Management and Business Academy

November 9, 2012

Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD, of the MBA faculty, advises OD practice owners to depart from traditional accounting categories and to track categories the MBA way. This means identifying and monitoring categories for cost of goods, payroll, overhead, equipment, etc. This will help in fulfilling the number-one rule of business: measure to manage.

October 25, 2012

Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD, of the MBA Faculty, challenges ODs to ask: "Have I improved the patient experience in the past year?" Such amenities as gourmet coffee, popcorn for kids and massage chairs in the dilation room can pay off in positive word-of-mouth that generates referrals. It may be time to stop, look, listen--and do something to improve the patient experience. To view video.

Ron Krefman, OD, FAAO, of focalCenter, advises that practice performance should be measured over time--and then judged against industry benchmarks to see how you are performing and where you can improve. A Net Promoter Score is a highly useful evaluation tool in this regard. Ask patients to evaluate on a 1-5 scale: “How likely are you to recommend this practice?” Then look at the top scores and eliminate the bottom responses to judge how many patients are recommenders versus those who are detractors 

Gary Gerber, OD, advises that success with second-pair sales of eyewear hinges on the eyecare practitioner truly believing that the patient has a need for it. ECPs have no trouble selling a first pair because they firmly believe in the need for it. However, they often rely on discounts as incentives for second-pair sales—when presenting their belief in the need for additional eyewear may be incentive enough.

Ronald Krefman, OD, FAAO, describes survey instruments for measuring the patient experience in all aspects of the office visit.

Mike Rothschild, OD, of West Georgia Eye Care, believes that for new staff members to do well in a practice, they must get off to a great start. His new hires spend several days on orientation, learning the practice culture, Then, in training, they don't learn isolated tasks in an eye exam; rather, they learn to that they are part of delivering a "continuum of care."

Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO, believes that empowering staff to solve common problems is a key to providing superior customer service. In her practice, each staff member is allowed up to $200 to immediately rectify a patient problem or complaint without first having to seek the doctor’s permission. Dr. Sorrenson lectures on staff management issues at “Total Practice Success: Building a World Class Staff,” a new MBA program that premiered in 2011. 

Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO, advises that two magic words ("That's horrible!") work magic in expressing empathy to an angry patient. Teaching your staff to use these words lets an upset patient know that your staff is on their side.

Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO, says many staff bonus systems are effective at improving performance—but only temporarily. The key to sustained high performance by staff is to vary bonus systems and even to engage staff members in a fun game.