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In this episode, Dee speaks with with a few founders of TechifEYE.
After brief introductions from each of the guests — Dr. Brianna Rhue (Dr. Contact Lens), Dr. Jennifer Tabiza (Dr. Contact Lens) and Jennifer Denham (Optify) — the group cuts right to the chase at 5:00 and explains — for anyone unfamiliar — what TechifEYE is and what it’s looking to accomplish. At 9:15, they run through all the partner companies under the TechifEYE umbrella that offers independent ECPs a full suite of technology tools.
Now 16 partner companies strong, at 14:30 they talk about how they vet new partner companies to help ODs overcome decision fatigue over all the options available out there… and yes, there are companies that have failed the TechifEYE vetting process! Ultimately, TechifEYE is a family of separate companies that speak to a different patient experience and pain point and whose community also helps them improve their individual technologies. “The tech isn’t difficult to onboard and were all making it better by working together,” says Denham.
At 19:20 we get an explainer on TechifEYE’s leadership, which really is a community-based collective focused on helping practices thrive; and at 21:50, the ladies explain the ultimate motive behind it all “is understanding your most valuable intellectual property is your patient data and everybody is after it … you better be using that data yourself the way that [your competitors] are using it,” says Rhue. “That’s where we are trying to open up the doctors’ eyes that [they] are so valuable, figure it out and take advantage of that. We’re all working harder to make the same amount of money, so you have to work smarter.”
At 23:30, Dee asks how TechifEYE differs from traditional models of buying groups or alliances, their answer is full of lots of good stuff but in summary radical transparency is their main goal. “We publish ‘What’s the customer service like? What’s the onboarding like? What’s the cost and what’s the ROI?’ That’s it. Those are our four things that we review on our blog,” explains Tabiza. “Those are the four things that really help you access if it’s right for your practice.”
At 25:15, they discuss the incentives offered to practices who already use a company in the TechifEYE suite of companies. “Every company has offered something different, but yes, you get a little bit of a special offer if you mention that you are part of the TechifEYE group and community,” adds Tabiza.
The conversation then shifts to a discussion of the challenges facing ECPs in general (27:00) and how some other medical specialties have overcome them. The ladies offer a little tough love to fellow business owners around the 36-minute mark and then they discuss the non-negotiable elements an eyecare provider MUST HAVE in our current environment (39:30). They mention some really good stuff here … plus they share the one thing that can really make a practice stand out in their opinion.
At 45:45, they single out the outdated things eyecare businesses should no longer be doing or using. Which leads to a conversation on the goods and evils of EHRs around 49:00 and the ongoing vetting to find an EHR that aligns with their philosophy … spoiler alert: There isn’t one yet.
At 53:00, they wrap it up with THE big question – Do they believe independent optometry is dying? Though, surely you can guess their opinions, they do have caveats. “Can’t hate the player, hate the game” may have been evoked but the group finishes on a really optimistic note.