Issue 60 October 2, 2015

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Issue 60


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Top Story

One Word, Two Distinct Meanings

Many people see a yield sign and think that of it as a traffic command: acquiescence. Cede the right of way. But don't forget that yield also means harvest. As we enter the fourth quarter of the year, it's a great time to think about the fact that our work from the first three quarters of the year is now beginning to bear fruit.

For example, I think of the harvest that we're seeing from The Optical DreamSM, the third phase of which launched on Sept. 7. We've heard from practices that have been on board since the beginning, as they excitedly share stories of double-digit revenue growth. We've heard from practices that embraced the second phase, noting a sustained jump in annual supply sales of contact lenses. Whether or not your office was an early adopter in The Optical DreamSM program, I do expect you too are harvesting impressive results. You need look no further than our webpage of success stories from The Optical DreamSM.

The Optical DreamSM 3 is highlighting Transitions lenses, color contact lenses and multifocal contact lenses. These elements are being added to the ongoing focal points from the first two phases of The Optical DreamSM. The approach continues to be a team-based model; while the optician may be the most directly involved in the patient encounter, clearly everyone in the office plays an important role with the overall patient experience.

The Optical DreamSM works. Practices that are participating show an 11 percentage point higher acceptance of anti-reflective lens sales (68 percent compared to 57 percent in nonparticipating offices) and a much higher percentage of annual supplies of contact lenses (32.6 percent versus 2.9 percent in nonparticipating practices. There are so many ways beyond the daily spins/opportunities for your staff to enjoy the incentives at no charge to your practice. Vision Source® awards five $1,000 prizes each month, five trips to Paris at the end of the year, and six trips to Key West for the Transitions Eyeland Giveaway. (Read more about that below)

The Optical DreamSM is only one of the recent Vision Source® innovations that is yielding results. The groundwork that Vision Source® members have laid with physician groups, accountable care organizations, integrated health systems and payors continues to benefit Vision Source® practices at an accelerating pace—in many communities across the country.

And it seems fitting to talk about the incredible harvest that comes from Vision Source® members and the Member Support Center when it comes to Optometry Giving Sight. Don't forget that World Sight Challenge Day is next Thursday, Oct. 8. We can't wait to hear what your office is doing to support this Vision Source® international charity of choice. Here's to my hope that Q4 yields a bountiful harvest of profitability, passion and recognition for your office and your team.

Click here to learn more about The Optical DreamSM3.

Be sure to share your World Sight Day fundraising stories and photos so that we can share those ideas through social media with others in the network.

Together, we have the ability to provide hope. Thank you for your support.


Be well,
Jim Greenwood
President & CEO
Vision Source®



  The Optical DreamSM Powered by Vision Source®

The Optical DreamSM Participants Continue to Win

Patient satisfaction and increased revenue may be the results of participation in The Optical DreamSM, but creating a culture of fun and team-building is a benefit that will go a long way. Take a look at our winners list! The weekly spins are just the tip of the iceberg.

Imagine if at no extra charge to your practice, one of your employees was able to take a trip to Paris! Click here to view the practices that are in the lead.

On Oct. 1, Vision Source® introduced yet another staff incentive, The Transitions® Eye-land Getaway. The highest Transitions® seller, who is actively participating in The Optical DreamSM3 in each division will a trip to Key West! Click the graphic to begin the short training.

  Breaking News


Mark Your Calendars for The Exchange® 2016

The Exchange® will be the biggest, most exciting Vision Source® meeting in history, and it's less than six months away. We'll celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Vision Source® March 16-19, 2016, in historic (and fun-filled) San Antonio. Click here for more information on just some of what the city has to offer, and then go to vstheexchange.com to preregister. Watch your mail and email for exciting details still to come!

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Optometry Giving Sight Update

Next Thursday, Oct. 8, is World Sight Day. Through your fundraising efforts, we are about one-third of the way to our $1 million goal! Please note that this is a year-long campaign. If each of our practices donates $1/day, we will exceed the goal and be well on our way to funding an optometry school in Haiti, a country with 10,000 people and only three optometrists. Change a nation; learn how you can participate by going to their website or watching this video.


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Are You Ready For Prime Time with Transitions®?

As announced at The Exchange® earlier this year, Transitions® Lenses will be tagging its national TV commercials with the Vision Source® logo and website. The campaign will run Oct. 12 – 25, 2016, on network TV including ESPN, Fox, CNBC and the Discovery Channel. Click here to see the TV spot as it will run.

In the past, when Transitions® tagged its commercials with Vision Source®, there has been a huge uptick in visits to the Doctor Locator on VisionSource.com. Be prepared to present and fit more Transitions® lenses in the coming months!


  ICD-10 Coding

ICD-10 Is Here

This is the week. Remain calm and remember the top changes that will occur with ICD-10:

1. Seventh digit - in ICD-10 the 7th digit is a special character used in certain chapters to provide information about the characteristic of the encounter. We will most commonly see it used with glaucoma codes (H40-) and injuries.

• For most glaucoma codes you will have to use one of the following characters in the 7th position
     1- Mild
     2- Moderate
     3- Severe
     4- Indeterminate

• For most injury codes (codes in the S and T chapters), you will have to use one of the following characters in the 7th position
     A- Initial encounter
     D- Subsequent encounter
     S- Sequela

2. Placeholders - dummy placeholders (“X”) are used in certain codes to fill out empty characters when a code contains fewer than 6 characters and a 7th applies. They also allow for future expansion. When placeholder character applies, it must be used for code to be valid.

3. Laterality - Most ICD-10 eye codes specify laterality (i.e., left, right, or bilateral). If a patient has a bilateral condition, assign the bilateral code when one exists. Otherwise, assign separate codes for both the right and left sides. For example, some disease codes, like those for HSVK have no laterality. Others, like those for benign neoplasms of the conjunctiva have only right and left, but not bilateral codes.

4. Combination codes – ICD-10-CM includes many combination codes. A combination code is a single code that describes two diagnoses, a diagnosis with an associated manifestation or a diagnosis with an associated complication. Be on the lookout for combination codes for diabetic complications and injuries.

5. Glaucoma coding rules - Assign as many codes from category H40, glaucoma, as needed to:

• identify the type of glaucoma,
• the affected eye, and
• the glaucoma stage

6. Encounter type rules – Injury codes usually require coding for encounter type.

• Initial treatment is generally while the patient is undergoing the first exam. Visits may occur in the ER, physician’s office or even include surgical treatment.
• Subsequent care is when the patient is done with the initial "active" treatment and is receiving follow-up care
• Sequela is when the patient is fully healed and returning for a complication of the initial condition, for example, for a recurrent corneal erosion.

7. Excludes notes – ICD-10-CM includes not one, but two types of excludes notes to denote when a specific disease is not considered part of a code.

• A type 1 excludes note is a pure excludes note. It means "NOT CODED HERE!" and is used when two conditions cannot occur together, such as a congenital form versus an acquired form of the same condition.
• A type 2 excludes note represents "Not included here" and indicates that the condition excluded is not part of the condition represented by the code, but a patient may have both conditions at the same time, such as a patient who has diabetic retinopathy and hypertensive retinopathy

8. V Codes – the V codes for eye examination (V72.0…Examination of eyes and vision) have changed to Z codes in ICD-10

• Z01.00 Encounter for examination of eyes and vision …without abnormal findings
• Z01.01 Encounter for examination of eyes and vision … with abnormal findings

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9. Code first rules – Many codes have "cde first" notes when certain disease may be due to an underlying cause.

10. CPT / HCPS codes do not change. Also CPT modifiers must be used and must match the ICD code.

Do you have a question about ICD-10? Peter Cass, OD, will take your questions and we'll feature interesting situations in future issues of the Gazette. You can email [email protected] with non-urgent questions about ICD-10.

  Fresh Day® and Fresh 30® Success Stories

Lenses Offer Immediate Comfort and Clarity

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"CooperVision Fresh Day® contact lenses encompass a diverse line of products, including sphericals, torics and multifocals, which, I have found, fit most patients interested in contacts. Patients I have examined experience comfort and clarity right away, and they enjoy the convenience and safety of a UV protected one-day contact lens. The fact that the contacts are made of silicone hydrogel is a bonus for ocular health."

– R. Todd Nobbe, OD, of Nobbe Eye Care Center in Lincoln, Illinois

  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.


Clinical Pearls for Fitting CooperVision Multifocal Soft Contact Lenses

CooperVision has created a step-by-step guide to help you best fit your patients with multifocal soft contact lenses. Visit the vendor book to download this chart.


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New Rebate Available for DAILIES TOTAL1®

Alcon announced a new $100 rebate for DAILIES TOTAL1®. The mail-in rebate promotion is available through Jan. 31, 2016. Visit the vendor book for more details.

Also, Alcon will be running this national ad tagging Vision Source® in its new DAILIES TOTAL1® advertising to appear in 6 million issues of Entertainment Weekly and US Weekly in November and December.

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Fitting Box Webinar Online Now

Here's a video from FittingBox.

Remember that the Member Service Representatives should be the first point of contact with any questions. Click here for additional informative tutorial videos.

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Essilor Launches Vision Source® Exclusive Promotion on Transitions® Lenses

In support of The Optical DreamSM3, Essilor Transitions® lenses is launching a Vision Source® exclusive promotion on Essilor Transitions® Single Vision Lenses. Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2015, your Vision Source® practice can earn a $5 reward for every pair of Eligible Essilor Transitions Single Vision Lenses purchased above your baseline.

You will soon receive an email from Vision Source® vendor relations with more information about the Essilor Transitions Single Vision Lenses and your Vision Source® office's baseline for the promotion. For any questions about the promotion, please contact [email protected].

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Eyes On Hold Offers Free Service and More Through Dec. 31

Eyes On Hold, a provider of custom phone "on hold" message systems, builds practice image and professionalism by using hold time for effective patient education. A series of custom messages, mixed with music, is read by studio voice talent that elevates the reputation of your practice and ultimately increases patient retention. Eyes On Hold provides many comprehensive services for Vision Source® practices including the ability to update messages at no additional cost, no setup fees, optional Vision Source® branding content and more. Visit the vendor book to read more about the exclusive offers to Vision Source® practices new to Eyes On Hold, including pricing, free service through Dec. 31, a $100 gift card and a holiday production. To participate call 877-899-2020 and mention Vision Source® or visit eyesonhold.com.

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Introducing Collective Focus

The U.S. currently has 800,000 people with undiagnosed diabetic macular edema (DME). Additionally, there are 1.1 million people diagnosed with DME who are not yet being treated. To help close these treatment gaps, Regeneron has created a new program called Collective Focus: Focusing on the vision of patients with diabetes.

Collective Focus provides valuable information for patients and doctors in these ways:

  • Providing materials to educate patients about the dangers of diabetes-related vision loss
  • Supporting optometrists' efforts in monitoring their vision
  • Encouraging patients to receive annual, comprehensive dilated eye exams, and to seek treatment for diabetic eye disease if required

Preserving vision in patients with diabetes is truly a team effort. And Collective Focus has materials that can be very helpful to Vision Source® members. Regeneron will be sending you these complimentary materials in the near future. You will have an opportunity to receive additional materials in the future if you so desire. To learn more, please visit mycollectivefocus.com.

As part of our work with Regeneron we are asking you to click the link below and take a brief 5 question survey. This brief survey will help Regeneron in guiding their efforts to optimally support Vision Source® members.

Click here to take the survey.


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Chip Credit Card Update

Don't panic, be informed. Read more from Scott McBrayer at Professional Merchants Inc.

  Around Vision Source®


  Practice Development


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Visit to The Exchange® Help OD Plan Mission Trip

This is the 33rd 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 Keith Nice, OD of San Leandro, California, who describes how a chance meeting at the 2015 Vision Source® Exchange® led him and his family to a mission trip in El Salvador. Click here to read the story.

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Make It Convenient for Patients

gold gold

Tracy Terry (pictured left) works at the front desk where she helps patients with checkout after their exam, and oftentimes, she is the one making the contact lens sale. With The Optical DreamSM, we have increased our annual supply sales, which means that we are discussing rebates with patients. Tracy offers to go online and fill out the rebate for the patient so that all they have to do is put it in an envelope with their box tops and stick it in the mail. We have had many patients, in particular a single dad, who really appreciated this little extra service.

– Sue Mobley, Licensed Optician Advanced Vision Care, Burlington, Vermont

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.

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Final Tour Dates for Practices of Distinction Tour

Vision Source® is a Diamond level sponsor of the Practices of Distinction Tour, a practice management series from Vision Source® members April Jasper, OD, FAAO; Katie Gilbert-Spear, OD, MPH; and Carl Spear, OD, MBA, FAAO. Vision Source® members can sign up (meals included) for just $49 per person. Final dates for the event are Oct. 15 in Berkeley and Oct. 16 in Fresno, California; Oct. 24 in Phoenix, Arizona; Oct. 26 in Seattle, Washington; and Nov. 13 in Williamsburg, Virginia. Learn more or register here.


  Marketing

Marketing Toolkit Makes Marketing Hassle-Free

“We have had great success with the online marketing toolkit, and we use it often! Recently we have used the marketing toolkit resources to create postcard reminders and promotions, letterhead, and most recently, the large-scale back to school banners. We like the convenience to select, preview, and then have the materials delivered to our office. It's a hassle-free experience!”

– Steven Wolfe, OD, Omaha, Nebraska


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New Social Media Graphics Available in the Marketing Toolkit

Be sure to visit the Marketing Toolkit regularly to source new and complimentary Vision Source® content for your social media pages. There are new Facebook cover photos, trunk show graphics, new member, anniversary and Home Safety Month graphics. Click here to browse the growing graphic library.



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The Importance of Online Reviews

As Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD, pointed out on the Vision Source® Social Media Group, "Reviews Matter." Did you know that a #1 Google Ranking will result in 42 percent of the people searching for you clicking on your site? Reviews have a direct correlation to Google ranking. Learn more about the importance of online reviews and how to encourage patients to review you on the directories that will impact your bottom line. Read more here from Heather Suggitt, manager of social media and public relations.



  Vision Source® Member News

Member Recognition

Optometric Management published its list of Most Influential People in Optometry. Congratulations to all, especially the Vision Source® members on the list: Dori Carlson, OD, FAAO, of Park River and Grafton, North Dakota; David Cockrell, OD, of Stillwater, Oklahoma; Glenn Ellisor, OD, of Humble, Texas; Ben Gaddie, OD, of Louisville, Kentucky; Matt Geller, OD, of San Diego, California; Alan Glazier, OD, FAAO, of Rockville, Maryland; Scott Jens, OD, FAAO, of Madison, Wisconsin; Dave Kading, OD, FAAO, of Kirkland, Washington; and the late David Sullins, OD, of Sullins Eye Care in Athens, Tennessee. View a complete listing of the Vision Source® optometrists who were honored here.

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Steve Rice, OD, of Vision Clinic in Missouri, hosted a 5K race last week benefitting Optometry Giving Sight.

Watch the video to learn more.


  Your Feedback Counts

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