In today's episode, Dr. Lance Anderson joins the PracticeAdvantage podcast to discuss HEA's acquisition of PECAA and what this means for the success of independent eye care professionals. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Your competition is getting more and more sophisticated. To be successful, you have to be leveraging data and metrics and spend time focusing on your business.
2. Community is critical to success. Being together as independents, sharing ideas and challenges, and collaborating to support each other's success is our secret weapon.
3. Partnership is powerful. A true partner is one who cares about your success and working with you so you accomplish the goals you have for your practice.
4. Together, HEA+PECAA will bring new resources and opportunities to redefine success for the independent eye care professional.

What Lance is reading:

• Deceptive Delivery by Mark Graham

In this episode, Dr. Manning sits down with Lauren Harmon, Office Manager at Heber Springs Eye Care Center to discuss strategies for building an efficient front desk and check in process. 

Takeways:

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare. If your front desk team is not prepared for any scheduling challenges, insurance issues, or who is coming in that day, you're already behind. An efficient check in process leads to a great patient experience and presets the patient to allow a little wait time later in the patient journey. 
2. Leverage technology to move as many check in processes to before the patient sets foot in the office: digital intake forms, patient engagement software, and insurance verification. 
3. Verify the patient's insurance ahead of time. This contributes to a great patient experience, no matter how much of the patient's responsibility it may be. 
4. Provide goals for your front desk team, scripts to use, and a general outline for a day at the front desk. Cross-train for a more efficient check in process and better patient experience. 

What Lauren is reading:

• 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell

Learn more about how the PracticeAdvantage program can help build your practice here or by calling 800.959.2020, Option 3. 

In this episode, we sit down with Dermot Walsh, Chief Revenue Office of Ocuco to discuss the power of e-commerce for glasses and eyewear and how an efficient practice can increase your capture rate and eyewear sales. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Patients want to be empowered and knowledgeable when it comes to purchasing your treatment plan. They will be doing research at home before stepping foot in your practice.
2. Patients want an e-commerce solution and offering one improves the patient experience significantly. When they have a great patient experience, they are more likely to purchase from you.
3. Integration is key. Get your team on board with integrating the solution and then market/ communicate your new capabilities to your patients, both via your marketing and patient communication tool as well as communicating it in office.
4. Patients want to be able to purchase multiple pairs for multiple outfits, just more on their terms.

What Dermot is reading:

• The President's Daughter by James Patterson and Bill Clinton
• Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson
• Undisputed Truth by Mike Tyson

To learn more about HEA's Program with Ocuco, contact a Solutions Specialist at 800.959.2020, Option 3. 

In this episode, Dr. Manning and Dr. Brianna Rhue, founder of DrContactLens discuss the efficiency implications of offering e-commerce to your patients in the contact lens space. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Patients want to purchase from you and want the convenience of ordering from an e-commerce platform. 
2. Patients are also consumers and often make decisions in the context of being a consumer. Thinking of them as such does not diminish the doctor patient relationship. 
3. E-commerce platforms can enhance the patient experience by providing more control to your patients, reminding them when it's time to order, and providing direct shipping. 
4. Engage your team in the implementation process so they can be fully invested in its success.

What Dr. Rhue is reading:

Traction: Get a Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman

Learn more about Healthy Eyes Advantage and PracticeAdvantage by clicking the links!

Being efficient in the optical is critical but can be a significant challenge for your entire team. Shaun Damico, Director of Operations and Business Development at Williams Group, shares the best strategies for improving your optical's efficiency. 

Takeaways: 

1. Engage your entire team in the optical sales process. Everyone on your team should be able to sell eyewear.
2. Reevaluate your approach to cross training. Can all team members can jump in to adjust, dispense, repair. Making a patient wait is one of the biggest causes for a poor experience and a negative review.
3. Consider adding clinical opticians to your exam room to improve patient perception, education, and treatment compliance.
4. Stop asking, "Do you want to buy glasses today?"
5. Embrace the reality that you have to be able to afford to deliver the level of care you desire to give your patients.

What Shaun is reading:

1. The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle
2. The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
3. Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

Learn more about Healthy Eyes Advantage and the PracticeAdvantage program by following the links or emailing [email protected].

On this episode, we talk with Dr. Maria Sampalis on ways to build a more efficient practice in the areas of pretesting with your team. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Engage your team with their ideas for improving your pretesting process. Host regular meetings to do this. 
2. Schedule optimization is critical to practice efficiency. 
3. Put an emphasis on cross training your team. Each team member should be skilled enough to jump in across departments to build efficiency and serve patients. Don't be afraid to jump in to work up the patient yourself when needed. 
4. Time your team members through the pre-testing process and look for opportunities to improve. Communicate clearly with your team when those opportunities for improvement exist. 

What Maria is reading:

Review of Optometric Business

Learn more about Healthy Eyes Advantage and PracticeAdvantage!

On this episode, we sit down with Dr. Masoud Nafey, Chief Medical Officer of Vision Web, to discuss becoming more efficient in the exam room. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Leverage your EHR platform to improve charting efficiency. Take the time to train yourself and your team on utilizing your platform more effectively. 
2. Consider passing off additional exam room elements to your staff to improve efficiency. Give them the opportunity to rise to the occasion. They likely will. Baby steps are ok. 
3. Empower your team to begin patient education from the moment they walk through the door. 
4. Time your exam room process and determine where your inefficiencies lie. 

What Masoud is reading:

The Idea Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power of Bottom-Up Ideas by Alan Robinson

Learn more about Healthy Eyes Advantage at hea2020.com. 

Join Dr. Manning and Dr. Carla Mack as they discuss the power of efficiency in an eye care practice. 

Key Takeaways:

1. To become more efficient in your practice, begin with your team, both doctors and employees. They are closest to their roles in patient care. They likely have ideas for how the office can be more efficient. Build a culture of sharing, where everyone's opinion is valued. 
2. Don't be afraid of incorporating telehealth into your practice flow to improve efficiency. It does not have to replace the in person experience your patients have.
3. Efficiency for the sake of efficiency is not the right approach. Don't let your focus on being more efficient negatively affect your patient experience and your patient's willingness to comply with your treatment plan. 
4. How to start today:
   1. Be open to change
   2. Get baseline data: patient surveys, team surveys, KPI metrics

What Dr. Mack is reading:

1. Your Day, Your Way: The Fact and Fiction Behind Your Daily Decisions by Timothy Caulfield

Learn more about HEA and the PracticeAdvantage program at hea2020.com or by emailing [email protected]. 

Change is difficult. Change is scary. Change isn't easy. Join Dr. Manning and Dr. Wan on this episode as they dive in to the power of change and how to effect positive change within your practice. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Change Management is a science. To effectively change your practice
   1. Start with a vision for change and cast it.
   2. Equip your team with the skills needed to implement a new process or procedure.
   3. Give your team the "WIIFM." How are they incentivized to be successful in change?
   4. Determine if your team has the resources needed to be successful.
   5. Storyboard and create an action plan for implementing the change.
2. When was the last time you asked yourself, "Why do we do things this way?"
3. Change cannot occur without clear communication. Avoid sabotaging the change you want. 
4. Meet regularly to maintain everyone the same page. 

On this episode, we sit down with Dr. Larry Wan to discuss the power of new technology and secrets to implementing it and gaining staff buy-in. 

Key Take Aways:

1. Start with your team. When it comes to implementing a new technology, ask your team members first their thoughts and how they think you can be most successful implementing the new technology. 
2. Always remember WIIFM (What's In It For ME) with your team. Your team will easily connect how a new technology or revenue generator will benefit the practice owner. Leverage goals and statistics to track success and directly benefit your team members when they are successful with the new technology. 
3. To be truly successful with a new technology or service create a win-win-win. Make sure your new technology has noble cause - benefiting and improving patient outcomes and the patient experience, in addition to the both the owner and team benefitting. 

What Larry is Reading:

Books on Grit, Emotional Intelligence, and Happiness.