Yearly Visits Keep Patients Current

“Almost all O.D.s would agree that contact lenswearers should be seen at least annually. In

my practice, we require all contact lens patients beseen at least once a year before obtaining morecontact lenses. This schedule allows us to updatelens materials or designs. With today’s rapidly evolving technology,it’s our goal to make sure our patients are in the most advanced andcomfortable lenses compared to what they were wearing only ayear ago.

“I think it is helpful when any company associated with contactlenses takes the initiative to educate their consumers about the im-portance of regular, routine eye care. I applaud Alcon for its proac-tive message to its consumers.”

Sid Morse, O.D.Asheville, NC

Alcon Takes the Lead

“Alcon’s initiative to encourage annual exams onits packaging reinforces its commitment to eye

health and optometry. Alcon continues to be optome-try’s preeminent partner in maintaining eye health.”

Richard E. Hults, O.D.Four offices in Ohio

A L LD O C S

ASSOCIATION OFLEASEHOLDINGLENSCRAFTERSDOCTORS

ALLDocsALLDocsThe

NewsletterRx Therapeutics for Practice Growth

Eight years ago, John R. Smith,O.D., Elyria, OH, wasgetting frustrated culling

the patient information hewanted from his record sys-tem. Knowing a little aboutwriting code for his Mac sys-tem, he decided to write hisown electronic medical record(EMR) program. He’s been us-ing it for about eight yearsnow, during which he has up-dated it twice. He lists the reasons whygoing paperless has made a huge dif-ference in the way he practices.

◆ The amount of time searchingfor patient records “goes to zero. Ihave access to information about apatient from anywhere—in the officeor at my home—at the click of a but-ton,” he says. In the course of a day,not having to pull paper records forevery patient or in response to phonecalls from patients saves a tremen-dous amount of time.

◆ The exam room process ismore efficient. “It’s so easy andquick to enter exam data. For a rou-

tine exam, it takes about 30-60 sec-onds to enter data. Enteringmy findings when the examshows something significantis also much faster than writ-ing on a paper record,” hesays. And with typed records,people can avoid “trying todecipher messy chickenscratch,” he adds. There’s acomputer in each room ofthe office.

◆ The EMR eases the medical

billing process. Dr. Smith uses a thirdparty to submit his claims electroni-cally, but he also uses billing andcoding software that confirms thathe’s using the right codes. “After amonth or two of double-checking thecodes, I feel confident. But the soft-ware can help you get started withmedical billing, especially with themost intimidating codes,” he says.

Dr. Smith does not sell his EMRsystem currently, but is being

Read the Box

Continued on page 3

Dr. Smith

Dr. Hults

The Paperless Practice

See You in Arizona

There’s still time to register for theALLDocs annual meeting, Oct. 14-18 atthe Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. Forupdated meeting information and themost current meeting agenda, visit all-docsod.com.Ph

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Third Quarter 2007 Visit us atalldocsod.com

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FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

Why Annual?

The ALLDocs annual meeting, to beheld Oct. 14-18 in Scottsdale, AZ,

is shaping up to be our best yet.Many O.D.s tell me it’s the one meet-ing each year they don’t want to miss. It has be-come an annual tradition.

Indeed, most major meetings are held once ayear because a lot can happen in that time. Assoon as we leave one of these meetings, we markour calendars for the next one.

In the same regard, our patients’ visits to our offices should be an an-nual tradition—for the very same reason. A lot can happen to a patient’seye health and refractive condition in a year. We’ve all heard of or seenfirst-hand the surprise finding of a potentially life-threatening or sight-threatening condition in an asymptomatic patient during an eye exam.

As LensCrafters leaseholding O.D.s, we want to help lead the initia-tive toward annual eye exams. We have tremendous support—bothfrom Luxottica Retail, which is developing its own campaign to promoteannual eye exams, and from our vendor partner Alcon.

Alcon is ahead of the curve with its new labeling on the OPTI-FREE®

RepleniSH® care kits. The boxes say, “See Your Doctor Yearly For HealthyVision.” These kits present us and our staff with a tremendous opportu-nity to reinforce this important message. Experience has shown us thatwe need to see patients annually to evaluate their eye health and en-sure that they’re being fit with the best contact lenses and eyeglassesavailable to them. New products arrive on the market regularly.

Just as I hope to see you all at the ALLDocs annual meeting, I encour-age you to emphasize to your patients that annual exams are important. ■

Kerry Gelb, O.D.drkmg@comcast.net

Dr. Gelb

A L LD O C S

ASSOCIATION OFLEASEHOLDINGLENSCRAFTERSDOCTORS

FashionandFunctionJudi Schaffer, O.D.Ft. Lauderdale, FL

“In the future Ienvision that my

patients will make their appointment,

update their patient history and submitfor authorization prior to their exam.All of this will be done on the Internet.Once patients arrive, they will use ourtouch screen kiosk to check in.

“While they are waiting to be pre-tested, our fashion models will be serv-ing their choice of green tea, bottledwater or cappuccino. The models natu-rally will be wearing the latest styles inglasses, sunglasses and clothing all from

Milan—em-phasizing ourtrend-settingsophisticatedstyle. Fash-ion for allages willdominatethe office,as well asmultiplepairs ofeyewearfor alloccasions.

“The exam equipmentis the latest, greatest high-tech available.My retinal camera is linked to my nearbyretina specialist’s office. We are able todiscuss any patient concerns on line im-mediately. The same holds true for refrac-tive surgery consults. Everything can beexpedited with my new wireless office.

“The contact lens industry is boom-ing! Everyone realizes the importance ofowning both glasses and contact lenses,not choosing one or the other. I am nowreaping the benefits of our total recallsystem. Pre-appointing patients has en-abled me to add a second doctor dailyas we are booked solid far in advance.”

FutureStartsTodayDale Stein, O.D.,and WayneGoldschneider, O.D.Practice partnerswith four offices insouthern New Jersey

As our scope of practice expands, asinformation technologies widen, as newrequirements take shape and as diagnos-tic instrumentation technologies becomeavailable, it becomes imperative thateach of us views the office of the futurein the here and now. Legislation recently

Dr. Schaffer

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Dr. Schaffer’sPreferred Rxs

Dr. Goldschneider

Continued on page 4

In keeping with the theme of the 2007 ALLDocs annual meeting to be held in Scottsdale, AZ, from Oct. 14-18, several ALLDocs members contributed their visions of the office of the future.

3ALLDocsALLDocsThe

Newsletter

By Harvard Sylvan, O.D.Director, Professional Development,CooperVision, Inc.

Biofinity™, the third generationsilicone hydrogel lens, was re-

leased to a limited group of doctors(many of whom belong to ALLDocs)

at the end of June. Years of R&D resulted in the devel-opment of an entirely new silicone macromer. Designedwith patented Aquaform™ technology, which createsstrong hydrogen bonding with water molecules, Biofini-ty’s unique lens material (comfilcon A) offers high watercontent, low modulus and high oxygen transmissibility.

Biofinity, while possessing a high Dk/t of 160,has the highest water content (48 percent) of any sil-icone hydrogel lens. In addition, Biofinity has a lowwetting angle. Comfilcon A is naturally wettable andresistant to deposits so it needs no surface treat-ments or internal wetting agents. A rounded edgepromotes additional comfort, and the front surfaceaspheric design improves acuity in low-light condi-tions by correcting for spherical aberration.

Here’s what doctors are saying about their earlyexperiences with the lens:

“CooperVision has hit a home run. The Biofinitylens has great comfort, excellent optics, and it iseasy to handle and fit. This silicone hydrogel wasworth waiting for. Patient feedback has exceededmy expectations. Biofinity may have been the mostrecent silicone hydrogel to reach the market, but itis certainly looking like the best product.”

Kerry Gelb, O.D., Woodbridge, NJ

“The Biofinity lens is the best contact lens that has

ever entered the marketplace. It issoft and spongy like the olderHEMA lenses, with the high oxygenflow and wettability of a siliconelens. The fact that it is inherentlywettable and doesn’t need anadded wetting agent or surfacetreatment to moisten it makes it su-perior to other available siliconehydrogel lenses. Wetting agentsattract protein deposits; Biofinity stays clean. I tellpatients, ‘You are now wearing the finest contactlens that has ever existed.’”

Steven Lutz, O.D., Ann Arbor, MI

“The doctors and contactlens staff have been thrilled withthe patient reaction to the newBiofinity lens. The comfort and vi-sion are wonderful, and with thehigh Dk, it is a lens that we arefitting on more and more pa-tients. The drop-out rate with con-tact lens patients is way too highdue to end-of-day dryness; theBiofinity lens gives our patients

the comfort they need to get through their dayswith a minimum of dryness.”

Jack McIntyre, O.D., Corpus Christi, TX

In a few months as production increases, allLensCrafters leaseholder offices should have this ex-citing new lens. Please contact your area sales man-ager or Bob Scott (bscott@coopervision.com) formore information. ■

Biofinity™ Release Is Huge Success

GUEST COLUMN FROM COOPERVISION

Dr. Sylvan

Dr. McIntyre

Dr. Lutz

pushed by several friends to do so; providingtech support for other doctors seems daunt-ing. But he does suggest that O.D.s who arenot yet paperless should look into a systemsoon. His advice: Make sure the system you’rebuying allows you an out. “If you don’t like itor want to switch down the road, you shouldbe able to do that,” he says. It’s a dynamicfield, and EMR systems continue to improve, headds. ■

Emphasizing Annual Visits

D r. John Smith is a big fan of Alcon’s message, “SeeYour Doctor Yearly For Healthy Vision.” “I used to do two-year recalls, but no longer,” he

says. He remembers a patient whose retinal exam im-age looked clear one year, “and the next year therewas a melanoma. We’ve seen a number of instances ofthat kind of thing, especially once we added the retinalimaging,” he says. ■

PaperlessContinued from page 1

Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Alcon Laboratories

By John Rumpakis, O.D., M.B.A.

Proactive - (Adverb) - “controlling a situationby causing something to happen rather than wait-ing to respond to it after it happens...”

In previous issues of The ALLDocs Newsletter, we havediscussed the ABCs of the Total Patient Care Model—

with an emphasis on “total.” Patients come to optometryoffices nationwide for care—total care that encompassesnot only their refractive needs but also their overall eyehealth. So many times when discussing the Medical Mod-el, the impression is that the traditional foundation of re-fractive care is cast aside. That makes it somewhat dif-ficult for optometrists to figure out how to incorporatemedical and refractive services together. It’s important toremember the two are not exclusive, but complemen-tary. The annual refractive examination is the driverfor many of the patients who require medical eye care.

Have you noticed how Alcon Laboratories hastaken a proactive first step industry-wide on our col-lective behalf? The new labeling on their OPTI-FREE®

RepleniSH® MPDS states, “See Your Doctor Yearly ForHealthy Vision.” It’s a continual reminder to patientsthat regular annual visits to the doctor are imperativefor healthy vision. When you prescribe a contact lenssystem—a biocompatible combination of contact lens-es and solutions for your patients—being proactivecan have a much more far-reaching message.

Annuity patients, those who return each year for

regular routine care, are the mostlikely to return for both primary andsecondary care if they know you of-fer it. It sounds so simple, but howmany patients have told you they’vebeen to the ophthalmologist oremergency room for a treatment orprocedure you could have providedin your office? You need to take advantage of theopportunity to be proactive and educate them aboutthe additional medical eye care services you provide.

Make the most of these golden opportunitieswhere you have patients’ full attention in the examroom. Let them know that part of your total patientcare model includes medical and refractive services.Remind them about the convenience of returning toyour office for problems related to their prescriptions,allergies, red eyes, foreign body removals or glauco-ma management. If they don’t know you offer it,you cannot blame them for going elsewhere.

Alcon’s new labeling provides optometrists yet an-other opportunity to discuss the need for annual eyeexams. It’s nice to know that a trusted industry partneris also being proactive in the education of our patients,helping them to understand that annual visits are nec-essary for optimal vision and a proper evaluation ofeye health. Take advantage of this opportunity and beproactive on behalf of your patients. Help your pa-tients understand that in eye care, as in all things,an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. ■

The Importance of Annual Visits

IMPLEMENTING THE MEDICAL MODEL

Dr. Rumpakis

Continued from page 2

passed that allows New Jersey O.D.s toprescribe oral medications. Electronicmedical records will become mandatoryby 2014. Not only will electronic datalead to greater ease of documentation,eliminating paper records will free spaceneeded for diagnostic instrumentation.

“In order to give our patients state-of-the-art eye care, we must utilize state-of-the-art equipment. Over the past fiveyears, in our busiest office we have pur-chased an Optos Panoramic ScanningLaser Ophthalmoscope, a Zeiss OCT in-strument, and a ZeaVision Macular Pig-ment Optical Density measuring device.In that same time frame, we have pur-

chased DGH pachymeters in all of our of-fices. These instruments allow us as prac-titioners to provide our patients with themost up-to-date care regarding retinalevaluation, glaucoma diagnosis and man-agement, and education, prevention andmanagement of macular degeneration.”

—Dr. Stein

“Realize the economic impact of an-cillary testing, especially that which is notreimbursable by insurance—such as theoptomap Retinal Exam and ZeaVision.The ability to provide our patients withcutting-edge diagnostic technology forwhich they pay out-of-pocket has a pro-found impact on the bottom line. Patientsare becoming more aware of the impact ofstaying well and preventing disease.

“The well-informed pa-tient will de-mand the lat-est technolo-gy, and thiswill set apartthe prac-tices thatare able toprovidefor theirpatients’needs at thehighestlevel.”—Dr.

Goldschneider

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Drs. Stein andGoldschneider’sPreferred Rxs

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