Eye Own a Business

The Job Interview: Don’t Just Ask Questions, Become a Great Interviewer!

What should I look for in a resume? How do I prepare for an interview? What questions should I ask? These are good questions to answer, but many employers just “wing it” when it comes to interviewing job candidates. There is an art to asking the right questions, knowing what to listen for, and identifying the right qualities in a candidate that will not only increase your odds of finding the ideal candidate but also avoid the hassles and headaches of hiring the wrong person. 
 
Employers must also consider that the job candidate is interviewing them! They want some assurance before accepting the position that this will be a great fit for them. The job interview can serve to showcase your office culture, a defining factor in candidate’s choosing your practice over another. 

Switching Patients to Daily Disposables (Without Patient Resistance)

There are times when an OD feels it’s in the best interest of a patient to modify their contact lenses. This often involves making a change, such as changing the brand or modality. This can be a challenge with a patient who is not experiencing any problems with their habitual contact lenses. It can be even more challenging when the lenses you’re prescribing will cost the patient more money than their current lenses.  
 
In this episode, Dr. Moscow shares his strategies for presenting daily disposable, handling objections, and getting the patient’s “buy-in.” These strategies have led to 80% of his contact lens patients being fit with daily disposables! 
 
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Interested in an optometry specialty? Join our community FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/idocspecialty  

My One Year Education in Managing an Optical

Let’s dig into a topic many ODs lack knowledge and expertise about… optical and inventory management. They didn’t teach us that in school!
Dr. Neil Patel is a young OD who purchased a practice one year ago. His first thought was “How hard can this be?” Not long after he confided to an IDOC Optical Consultant, “I have no idea what I’m doing!” That self-realization led to his quest to work with our Inventory Management team and learn more about how to successfully manage his optical and inventory. In this interview, Dr. Patel shares what he’s learned over the past year and how the IDOC Inventory Management service has allowed him to run a successful optical with fewer demands on him and his staff.
 
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

Rethinking Practice Metrics: Do the Old Rules Still Apply?

Change in the eyecare industry is nothing new, but the past few years have seen more change than normal. Having a solid understanding of your practice financials is important to help you navigate changes and strategize for the road ahead. 
IDOC’s Associate Director of Financial Services, Nathan Hayes, shines a light on what metrics are most important and how to use those metrics in your business planning and decision-making. We also discuss IDOC’s Books and Benchmarks service that takes the burden of bookkeeping off your plate… and makes sure it’s done right! 
 
 
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  

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.  
 
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

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