practice advisors

Handling the Patient Handoff

Allan Barker, OD, and Greg Stockbridge, OD, MBA

Q What is the best way for a doctor to hand off a patient to optical in order to obtain the highest capture rate?

The best optical capture rate can be obtained when a patient has lenses recommended and prescribed by the doctor. The more time the doctor spends educating, informing, recommending, and prescribing, the higher that capture rate.

The popular name for this concept is prescribing from the chair. However, we have found the capture rate to be even more effective if the doctor walks the patient into the dispensary, sits down across the dispensing table, and then discusses products. In the process, the doctor introduces the patient to the optician and seals the transaction.

HANDOFF STRATEGIES

Whether in the exam room or the dispensary, the doctor’s presentation of product recommendations and options is quite powerful. If the doctor escorting the patient to the dispensary is not feasible, another option is installing a buzzer in the exam room. In this scenario the doctor discusses optical products in the exam room, buzzes optical five minutes prior to finishing, and then executes the handoff when the dispenser arrives.

BAD HABITS

So why don’t doctors prescribe from the chair, be it in the exam room or at the dispensing table? Some doctors simply can’t break their old habit of not recommending products. They let old bad habits prevent them from giving patients the benefit of their knowledge and expertise.

Some doctors don’t want to deal with materials and instead say, “That’s why I have an optician.”

Both of these attitudes keep the doctor from taking advantage of a very powerful tool at their dispensary—an OD and optician working in unison rather than individually.

Some doctors feel their product knowledge is lacking, yet they won’t allocate time to sales reps, especially those from lens companies, even though roughly 30 percent of their revenue is derived from ophthalmic lenses and as much as 70 percent from all materials. These tend to be the same doctors who bypass exhibit booths at meetings where lab and lens manufacturers are there to spend time and discuss their products.

COMMUNICATING RECOMMENDATIONS

If the handoff is directly to the optician, oral instructions may suffice. However, if someone other than the optician escorts the patient, it is best to put doctor recommendations in writing. Otherwise, according to our observations, they will become abbreviated and even altered.

41-MINUTE RULE

Finally, some doctors argue that discussing products and handing off patients simply take too long. In actuality, the few minutes it takes to explain product is miniscule compared with the time wasted by most practices from when a patient walks through the front door until the moment they enter optical.

This is where what’s referred to as the 41-minute rule comes into play. As told to us by ODLean, part of the Vision Care Institute in Jacksonville, FL, that is the amount of time a practice has to move the patient through the exam process and into the dispensary before the capture rate dramatically declines.

Unfortunately, some practices take longer than that to just acknowledge patients, have them fill out ambiguous and redundant forms, and verify their insurance. These practices don’t stand a chance of achieving anything short of a miserable capture rate compared with savvier competitors that ask their patients to fill out forms on the Internet prior to service in addition to having their insurance pre-certified.

BOTTOM LINE

If you want to maximize your capture rate, start by analyzing your practice’s procedures. See how long it really takes patients to move through the process you have created. Review how you handle your handoff and how well you educate patients about their options.

In the face of online sellers and other competitors, it is imperative to separate yourself from the run-of-the-mill practice that sells everyone a standard lens. That’s also why it is vital for today’s doctors to stay up to date and be willing and able to explain the advantages of products and how patients will benefit from them.

When patients feel their eye doctor knows about the newest and best options, they will feel more confident purchasing their glasses. And don’t forget this: A doctor addressing their concerns…that’s something patients realize they can’t get online. EB

Send Us Your Questions Drs. Barker and Stockbridge will answer your queries about practice growth, business management, as well as other practice issues. Please email your questions and concerns to eyecarebizeditor@pentavisionmedia.com