Author: Sabrina Miller

Increase Demand For Premium Lenses

Do informed patients rather choose premium services?

Without any doubt, the utilization of premium lenses for sight corrections has been shown to achieve considerably superior results compared to regular lenses. They enable vision correction for different distances as well as a possible correction of astigmatism after cataract surgery and therefore eliminate the need for glasses. However, many patients still do not want to spend the extra money on premium lenses. But why is this the case? And how can you as an ophthalmologist change that in order to provide the best possible service to your patients?

In fact, many people just see the higher bill for premium lenses and do not even spend a second thought on collecting information about possible advantages. A very sad fact, to be honest, considering that this decision actually concerns people’s eyesight. I mean, this should not be like buying a new printing machine, dishwasher or video camera – it is a decision about your health and your lifestyle! But how can you make people understand this?

In my opinion, there is a fairly obvious, but extremely effective way to tackle this issue: high-quality, accurate patient education.

As mentioned earlier, most people are not even aware of the possible advantages they will experience through choosing premium lenses. Patient education is what can help here. Try to explain as clearly as possible what patients can expect from their treatment. Why do they need it? How is it going to work? What are possible side effects? And, of course: Which benefits will they have from premium lenses?

It has been shown in various studies that better informed patients are significantly more likely to go the extra mile and decide for the superior results with premium lenses. This will not only increase your treatment outcome – and, thus, your reputation as ophthalmologist – but it will also help you to amortize the high costs of medical devices and your staffs´ salary.

„But when should I find the time for this?“ – I literally hear you thinking right now. What I can say is: You don’t need any more time. There are really advanced technologies and applications out there which help you make all treatment options graphically understandable in seconds. Just search the App Store, you will find a variety of options ready to be utilized, for example on your IPad.

In a nutshell, patient education is key. Give them the information they need and you will see that an increasing level of understanding among your patients promotes an increasing demand for premium lenses – which benefits them just as it does for you.

Keeping Up With Millennials

New Perspectives, New Demands and New Ways of Communication

It is widely known that millennials couldn’t differ more from their previous generations in terms of perspectives, demands and daily habits. Grown up in a fast-moving, digital world, they have completely new priorities. So, if you as ophthalmologist seriously want to address your patients’ needs, you must get familiar with what millennials really want.

New Perspectives

In contrast to the previous “working generation”, the current so-called “Generation Y“ has a very strong focus on work-life balance and personal health. Looking after oneself and living a healthy life is what’s important. This is what also makes them want to engage in preventive medical examinations in order to preserve their active lifestyle – even though this means spending some money. As ophthalmologist you need to realize this fact. Only then can you offer the best examinations that are demanded by your patients.

New Demands

Talking about changing demands, you cannot skip the topic of patient education. It’s no longer like in previous days when the doctor says something and everybody is knuckling under. You lie to yourself if you still lead your practice like this was the case. But no, modern patients want to deeply understand why and how they are treated and what exactly will happen during treatment. The only way to fulfill this need is high-quality modern equipment. A simple brochure is no longer enough. Use whatever support you can get – there are various new technologies and health applications out there waiting for you to benefit from them!

New Ways of Communication

What do millennials do when they try to find the next eye doctor? – Correct, they google. The Internet, Social Media and modern technologies are omnipresent in the daily lives of the “Generation Y”. Go make this situation work for you! If you are serious about keeping up with millennials, you must have a persuasive online presence. Set up a well-designed practice website, be present on different social media and you will see – you’re going to be the one and only favorite ophthalmologist among millennials in no time. Wouldn’t you love to be that?

Admittedly, keeping up with millennials is not always as easy as it seems at first glance, but if you really understand their needs and put some effort in addressing them, this is your key to success.

How To Improve Your Practice Image

From Online Ratings to High-Quality Patient Education

Are you an ophthalmologist looking to build a formidable and successful career? Then you should know that your practice image is key to your success. Yes, it is what determines your reputation and success as a professional. So, if you’re serious about sprucing up your practice image, you should strive to improve on several aspects – above all, online ratings and patient education.

Online Ratings

Take it or leave it, online ratings can make or mar you as a professional ophthalmologist. It can win you your next client or keep patients away from you. This isn’t surprising given the fact that in our more and more digitalized world reviews – either positive or negative – have a great impact on your practice image as a professional. The truth is patients do no haphazardly just visit any ophthalmologist. They take their time to sieve through the reviews online before making an informed decision. Of course, if you have and manage to  keep up a positive rating, you have not so much to worry about, but on the flip side, having negative reviews can greatly dent your practice image. So, it is important that as a professional you should try to continuously improve your service delivery to patients. But how can you make that? The solution is: Take patient education very seriously. A high-quality patient education builds trust and can greatly reduce negative ratings; you’ll love that right?

Patient Education

Patient education is unarguably one of the best ways to improve practice image. With this in place, you can be sure of little or no negative ratings which in the long run will boost your professional image. And yes, there are lots of patient education tools out there, but one that has stood out from the pack is Easy Eye. This amazing app is designed to give patients all the information they need to know about their condition with the click or swipe of their finger. And while this app has been developed in partnership with leading ophthalmologists, the icing on the cake is that this app is highly interactive and provides a great platform to offer premium lenses to patients. For professionals who want to provide over the top service to patients, this app is the perfect tool to use. Trust me when I say Easy Eye reduces your work while decreasing negative ratings too.

In a nutshell

Improving on your practice image isn’t so difficult after all, although it may take time. Following the tips mentioned in this post will improve your chances of success.