 The
last few decades have brought dramatic changes to
ophthalmology. Much of the change has been research
driven, as we have seen in the rapid evolution of
refractive surgery and the refinement of our cataract
procedures. As technology advanced, attitudes evolved-it's
no longer ethically dubious, for example, to perform
refractive surgery on a
"normal" myopic cornea. But change hasn't
been limited to technology and attitudes toward technology.
Equally as dramatic have been the changes in the socioeconomic
climate. One highly significant socioeconomic change
of recent years is the growing acceptance of ophthalmologic
dispensing. Once frowned upon, spectacle dispensing
has become respectable within ophthalmology. The ophthalmology
professional organizations that formerly shunned dispensing
are embracing it, and comprehensive ophthalmologists
across the country are searching for ways to improve
their dispensaries.
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A Sophisticated
Approach
This issue of Refractive
Eyecare for Ophthalmologists has an outstanding article
on the subject. In his piece on
"golden rules" for dispensing, Stephen F.
Sullivan, MD, has applied a surgeon's organized habits
of mind to the understanding and systemization of
rules for success in ophthalmologic dispensing.
A respected surgeon, Dr.
Sullivan presides over a large comprehensive ophthalmology
practice in eastern Massachusetts that sees 65,000
patients a year, offers laser vision correction,
and has a successful dispensary that was recently
ranked the 33rd highest volume optical retailer
in the US.
Dispensing Can't Be an Afterthought
It is clear in Dr. Sullivan's
ten golden rules that his optical dispensary is
not just an afterthought for patient convenience
but rather an integral part of the patient care
his practice provides. As a consequence, the golden
rules for dispensing evidence the same kind of thought
that we would expect from a colleague defining the
steps of a new cataract procedure or the protocol
for using an antibiotic.
It is refreshing to see
an ophthalmology practice take dispensing so seriously.
Dispensing is (or could be) important to the livelihoods
of most comprehensive ophthalmologists. Successful
comprehensive ophthalmology practices have reported
to us that 20-25% of their practice profits come
from the dispensary. Given its importance to both
our patients and our bottom lines, dispensing deserves
the same attention and scrutiny that we afford our
surgical techniques, our medical regimens, and our
business practices. |
