DRIVING YOUR PRACTICE
Catering to the over-60 crowd
By Vision Council of America

The news is perplexing: Census data indicate that people are turning 65 in record numbers and that life expectancy is longer than ever before. Yet studies show that older Americans often pass up regular eyecare that can be crucial for their sight, even when examinations are free. Still, there are steps eyecare providers can take to make seniors more comfortable and more likely to step into the examining room and the dispensary.

Seniors Welcome

To attract more senior citizens to your business, Peter Shaw-McMinn, O.D., Riverside, Calif., suggests making the setting as comfortable as possible. Provide lots of parking spaces, as well as handicap parking close to the office and easy access to a handicap ramp. It is important to provide seating in the office that is easy to get in and out of. Also, supply reading material of interest to seniors and good lighting.

 In the dispensary, take the following steps to keep seniors comfortable.

• Seating. Provide seating that has a sturdy back, but is not on wheels.

• Lighting. Feature good lighting and provide a magnifying mirror.

• Information. Display brochures, countercards, and posters with materials of interest to older clients, such as information on cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, progressives, bifocals, AR coating, and polarized demonstrators for sunglasses.

Don't forget that nothing can take the place of a caring staff that understands how to be patient with the elderly and offers assistance in completing office forms and insurance forms.

Personal contact with seniors groups is an excellent way of drawing them. Primary care providers can offer business to eyecare providers, just as ophthalmologists can refer patients to dispensers. Other strategies include offering special lenses and aids for those with cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, or glaucoma.

Purchasing Power

When it comes to purchasing power, says Cindy Elkin, owner of Point of View in Falls Church, Va., "Remember, 75 and even 80 is a lot younger age today than it used to be. Don't be afraid to offer these patients options such as progressive lenses. Just because you are fitting the patient for glasses with one lens for a cataract now, don't forget he'll probably need another lens later."

Offering gifts, such as free adjustments, cleaning cloths, or AR coating sprays, is another draw, observes Shaw-McMinn.

By providing a caring attitude and these extras to seniors, you can reap the additional benefit of new, younger clients as well. As Elkin says, "Your regular customer base will really appreciate any extra steps you take, such as dropping glasses off at their relatives' home or even going to a nursing home."

Shaw-McMinn says he agrees, noting, "If younger family members accompanying an older patient see how other seniors are treated, if they witness a caring attitude and see staff willing to chat a little and visit pleasantly, they also will become patients."