Issue 56 August 7, 2015

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Issue 56


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Top Story

greenwood

Valued Vision Source® Membership,

Last week’s announcement about our pending new relationship with Essilor was one of the most exciting days in my career. As with any change, it’s natural to have questions. I would like to take a few moments of your time to explain why I feel that this was the perfect choice for our practices as we look towards the future. I want to begin by sharing with you that one of my biggest personal initiatives for the last few years has been to make sure that Vision Source® lands in a place that allows us to realize the vision that we have to drive new and exponential value for our practices in years to come, a place that continues to be accountable and earn the trust of our members, and a place that secures the wonderful profession that I've enjoyed for the next generation of practitioners—such as my son and daughter.

As you know, Brazos Partners has been our private equity investment partner for the past 4 1/2 years. They were a great partner for our needs during this period and have helped us significantly by increasing our infrastructure and adding extraordinary new talent to position our network for the future. Moving forward, however, I feel that we're best partnered in a relationship that will allow us to make long-term investment decisions vs. the 3-6 year focus of private equity firms. I also feel our best position for the future is in a relationship with a strategic partner with knowledge and expertise in our profession, with existing resources that can help us realize our goals for the network, better and faster, and whose initiatives and vision align with ours and independent optometry. As we considered these factors, Essilor was the perfect choice.

Like some of you, I struggled with a couple of the acquisitions that Essilor made in the last few years. Our senior leadership team engaged in vigorous discussions with their leadership after each of these decisions were made. Although considerable benefits for independent optometry resulted from these acquisitions, we understand concerns you may have about the ownership of these organizations.

Moreover, in our eight year vendor partnership, we've found Essilor to be one in a select few organizations that are always open and honest in their negotiations, with a real focus on growing our members' practices and independent optometry overall. Essilor has always been among the first to offer new programs and/or support others such as VS Learning and The Optical DreamSM. For these and other reasons, including great discounts, most of us already use Essilor products and services and have benefitted from our partnership. Essilor wants to continue to help Vision Source® members grow their practices. When you win, they win. It's that simple. It's the reason that they want to invest in you—to insure sustainability and long-term growth. In the years to come, we feel that this new relationship will offer many additional platforms and services to help position our practices for success.

Several other initiatives are common to each organization and offer great opportunity for new and/or enhanced value for our practices in 2016 and beyond. Essilor has deep marketing expertise and resources that will no doubt bring additional value to the work we are already doing in developing marketing for our members. They have an assortment of technology and talent that can offer a great deal of value as we develop the ultimate patient experience. They share in our commitment to bring eye care to those in need and can help amplify our philanthropic efforts. Last, in order to compete with the emerging forces in our industry, we must improve the efficiency of the existing supply chain to continue to lower our costs and improve delivery times and, ultimately, the patient experience. Essilor is the perfect choice as we consider distribution models for the future.

There are surely other advantages we feel this relationship will offer. At this time, however, there are no changes to the current relationship we have with Essilor. Until the acquisition is successfully closed, members will see no changes, including any additional resources that are not already provided in our current partnership. Before and after the close, you will continue to have the same choice you have always appreciated with your membership. As has always been our philosophy, at the core of any new initiatives is a focus on what you, the members, would like to see prioritized and enhanced over time. I encourage you to share your suggestions through the annual member survey or through any members of our team.

I hope that sharing my perspective has allowed you to better understand our excitement about the upcoming relationship with Essilor. We are convinced that this will allow us to better execute our mission, "Enriching lives by enabling independent Optometrists to reach their full potential." Our leadership team will continue to lead the organization as noted last week. We are excited about this news, and the leadership looks forward to working with you, our members and customers, as we spend time at your local meetings in the coming weeks as we always have.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or any members of our team with your ideas, thoughts or questions.

Sincerely and respectfully yours,
Glenn Ellisor, OD
Founder & Executive Chairman
Vision Source®



  The Optical DreamSM Powered by Vision Source®

Winners Announced from July – 100 MVP Spins

The Optical DreamSM team has announced its July winners of 100 MVP spins. From the top 20 in each division, one $1000 prize winner was randomly selected. Watch this video to see the announcement. Click to see the complete list of engagement spin winners and MVP winners.

It's not too late to register. Log into visionsource.com to access the member intranet and register through the link on the home page. Register now and earn a FREE SPIN. If you have registered, be ready to take advantage during of our Gold Standard Week from August 16-22 and win Gold and Diamond prizes only! If you need assistance to get started, call your member services manager at 888-558-2020.

  Breaking News


CE Opportunities for Vision Source® Members at Vision Expo West

Vision Source® is a proud supporter of International Vision Expo West, Sept. 16-19, in Las Vegas! We are please to present these exclusive benefits for you and your staff to enjoy at Vision Expo West 2015!
  • Complimentary Exhibit Hall Registration ($150 savings): Visit VisionExpoWest.com/visionsource or use code: VS15
  • Exclusive Educational Discounts: Choose from over 320 hours of groundbreaking education and specialty tracks for every role and experience level.
  • Three (3) hours of complimentary education will be offered to the first 100 members that register for Vision Expo West Education.
  • After initial 3 hours are claimed, enjoy 10 percent off education. You must register through the Vision Source® link.
  • Club Vision Lounge Access: Enjoy complimentary lunch and access to Club Vision Lounge, each day of the exhibit hall, Thursday, Sept. 17 - Saturday, Sept. 19. Members must pick up Club Vision lunch vouchers by 1:00 p.m. each day.

  ICD-10 Coding Challenge

T Minus Two Months on ICD-10 Implementation

ICD-10 coding is scheduled to begin on Oct. 1, 2015. Are you ready?

In the next issue of Gazette, Peter Cass, OD, will address and clarify the announcement from the CMS that stated it would allow any ICD-10 code from the proper "family" of codes for the 1st year of ICD-10 implementation.

How would you code this case?

code

Case #32

55 YO BF

  • CC: blurred vision
  • HPI: both eyes, for years, has to use eccentric viewing to see, no significant changes
  • Medical Hx: hypertension, tachycardia, hypercholesterolemia
  • Ocular Hx: diagnosed as legally blind years prior
  • External: unremarkable
  • Internal: thickened patches of pale retina with fundus flecks from center outward OD & OS

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.

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dr

Earn CE With the ICD-10 Webinar Online Now

Vision Source® has provided the unrestricted educational grant to support an ICD-10 CE webinar: What You Need To Know Now. The session, presented by Peter Cass, OD, and facilitated by Walt West, OD, FAAO, aired live on July 1. Register here to learn about the new coding and billing guidelines, predicted costs of the change, the structure and layout of the ICD-10 codes and more.

  Fresh Day® and Fresh 30® Success

Take Advantage of CooperVision Stock & Lock Offer

CooperVision's Stock & Lock program for July provides a great deal on buying Fresh Day® sphere 90-packs. Lock in on this special pricing now.

  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.


safilo

Safilo Introduces New KIDS BY SAFILO Collection

Safilo presents the new KIDS BY SAFILO eyewear collection, devoted to 0- to 8-year-olds. KIDS BY SAFILO optical frames are created to respond to children's unmet needs. The new eyewear collection perfectly matches children's requirements and, at the same time, their parents' expectations. Read more here.

Mommy Bloggers Focus on Children's Eyewear

In July, mommy bloggers and consumer editors were invited to a children's vision and eye health presentation held in Safilo Group’s New York showroom. Attendees learned about the importance of addressing a child's quality of vision at an early age and the science behind the new Kids by Safilo collection from an esteemed panel of speakers At the close, children ages 1-8 modeled the KIDS BY SAFILO collection.

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eof

Higher Discounts, Higher Purpose with Eyes of Faith Frame Collections

Increase your profitability with more than double the previous Vision Source® member discounts and benefits on all Eyes of Faith® collections. Vision Source® partners now enjoy a 30 percent ongoing discount on all Eyes of Faith® collections, a free back‐up frame with every VeggieTales® frame order (not eligible for 30 percent discount), and free shipping on all patient orders. Visit the vendor book to learn about additional freebies and support. Patients will love the inspiration woven into each frame, and the higher purpose of a Wear & Share® eye care or eyewear donation for each purchase.



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contest

Luxottica Sponsors Dream Makeover Contest

Want to redesign your optical area of your practice but just don't have the time or funds? Luxottica may be able to help. It is sponsoring three renovation packages as part of its Ultimate Optical Dream Contest totaling $100,000. Three prizes will be awarded ($50,000, $30,000 and $20,000 in value respectively) and will be given away at the beginning of 2016. To qualify, register your practice in The Optical DreamSM Powered by Vision Source®, purchase a minimum of $5K annually in Luxottica product and click here to register for the contest. The three winners will be contacted by Luxottica and will be able to consult with Luxottica design specialists. Retail One will be contractor and perform build out.


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VSP Global Apple Watch Winners Announced

Congratulations to 10 lucky Vision Source® doctors. They each entered a VSP Global drawing at The Exchange® in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2015, and walked away with new Apple Watches. Here are the winners:

  1. Wallowa Valley Eye Care Inc., of Enterprise, Oregon
  2. Brenda Deforrest, OD, of Orlando, Florida
  3. Nicholas Green, OD, of Mission Viejo, California
  4. Tammy M. Scheff Paul of Jenks, Oklahoma
  5. Fairbury Vision Center, LLC, of Fairbury, Illinois
  6. Monroe Vision Source, of Monroe, Michigan
  7. Desert Oasis Eye and Optical, PC, of Peoria, Arizona
  8. Guthrie Vision Source, PC, Inc., of Guthrie, Oklahoma
  9. Area Eye Center, Inc., of Perryton, Texas
  10. Carolyn M Wong, OD, of Los Angeles, California

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tag

FittingBox Update

From the feedback we're received, many of you are anticipating implementing this new technology in your practice. Good news: progress continues to be made, and we are nearing the time for the FittingBox rollout to the membership. Please click here for the latest information.

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Back-to-school Savings

Get 10 percent off your entire order from DAC Edge.

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safilo

Merchandising Webinars Available from Creative Visionary Inc.

Travis J. Reed, CEO of Creative Visionary Inc. and Eyecare Business Magazine presents Retailing Secrets, online webinars to keep you a step ahead of the competition. Vision Source® members receive a 10 percent discount on webinar pricing by using the code 'VSMEMBER'. 'Visual Merchandising Principles and Practices' Beginning Level Course starts at 7pm CT tonight, so don't miss out! Click here to view and register for August webinars.

  Around Vision Source®


  Practice Development


dr

OD Pushes Himself to Capacity

This is the 29th 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 Derrick Pierce, OD of Bentonville, Arkansas, who describes how his Vision Source® membership has helped him optimize his capacity to see patients. Click here to read the story.

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gold

Putting Some Muscle Behind Gold Standard of Community Involvement

G. Michael Murphy, OD, of Vision Source®-Swansea/Vision Care Associates in Swansea, Illinois, has not only sponsored the annual Get Up & Go biathlon for Memorial Hospital since it started five years ago, this year, he got a team involved to compete. The practice also posted information about the competition on its Facebook page, putting out the call for volunteers to help staff the event and inviting riders to go along on a 20-mile practice ride that Dr. Murphy lead. gold The preparation paid off. The Vision Source® Swansea/Vision Care Associates team brought home some hardware. The practice's Safilo rep, Matt Bantle, (pictured at left) took second place in his age division—and it was his first biathlon ever. Dr. Murphy and patient Ashlee Pugh teamed up to take second place in the co-ed relay division.


Do you have an example of how The Gold Standard book helped you raise the bar? You can share your gold standard moments with us here.



  Marketing

marketing

Bausch + Lomb Webinar Series

Register for a Lunch & Learn Digital Marketing Series presented by Bausch + Lomb. Each Wednesday in August, at 12 p.m. CST, a different topic will be covered. Webinars are designed so that doctors and office staff can fit these into their lunch hour easily Each webinar is a half hour of learning with an industry expert and has an opportunity to stay on for an extra 15 minutes of a live question and answer session. Webinars will be posted on the member intranet.

Click on the images below to register for each webinar or to replay past webinar recordings:




  Your Feedback Counts

ear

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