THERE ARE ONLY so many levers we can pull in our practices to grow. We call them “The 4 S’s.” See more patients effectively and efficiently. Sell more glasses. Sell more contact lenses. Specialize in a service like myopia management, dry eye, glaucoma, aesthetics, vision therapy or whatever else you love. So, let’s break this down…
1. See more patients effectively and efficiently. One of my mentors, who I scribed for growing up, saw 55 patients a day 2.5 days a week. Yes, 55 patients a day and his patients loved him. He also caught a flight at 1:06pm every Wednesday for his 2:37 tee time. He ran that place like a well-oiled machine. He did that by having a scribe, investing in technology, and taking time to answer patients’ questions. They were never rushed; they felt heard and taken care of. With so many technologies at our fingertips, seeing patients is becoming so much easier, allowing us more face time.
2. Sell more glasses. Look at your handoff. Don’t throw the script to a team member and hope they give the patient what you prescribed. Patients are more honest with you than they are with opticians. I ask at the start of their exam ‘What do you want from your new pair of glasses?’ This helps focus the exam and prescribe what they want instead of trying to sell them something they don’t.
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3. Sell more contacts. At the end of the day do you really know which patients ordered contacts from you and which didn’t? Probably not. More importantly, could you really do anything about it if you knew? That’s where software that shows this information comes in and enables you to do something about it. Yes, we legally must print their prescriptions, but you can also give it to them digitally inside your contact lens store. Then sit back and watch them order from you day and night while saving your team time.
4. Specialty care. Pick one specialty to put in place and perfect the process. Then rinse and repeat with another one. This is also a great way to attract associate colleagues to your practice by investing in what they want to do.
Our office saying is: Every patient, every encounter, every time. This requires investing in our process and our team. Dr. Aaron Werner first asks his patients (which I have adopted) “Why did you make an appointment with me today?” By getting to our patients’ root problems, we take better care of them, become more efficient without trying, and can grow our practices to new heights.
