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In this first episode of the Future of Eye Care series, we sit down with the head of VSP's Global Innovation Center, Ruth Yomtoubian to discuss the future of eye care and how innovation happens.

Key Takeaways:

1. Innovation isn't just about disruption and the future. True innovation respects the past, understands the presents, and seeks to solve the problems of the future.
2. Two key trends Ruth is following outside of eyecare that likely will impact eye care:
   1. Hybrid care - the best of in person and virtual in a single experience (e.g. Forward Care, Carbon Health, Eden)
   2. Future of Benefits (e.g. upskilling, maternal care, leisure/ travel benefits, mental health)
3. Innovation often starts with solving a single problem for a small group that leads to noticeable impacts for larger populations. Don't overlook small opportunities to innovate and create large wins within your business.
4. Spatial computing will also impact eye care and the patient consumer's awareness of the importance of eye and vision care.
5. Innovation is truly about setting yourself up for the future. Generative AI is a technology that will dramatically impact health care and eye care. In many ways, small businesses have the opportunity to leverage these easier than larger corporations. Considerations for generative AI include data readiness and "human in the loop" operation. 
6. Five innovation questions to ask yourself:
   1. Can you create value in an ambiguous environment?
   2. Do you go beyond challenging the status quo?
   3. Do you get in the trenches? 
   4. Do you truly believe that ideas come from anywhere?
   5. Do you know yourself?

What Ruth is Reading:

• Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia MD
• Move Fast and Fix Things by Anne Morriss, Frances Frei

Additional Resources:

• VSP Global Innovation Center LinkedIn Page
• VSP Global Innovation Center page
• Future of Benefits report
• Future of Generative AI in Healthcare report
• Futurist Reports page
• Emerging Tech Accessibility Guide
• Hybrid Care Insights Reel
• SXSW 2024 Official Panel: Future Eye: 10 Vision Trends That Will Transform Healthcare

In today's episode, I sit down with Dr. Jerry Robbin to discuss the clinical and business impacts of dehydrated amniotic membranes in practice and his paradigm shifting experience with the PECAA K-DISK. 

Key Takeaways:

1. For a practice to truly expand in dry eye management, a number of things are important to have:
   1. Diagnostics - Inflammatory testing, tear osmolarity, and meibography
   2. Treatment Options - ZEST or BlephX, meibomian gland treatments including thermal pulsation and IPL/LLLT, Amniotic membranes
   3. Willingness to Prescribe Medications - Meibo, Tyrvaya and others
2. Different dehydrated amniotic membranes are processed in different proprietary ways which could impact their effectiveness on the eye.
3. While amniotic membranes can certainly be used for complex, severe cases, the earlier they're used the better the outcome the patients will have. Any moderate dry eye patient having difficulty with ocular surface healing would benefit. 
4. When managing patients with dry eye, always be on the lookout for patients that would benefit from an amniotic membrane and do not hesitate to educate on the option when appropriate. 
5. Dr. Robben is now using K-DISK 80% of the time patients need an amniotic membrane. The bidirectional nature and ease of handling make application easier than other membranes and has seen significant improvement in patients' outcomes. 
6. Dr. Robben recommends bringing the patient back for a follow up visit to place the amniotic membrane v. doing it same day in practice for both reimbursement purposes and patient expectations/ deductible considerations. 

What Jerry is reading:

• The Lifestyle Investor by Justin Donald

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In this episode, we sit down with PECAA's EVP for Member Business Advisory Bryan Hoban to discuss key performance indicators that give us a deeper look into the health of the practice. 

Key Takeaways:

1. The basics are always important: Revenue Per Patient, Frame Capture Rate, Revenue Per Pair, CL Capture Rate
2. Data is only as valuate as the insight it provides: why the numbers are what they are and the steps that need to be taken to improve them. Deeper KPI's provide greater understanding as to why the main KPIs are there they are. 
3. Unique KPI metrics to consider:
   1. Frame line by gender
   2. Frame line by age
   3. Frame sales by gender
   4. Frame sales by age
   5. $0 frame sales
   6. Frame sales per period of time
   7. CL sales per period of time
   8. Months of CL sold
   9. Annual supply rate
   10. Frames per refraction and Lenses per refraction
4. KPI's that don't always help:
   1. Revenue per refraction. High amounts of medical can really throw this data points off.
   2. Chair cost. It can be skewed in a way that leads to poor decisions especially around managed care plan acceptance.

On this episode, Dr. Manning is joined by Mike Guyette, President and CEO of VSP Vision to discuss key takeaways from the VSP acquisition of PECAA. 

Key Takeaways:

1. PECAA wil continue to operate independently and led by doctors. Doctors know what doctors need. 
2. There will be new rebates and offers for PECAA Max and Advantage members right out of the gate.
3. VSP's resources will be used to bring PECAA's tools and resources.
4. Trust is critical to success and is driven by the actions we take, each and every day. 

What Mike is reading:

• Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, Roy Schwartz

Many practices do not effectively employ an office manager and do not delegate to or emplower them well enough to fully lead within the practice. Valerie Manso shares key strategies for employing an effective office manager. 

Key Takeaways:

1. A great office manager has have leadership and management skills and have the ability to make key decisions within the practice.
2. The role of an office manager really should encompass - leading and managing - everything outside the four walls of the exam room.
   1. Control costs and expenses
   2. Buying right
   3. Inventorying well
   4. Managing the day to day operations
   5. Hiring individuals and onboarding them well
   6. Making each team member feel valued and a part of the practice
3. The best office manager is an extension of you, the owner, not someone to whom you give up control. 
4. If you cannot spend the time to hire a good office manager, outsource it. One they're hired, slow down patient care to onboard them EXACTLY how you want to them to be. Train them the way you want them to be trained and teach them to make decisions they way you would. 

What Valerie is reading:

• Terminal List by Jack Carr
• Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Joseph Griffith
• Nightwork by Nora Roberts

Natalie Nixon, PhD, founder of Figure8Thinking is a creativity expert. We all have the capability to be creative and to be successful, creativity is no longer a nice-to-have. It's a need-to-have. Dr. Nixon shares strategies for expanding our creativity. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Creativity is our ability to toggle between Wonder and Rigor to solve problems. 
2. Innovation is an invention created into scalable value.
3. Wonder is the ability to be in awe, ask blue sky questions, dream, and be super audacious
   1. Who is your wonder mentor?
4. Rigor is structure, order
   1. Who is your rigor mentor?

Improve your creativity:

• The Creative Leap by Natalie Nixon, PhD

Are you missing out on the PECAA Annual Meeting in Palm Springs, CA? Make sure you're a PECAA Max Member and join us next year in Nashville!

For the eyecare industry to grow, it relies on a strong independent network of ECPs. This is why PECAA exists and why we've created the PECAA Max program. Dr. Lance Anderson helps us understand this further. 

Key Takeaways:

1. One out of every 4 eye exams occurs within a PECAA practice and 1 of every $5 spent on optical goods happens in a PECAA practice. 
2. At PECAA, we are passionate more than anything about supporting the power of independence. 
3. Great clinical patient care is great business and great, profitable business is great patient care. 
4. PECAA Max is the industry's only, monthly membership fee model that allows access to a comprehensive buying group, consolidated billing, deep alliance vendor deals, and business services and advising that helps our members grow and thrive. Consolidated billing saves at least one team member and at least 2-3 days of time at the end of each month to reconciling each vendor bill. 
5. Success goes well beyond discounts and savings. You cannot save your way to prosperity. 

On this episode, I sit down with one of the foremost experts on sales in eyecare, Robert Bell, founder of EyeCoach. In this episode, we discuss how we really should look at sales and strategies for improving the sales experience within your practice. 

Key Takeaways:

1. True sales is not persuading or convincing someone else to buy your product or service. Sales really should be seen as the process of helping someone get what they want and/or need.
2. "No" is not a bad word to hear in the sales process. The faster you can get to the "no", the easier and faster it will be to get to the solution that creates a win-win for the patient and practice. Don't let the word "no" be taken personally.
3. Stop using the word "recommend." Start using "I'm prescribing."
4. Only educate patients on the features and benefits after you've received the patient's permission and only share the features and benefits that directly connect to the patient's problems and needs.

What Robert is reading:

• Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely 
• On The Road by Jack Kerouac

In today's episode, Dr. Lance Anderson joins the PracticeAdvantage podcast to discuss HEA's acquisition of PECAA and what this means for the success of independent eye care professionals. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Your competition is getting more and more sophisticated. To be successful, you have to be leveraging data and metrics and spend time focusing on your business.
2. Community is critical to success. Being together as independents, sharing ideas and challenges, and collaborating to support each other's success is our secret weapon.
3. Partnership is powerful. A true partner is one who cares about your success and working with you so you accomplish the goals you have for your practice.
4. Together, HEA+PECAA will bring new resources and opportunities to redefine success for the independent eye care professional.

What Lance is reading:

• Deceptive Delivery by Mark Graham

Opening a practice involves making so many important and expensive decisions—where, what it looks like, who it serves, what products to carry and what technology investments to make. Meg Richardson, OD, of Twenty Twenty Family Vision Center in Racine, Wisconsin, found help and support from PECAA and its relationship with RevolutionEHR.