Eyeworld Daily News

EW SHOW DAILY 64 Meeting Reporter Saturday, April 14, 2018 by Vanessa Caceres EyeWorld Contributing Writer Surgeons should consider the 20/16 goal as well as minimizing dry eye and keeping residual astigma- tism to a half diopter or less for maximal patient satisfaction, Dr. Hamilton said. The use of small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany) is one way to help increase patient satisfaction, he added—more than 50% of SMILE patients achieve 20/16 UCVA, he said. Dr. Kraff shared improved visual outcomes that are possible with the iDesign Advanced WaveScan (John- son & Johnson Vision, Santa Ana, California). He found in a study that 93% of patients were still 20/16 at 90 days. EW Editors' note: This event was supported by educational grants from Carl Zeiss Meditec and Johnson & Johnson Vision. ty exposure. These various social marketing ideas do not cost a lot, Dr. Kraff said. Panelists addressed online reviews. When Dr. Kraff's practice receives a negative review, staff members will call the patient, dis- cuss what happened, and apologize when appropriate. Where D. Rex Hamilton, MD, Los Angeles, works, surgeons cannot respond directly to reviews as UCLA media staff mem- bers handle that role. That shows the value that online reviews have, he said. Dr. Hamilton discussed getting more patients to 20/16 vision, some- thing that he thinks is increasingly possible and important. However, in a recent ASCRS Clinical Survey, only 13% of surgeons used 20/16 uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) as their benchmark to assess refractive outcomes, he said. by 7,500 people. The live surgery led to many positive comments, questions from possible surgical candidates, and several people who eventually qualified for refractive surgery. In another nod to millennials and social media, Dr. Kraff's practice has used a Snapchat overlay called a geofilter to help promote the practice. Dr. Kraff's practice also asks patients to "check in" on Facebook when they are at the office and access the practice's free WiFi. The practice has hired a local photogra- pher to take pictures for its Insta- gram feed, leading to comments and interest. In a less conventional move, a local food blogger with 35,000 followers had PRK at the practice. Practice staff asked if he would mention the surgery on his website, and he did, sharing photos and leading to larger communi- W ith a growing number of millennial patients, corneal refractive surgeons must be prepared to meet high demands. However, with the right marketing moves, surgeons can cul- tivate patients who will speak highly of their practice on social media. John Vukich, MD, Madison, Wisconsin, led an EyeWorld CME Educational Symposium on "New Patients and New Corneal Outcomes: Growing Today's Corneal Refractive Practice with Millennials and Un- precedented Patient Satisfaction." By the year 2020, 1 in 3 adults will be millennials, according to George Waring IV, MD, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Already, millennials outnumber baby boom- ers by 11 million, he said. Many among the millennial generation are underemployed, and their parents may be the ones paying for their surgery. Because the millennial genera- tion often has done online research in advance, surgeons should not minimize the risks of corneal refrac- tive procedures. "They want no-non- sense truth," Dr. Waring said. At the same time, this patient group is time-sensitive, so Dr. Waring advised minimizing the number of preopera- tive visits when possible. With the emphasis on praise among millennials, Dr. Waring recommended congratulating pa- tients when possible, even if it's for something such as refractive surgery candidacy. One large component when working with millennials is the change in effective marketing. "Have them be your own advocates," Dr. Waring advised. With the emphasis on social media, Dr. Waring shared the example of a patient who posted a picture taken with him at his practice on Facebook after she had refractive surgery. Friends com- mented and shared their questions and comments about the surgery. His practice was able to serve as a resource for patients. Colman Kraff, MD, Chicago, shared that his practice did a Face- book live surgery that was watched Making it work: Marketing corneal refractive surgery to millennials Dr. Waring discusses marketing corneal refractive surgery to millennials.

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