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We’re happy to announce our second round of gift card winners in the ‘Picture Perfect and Protected Vision with Crizal UV’ contest! Congratulations to our latest winners!
There’s still plenty of time for your practice to enter and win! Find out how here.
Want a fast and easy way to enhance your OfficeMate skills to help grow your practice? Try Boot Camp Fridays! Choose 1, 2, or all 3 live, web-based classes—just 1 hour each and $59 per class, for individuals or groups. Learn best practices from an expert practice manager and the Eyefinity training team; then try out what you just learned. Learn more and register.
Last night, VSP and the AOA sat down for an informative 90-minute discussion about the inclusion of stand-alone vision plans in the Insurance Exchanges. VSP remains concerned that the AOA has no plans for assuring optometry’s access and parity in healthcare reform.
Watch the video below where Dan Mannen, OD, FAAO, shares his concerns about “putting the fox in charge of the hen house and place our future in the hands of health plans that routinely discriminate against our profession, blocking our access and paying us less for like services.”
If you missed last night’s discussion, you’ll still be able to watch a recording the video here later today: http://vspprovesit.com/healthcare
If the Exchanges move forward as structured, private practice eye doctors will have to provide care to their patients through health plans.This new structure could lead to a variety of unintended consequences for both patients and their eye doctors.
Optometrists may be locked out – Health plans have a long history of preventing optometric participation on health plan panels across the country. The Harkin Amendment, which has been touted as providing parity for all healthcare providers, does not guarantee access or parity. So, optometrists will have to rely on health plans to change the way they currently do business and allow them on their panels.
Optometrists could be forced to accept reimbursement from plans like Davis, Spectera, and CompBenefits – Current law allows these plans to directly participate in the Insurance Exchanges, while disadvantaging stand-alone plans because they are not associated with a health plan. Health plans are likely to turn to these programs when and if they need an optometric network.
Optometrists could see fewer patients – There are currently 100 million people in the U.S. relying on vision benefits from stand-alone vision plans. Research shows that these individuals with a stand alone benefit get vision care much more frequently than those who have a benefit through a medical plan. As patients transition out of Stand-Alone Plans and into vision/medical bundled programs, doctors are likely to see far less utilization from these patients in the future.
Optometrists could lose Kaiser patients – Two thirds of Kaiser enrollees also have VSP coverage. In states with high Kaiser penetration, this could gradually disappear as employer groups enter the Exchanges and cannot continue to contract with VSP through those Exchanges.
Since 2007, there has been a 650% increase in adults buying their eyewear online in the United States. Many of those consumers buying eyewear on the internet are probably your patients. As an independent eyecare professional in a changing market, what are you doing to compete with this expanding group of online optical retailers?
Leonard Hampton, OD
Many independent eyecare professionals have already opened their own eStore, including Dr. Leonard Hampton, who has practiced optometry for 29 years at Memphis Family Vision in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Hampton recently sat down with us to discuss his recent decision to open an eStore. Initially apprehensive and skeptical, everything changed when he learned that an eStore could keep patients in his practice and money in his pocket.
Q: What methods do you use to market your practice?
A: We’ve used traditional marketing techniques, such as give-aways, trunk shows, and other events. We recently tested the social media waters with Facebook and Twitter, and have more than 500 Facebook “Likes” and more than 20 Twitter followers. I’m not a “Facebooker,” but I recognize the value of having an online presence where so many people today connect and shop.
Q: Why did you consider opening an eStore?
A: Patients were walking out the door with their prescriptions and buying contacts and eyewear elsewhere, and we didn’t have a solution. We’d heard about eStores, but to be honest, I’m “old school” and it felt weird even thinking about having an online store!
Q: What steps did you take to learn more about eStores?
A: A trip to SECO in March changed everything. The turning point for me was learning from an eStores representative how an eStore could address our problem, how easy it was to set up, and that it was free because I already had an eWebExtra site.
Q: Can you describe your experience setting up your eStore?
A: It was fast and the easiest thing we’ve done in a long time—truly a no-brainer! Eyefinity did a great job helping us set it up and showing us how it worked. We started receiving contact lens orders immediately. Also, the prescription validation process is easy and straightforward.
Q: How are you marketing your eStore?
A: There’s an eStore link on our eWebExtra site and we advertise it on our business cards. Now, when patients ask for their prescription, I let them know they can buy online from our eStore. It’s not a high-pressure sale—we’re just letting them know they have a new option.
Q: Are the opticians in your dispensary directing patients to your eStore to see more frame options?
A: Yes, and if patients don’t find what they need, we ask them to come back for more help.
Q: What would you tell your peers about your experience offering patients online options to connect with your practice?
A: Having an eWebExtra site is phenomenal. It’s one convenient place for patients to download forms, link to Facebook and Twitter, and shop using our eStore.
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If you’re an eWebExtra customer, opening your eStore is free, fast, and easy. Get started now, and you can be open for online business in less than 30 minutes.*
If you’re not an eWebExtra customer, sign up now so you can reap the rewards like Dr. Hampton. Questions? Contact an eStores customer support expert at 855.393.2664.
*eStores are exclusive to VSP® practices at this time.
It’s important for your patients to take care of their sight 365 days a year, including protecting against harmful UV rays. UV rays can cause accelerated eye aging, wrinkles around your eyes, and have contributed to millions of cataract surgeries every year. Check out the video below on how UV rays can affect your eyes all year long.
UV rays are everywhere and are reflected off many surfaces. In fact, 40% of all UV exposure occurs when you’re not in full sunlight. That’s why Crizal® No Glare lenses designed a new generation of lenses to protect your patients’ eyes from harmful UV light coming from the back side of the lens, ensuring their visual health over time. Watch the “Complete story about UV” video below to learn more.
Crizal is the only No-Glare range on the market offering the most complete protection against the invisible and often irreversible dangers of UV reflection, and the best enduring clarity of vision by fighting the five enemies of clear vision—glare, scratches, smudges, dust, and water. See how!
Starting today, your office can enter to win weekly prizes through the Picture Perfect and Protected Vision with Crizal UV contest through Eyefinity!
How to Enter
Eyecare professionals must register here for the contest to be eligible to win. All registrants will be put into one of four groups based on orders placed at eyefinity.com in 2011. You’ll receive an e-mail with your group name and the average number of Crizal orders for your group.
How to Win Beginning today through July 31, 2012, weekly prize winners (one office from each group) will be announced and one lucky grand prize winner will be announced at the end of the contest. Registered practices will earn points based on the lenses they order: one point for Crizal® Alizé® and Crizal EasyTM and two points for Crizal Sapphire UVTM, Crizal Avancé UVTM and Crizal SunShieldTM.
Weekly Drawing Prize: $25 Best Buy® Gift Card
Earn entries into a weekly drawing based on the Crizal lenses your office orders at eyefinity.com. You’ll receive the same number of entries into the drawing as points listed above.
Grand Prize: Canon Powershot ELPH 300 HS Digital Camera The office from each group that earns the most points from ordering Crizal lenses at eyefinity.com, will win a Canon Powershot ELPH 300 HS Digital Camera.
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