large conjunctival wound near right caruncle
  • 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

Accelerate the Conversion to Daily Disposable Lenses

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"Our office has enjoyed incorporating Fresh Day™ lenses over the past several months. Patients have found these lenses to be extremely comfortable and love the convenience of daily lens replacement. In fact, over the past two years we have moved 51 percent of our patients into daily lenses. With the combination of silicone hydrogel material and some amazing multifocal and toric technology, I have truly enjoyed fitting Fresh Day on our patients."

– Brett Hagen, OD, of Spokane, Wash. and administrator, Eastern Washington and North Idaho

  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.

What Is On-hold Time Telling Your Callers?

Eyes On Hold is offering Vision Source® members free service through February 2015 when you sign up by Nov. 30, 2014, as well as a bonus free holiday production. Eyes On Hold builds practice image and professionalism by using your "hold time" for soft patient education. Comprehensive services for Vision Source® ODs includes USB flash drive playback equipment; completely customized script writing, unique to your practice; professional voice talent, studio time, and licensed music designed to build image and prestige; and the ability to update your on hold productions at no additional cost. Call 877-899-2020 and mention Vision Source®.

•   •   •   •   •

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Avoid Missteps in Hiring

Hiring decisions are important and time-consuming. Just one misstep can lead to a bad hire, which can have a negative effect on productivity and morale. Some businesses estimate the cost of a bad hire in the thousands of dollars, calculating the replacement costs associated with advertising, training and the time spent finding the right person. In this webinar, ADP reveals some of the most common hiring mistakes, what you can do to avoid them and the technologies available that can help. Click here to view.

•   •   •   •   •

Johnson & Johnson Listening to Vision Source® Doctors

Steven Loomis, OD, of Littleton, Colo., says that he has noticed the renewed attention from Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (JJVC). "JJVC has listened to that input and taken important and tangible steps to making its products more easily available and affordable to our patients. While rebates on contact lens products have in the past lowered costs to consumers, they have frequently proven difficult to manage. Uniform pricing has eliminated that hassle factor for both the doctor and the patient while still providing competitive prices to the patient. Repackaging the contact lenses has led to better compliance on the part of the patient in proper replacement of their contact lenses which is of utmost importance to the patient's ocular health. The ocular health of the patient is always the highest concern to eye doctors. I am pleased that Vision Source® and JJVC have developed a closer working relationship to help ensure excellent patient care."

•   •   •   •   •

Revenue Management Solutions Offered

TriZetto Provider SolutionsTM (formerly Gateway EDI) can bring powerful revenue management solutions to your office. The company offers comprehensive reporting tools, analytics solutions to help simplify business processes and get accurate payments quickly, traditional clearinghouse solutions, a 90-day warranty on reducing rejected claims*, extensive direct-payer connection and a support team available 24/7. Call 800-969-3666, option 5 or email [email protected]. *See the vendor book at visionsource.com for specific offer and conditions.

  Around Vision Source®


  Practice Development

Find Your Gold Standard in the VSR

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The VSR program brings a true gold standard level of differentiation to Vision Source® and the practices that have assigned a VSR in their practices. Here, the new San Gabriel Valley CA VSR Facilitator Judy Hong is with her group holding cupcake "reminders" for the staff initiative set forth in that state as part of preparedness training in their local VSR programs.

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


  Marketing

Support Links for Your Vision Source® Website Hosted by Avelient

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One of the benefits of Vision Source® membership is a free website hosted by Avelient. More than 1,900 members have taken advantage of our websites. Avelient has made the process very quick and easy so that you can provide information via phone and online form and then go about your business. In just a couple of weeks, your new website will be complete. Additionally, the Avelient team members can point you in the right direction for search engine marketing and social media help through our preferred vendors.

Contact Heather Suggitt, social media and public relations manager ([email protected]) if you need additional information on websites or social media for your practice.

  Vision Source® Member News

Vision Source® Member Blogs for Optometry Times

Scott Schachter, OD, a Vision Source® member in Pismo Beach, Calif., released the second installment for his Optometry Times blog, Schachter Factor, and discusses his protocol for diagnosing and treating dry eye patients in his practice.

 Happy Halloween from Vision Source®

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  Your Feedback Counts

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Please take a moment to answer this two-question survey—even if you've done so before. It provides us the feedback to improve The Gazette.

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