by Steve Baker
President, Eyefinity
In the optometric industry, one does not have to look far to realize that eye care professionals have many traits in common. Three that come to mind are “Passion,” “Commitment,” and “Grit.”
Filed under: EHR, Forward Together, Industry news, Optometry, Personal Stories, social media, Uncategorized | Leave a comment »
Steve Baker, President of Eyefinity
I had the pleasure of attending a thrilling, three-day conference in San Francisco organized by the Health 2.0 community. Health 2.0 is a clever play on words, signaling the combination of Web 2.0 technologies and the latest advances in healthcare and wellness. The Health 2.0 movement is at the directional forefront of health care, and is often viewed as the bellwether for things to come. The conference was widely attended with over 7,000 attendees from all over the world. Participants from North America, Europe, South America, and even Australia attended the lectures and packed the exhibit hall and panel discussions.
The healthcare space is moving at a startling and increasing velocity, seeking to efficiently solve such critical problems as consumer engagement and communication, predictive modeling, and early diagnosis and prevention. Health 2.0 tracks about 2,100 companies across 20 categories. So, what are the fastest moving categories? The fasted are patient/provider connectivity and clinician-workflow tools. An honorable mention goes to personal-sensor monitoring, which is swarming with small startups clamoring to bring creative approaches that link together your personal health condition through your smart phone directly to your primary care physician. Cool stuff!
As I consider optometry, I can’t help but think about how far we have yet to go as an industry. Primary care is moving at a furious clip. It’s important to monitor key trends, but equally (if not more so), it’s critical that the optometric community begin to embrace the new world of consumer engagement in healthcare. Eyefinity is positioned well for this new world, with solutions like eWebExtra and our practice management platforms. The next few years will be very interesting as healthcare delivery models evolve, and the growing impact of true consumer engagement begins to make its formidable imprint on how these delivery systems provide health and wellness at a competitive cost. Stay tuned!
Do you have questions or comments? Call or write. I’d love to hear from you!
—Steve
Filed under: Industry news, technology | Tagged: health 2.0, technology | 1 Comment »
We live in active times. Words such as “organic” and “all-natural” dominate the consumer marketing landscape. Why? I would like to think that people are taking an active interest in their personal health. With obesity on the rise in the U.S. and 24 million Americans living with diabetes, it’s no wonder that people want to take better care of themselves.
You’re probably aware that the bicycle remains one of the most efficient forms of transportation. It’s also one of the most accessible forms of exercise, probably second to walking and running. And it’s a natural marriage with a society that values its freedom and mobility with a generation that desires to take better care of themselves.
Enter Body Concepts, a firm specializing in physical therapy and sports training/nutrition. They also have a superb amateur cycling road race team, led by Rob Kopitzke. Eyefinity/OfficeMate sponsored their team, offering an integrated package of eye exams by Michael Johnson, OD, a noted VSP provider in Sacramento. The team was also outfitted with Nike sports performance eyewear, many of which received custom Rx sunwear thanks to the great work done by our friends at Perfect Optics.
In the coming weeks, you will hear first-hand from Rob as the Body Concepts team races across northern California. It’s exciting reading, and the timing is perfect with many popular races such as Tour of California as well as Tour de France. I hope you enjoy the race summaries, as well as hearing direct from consumers such as Rob. In many respects, he’s no different than many of your patients that lead an active lifestyle, be it on or off the bike.
Rob Kopitzke of the Body Concepts cycling team.
Rob’s race summary:
Dunlap TT 6-6-2010
Category: 35+ 4/5’s
Length: 30-k, Dead flat course with ~6-turns
Weather: Light wind from the SW, 94-degrees…first over 85-degree day of the season, roasting. 30-second intervals between riders, interestingly they had a start ramp set up, never used one before…I liked it.
Used my wife’s pair of Nike Vision “Lunge” glasses for the first time…they were awesome for TT! With no frame going across the top of the lenses, I had a great clear field of vision allowing me to go through all the corners in the aerobars gaining valuable time. The max speed tint really allowed me to relax my face and avoid the “squint” which puts tension throughout your body.
Nike Vision "Lunge" sunglasses
Goal was to finish around 45-min
Caught 8-riders in front of me
Finished in: 46’03”, 10th place out of 40 registered…in the points! But out of the T-shirts. 🙂
Winning time: a little over 42 minutes (would have placed top 10 in the pros) next fastest rider was over 43 min and was the rider off just in front of me…no catching him.
Thanks for loaning me your TT helmet Brad…it helped! Really like the ear coverage keeping the wind noise to a minimum and it breathes well enough.
Lessons:
1. Practice longer TT efforts for at least 6-weeks leading into an event like this…those 1-min power intervals Matt and I have been doing are not enough 😮
2. You can dig deeper than you think…
3. Ice in a camel back bladder stuffed down your skin suit lasts about 15k on a day this hot….hot water is better than no water on your first 90+ ride of the year 😮
4. They had a TTT this year that we definitely need to do as a team next year!!
See you all next Saturday
-Rob
Filed under: Personal Stories | Tagged: active, cycling, Nike, sports eyewear | Leave a comment »
I love cycling. Anyone that spends any time with me knows I am a cycling nut. I recently rode an epic 103-mile course that traversed beautiful mountain passes and the scenic northern California coastline. I had a great time, chatting it up with strangers that share a love for cycling. The scenery was spectacular, and I was able to soak it all in because I was wearing direct-from-the-manufacturer prescription sunwear. Having high-quality polarized sunwear greatly added to my enjoyment, safety and overall experience of the day.
Steve Baker is Eyefinity/OfficeMate's Chief Technology Officer
Are your patients missing out on all that life has to offer because they don’t have Rx sunwear? What’s holding you back? Many offices I have personally talked to echoed sentiments over the difficulty in ordering Rx sunwear direct from the manufacturer. I’m not talking about adding a tint to a single vision lens from an wholesale lab… I’m referring to a growing number of sunwear companies that offer their own proprietary Rx solution.
Well the hassles and complexities are over! I’m pleased to announce a new feature within Eyefinity/OfficeMate’s eBuy web ordering solution. Through eBuy, you can now order Maui Jim plano and prescription sunwear through our new prescription sunwear ordering feature. In the coming months, we will be adding more industry leading frame partners to this feature, helping your practice remain competitive.
Our prescription validation technology will confirm that the Rx will fit the frame and lens choice before you send it, saving you and your patients time and money. Check it out today at www.eyefininty.com. Your patients will love you even more when you fit them in fashionable sunwear in their prescription.
Filed under: Optometry, technology | Tagged: eBuy, Maui Jim, prescription sunwear, Rx | Leave a comment »
