EYE OWN A BUSINESS

Poor Daily Disposable Sales? Try This Approach

Dr. Kris May operates his practices in a region with some of the lowest per capita family income in the country. This isn’t the typical market that comes to mind when we think success with daily disposables, and yet Dr. May’s current daily rate is 55 percent.  

There was a time when Dr. May prescribed mostly 2-week disposables and felt that dailies were not an option with his patient base, until he did some research on patient compliance, safety, and practice profitability. This caused him to take another look at dailies and make some big changes. Dr. May shares his best practices and lessons learned in this interview. 

Are You Bored? Rediscover Your Passion for Eye Care

Does your career feel stagnant? Have you lost your excitement for practicing optometry? If you fall into that category, that may be hard to admit, but you’re not alone. In fact, it’s very common for ODs to feel “burned out” from the routine of seeing patients. The good news is… you don’t have to be confined to a small dark room if you don’t want to. A lot of opportunities exist for ODs to pursue alternative career paths if they aspire to.

In this episode I talk to Dr. Joel Hayden. His story involves specialty services, a YouTube channel, teaching a course, mentoring potential optometry students, and even a foray into the world of acting. This is Joel’s story. You can write your own, and I hope this interview inspires some people feeling “stuck” to get out of their comfort zone and pursue the unconventional path.  

 

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Interested in an optometry specialty? Join our community FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/idocspecialty

Stop Dabbling in Dry Eye! Make it Your Specialty

Like many specialty services, a lot of ODs “dabble” but fail to make a service like Dry Eye a meaningful part of their practice. From a clinical and financial standpoint, dry eye has tremendous potential, but a lot of ODs are standing on the sidelines while doctors like Dr. Cohen are going all in and reaping the benefits!  

It takes time, effort and money to get where Dr. Cohen is, but the important thing is just to get started. In this episode, we hit the fundamentals of launching a dry eye specialty. Stop dabbling and start building. 

 

Follow us on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/idoc.alliance/ or https://www.instagram.com/idocnet/  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IDOC.OptometricAlliance  

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/idoc  

 

Interested in an optometry specialty? Join our community FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/idocspecialty  

Good Boss or Bad Boss? Which One are You?

In this episode we talk with Dr. Michelle Johnston, author of The Seismic Shift in Leadership, about being a more effective leader. Leadership in the workplace has moved beyond the “command and control” style… or has it? Many leaders are still deploying outdated methods of leading their teams. In a time where employees appear disengaged, turnover is high, and practice revenues are stagnant, it’s worth looking in the mirror and asking, “Am I the problem?”

 

This interview may challenge many of the ideas you have about leadership, but if you’re willing to make some changes, the rewards for both you and your team could be astounding.

 

Follow us on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/idoc.alliance/ or https://www.instagram.com/idocnet/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IDOC.OptometricAlliance

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/idoc

 

Interested in an optometry specialty? Join our community FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/idocspecialty

 

Leadership

Employee engagement

Effective leadership

Human connection

Creating a “Magical” Patient Experience

Benchmarking is a term used in business to reference the study of other companies or businesses to compare with your own. Through this process, many companies will (wisely) adopt best practices of other companies.  

Disney is one such company that has been widely studied by numerous other companies across a wide spectrum of industries. In this episode, Dr. Vargo talks with Dr. Jennifer Stewart about her fascination with Disney and how she’s integrated many of their business strategies into her practice.  

 

Follow us on Instagram, at https://www.instagram.com/idoc.alliance/ or https://www.instagram.com/idocnet/  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IDOC.OptometricAlliance  

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/idoc  

 

Interested in an optometry specialty? Join our community FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/idocspecialty 

 

Disney 

Disney experience 

Customer service 

Patient experience 

Patient journey 

 

Help! I Was Denied Access to an Insurance Panel

In this episode, Dr. Vargo reached out to IDOC’s own Managed Care Consultant, Jenna Armitage, to discuss an issue we’re hearing from many ODs – getting denied access to insurance panels. This has been a longstanding issue with a few vision plans, but we’re now hearing this more frequently for medical plans also.  

While we’re seeing a trend with many practices dropping insurance plans, that’s not practical for every practice and the majority of optometry practices still depend on access to patients provided by insurance companies. In this podcast, we’ll walk you through the process and offer valuable insights into what to do when you’re denied access to an insurance panel.

 

Follow us on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/idoc.alliance/ or https://www.instagram.com/idocnet/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IDOC.OptometricAlliance

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/idoc

 

Interested in an optometry specialty? Join our community FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/idocspecialty

 

Insurance

Insurance credentialing

Insurance denial

Insurance panel

Employee Benefits: How to Compete with Large Employers

In this episode, Dr. Vargo explores the world of employee benefits with Cory Friedman, Senior VP of Benefits Consulting with the Alera Group. They cover how to get started, how to choose what benefits to offer, how small businesses can get creative with benefits to stay competitive with larger employers, and how to manage all of it without losing your mind!  

In this job market, employers have to be competitive with salary and benefits to acquire and retain good talent. Cory’s background working with small businesses gives him a unique perspective and he does a great job laying out the options in this interview.  

 

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/idoc.alliance/ or https://www.instagram.com/idocnet/  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IDOC.OptometricAlliance  

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/idoc  

 

Interested in an optometry specialty? Join our community FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/idocspecialty  

 

Employee benefits 

Job benefits 

Employee acquisition 

Employee retention 

The Economy and Practice Ownership: What to Do and What to Expect

In this episode, Dr. Vargo sits down with IDOC CEO Dave Brown to discuss something on everyone’s mind – the economy! For business owners, scary words like inflation and recession might be keeping you up at night. You’re probably feeling the pressure from things like rising wages and higher cost of goods, not to mention the fear and uncertainties that come from not knowing what the future holds. 

In this podcast, they discuss the good, the bad and the ugly. Fortunately, it’s not all bad and ugly. Neither Dave nor Steve have a crystal ball, but they do their best to share some insights and recommendations based on historical data and trends from previous economic downturns.  

 

Follow us on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/idoc.alliance/ or https://www.instagram.com/idocnet/  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IDOC.OptometricAlliance  

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/idoc  

 

Interested in an optometry specialty? Join our community FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/idocspecialty  

 

Inflation 

Recession 

Economy 

Economic downturn