Eyeworld Daily News

EW SHOW DAILY 28 ASCRS Symposia Monday, April 16, 2018 by Ellen Stodola EyeWorld Senior Staff Writer Number six was increasing di- rect elective payments from patients. His seventh point was to "cut the fat." The average new client workup reveals $10 per visit in wast- ed expenses, he said. Finally, Mr. Pinto said to learn to lead. As practices scale up, the de- mand for physician leadership grows exponentially, he said. Ryan Miller, San Luis Obispo, California, presented "5 Things Every Practice Leader Must Know to Protect Their Practice." Whether on your own or part of the group, you have to understand that you're judged by the company that you keep, he said. In particular, he presented im- portant tips to consider about your online reputation. 1. Patients trust online reviews. We know that there is no correla- tion between online reviews and accepted measures of quality, but 59% link healthcare decisions to online reviews today, he said. 2. You can't hide from your reputa- tion online. 3. Online reviews are heavily influ- enced by service. Communication and service problems are the most common source of negative oph- thalmology reviews. 4. Every review deserves a reply. Most review sites permit a re- sponse. Mr. Miller recommended responding to both positive and critical reviews. 5. Astroturfing is illegal. Driving or incentivizing people to write reviews is illegal. As practice leaders, it's up to you to implement processes or software to ethically cultivate representative reviews, Mr. Miller said. Even a small number of reviews can sway the majority of patients. EW Editors' note: Mr. Miller has no finan- cial interests related to his comments. Mr. Pinto is a consultant. financial plan. Mr. Pinto recom- mended getting one, adding that it's helpful to make your practice more enjoyable so you can work longer if required and assume your practice buyout will not be a source of mate- rial retirement funding. Next, he suggested increasing passive income from practice. This could include hiring employee op- tometrists, owning part or all of an ASC, dispensing optical goods, opti- mizing testing provided by lay staff, owning your own facility instead of leasing, and avoiding passive income losers. The fifth point was to boost your personal production. Adding three patients to your daily template yields a $100,000 annual increase in pay, he said. Mr. Pinto also shared eight things wise practitioners are doing. First, he said to decide if you're going to grow, shrink, join, retire, or do nothing. He recommended talking to local experts, inventory- ing your options, and deciding and acting. Next, he said to rethink succes- sion planning. Jobs exceed appli- cants in most ophthalmology mar- kets. Additionally, goodwill value is diminishing briskly in secondary markets, and you may need to work longer than expected to be financial- ly independent. You may never find a successor, Mr. Pinto said. The third suggestion he men- tioned was to "get real about finan- cial planning." Fewer than 50% of eye surgeons have a formal personal A symposium on Saturday afternoon focused on clinical changes to prac- tice, with presentations covering private equity, politics and healthcare, marketing, and more. John Pinto, San Diego, present- ed "What Should the Private Practice Ophthalmologist be Doing Today." First, he noted that demand exceeds supply in most markets. De- mand is rising at two times the rate of economic growth and four times population growth, he said. Most ophthalmologists are in the top 1% of earners. You have high con- trol over your time, money, skills, hometown, work environment, and happiness, he said. Mr. Pinto described five critical trends. 1. Healthcare service delivery in America is a classic bubble market. The bubble will pop slowly or quickly. It will pop slowly when health cost growth exceeds GDP growth or quickly if there is an abrupt recession or spike in mili- tary spending. 2. The grand consolidation marches on. This is not new; it's been a 30- year waxing and waning trend, he said. Health systems are round- ing out their teams. Practices are acquiring and merging with each other. This is all driven by the bubble. 3. Over the next 10 years, invest- ments will fall short of their historical returns by about 35%. Every surgeon not already over the finish line is facing a retirement funding headwind, he said. 4. Hypervolumetric/hypoeconomic era. Profit norms have fallen from 50% to 35% in 25 years and will fall to 30% in the coming decade. 5. Practice succession is harder to achieve. There is more demand and fewer doctors. Senior doctors have headaches trying to attract talent. Symposium discusses modern healthcare environment and changes to practice Mr. Pinto offers tips for what the private practice ophthalmologist should be doing today.

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