Eyetube.net

Ask any child what they want to be when they grow up and chances are "Civil Servant" isn't on the top of their list - heck, it might not even be on their list. As a child growing up in a small town in Northern Michigan I too, had career goals and I can assure you, being a "Civil Servant" wasn't one of them! However, as my career continues to evolve it is amazing how much of my job relies on me being just that - a "Civil Servant"!

More specifically, I'm talking about treating people with civility and having an attitude of servitude toward others. You don't have to look far to find examples of people behaving badly toward one another. Take reality TV for example. Programs like "Jersey Shore" and the "Real Housewives of… (You name the city)" fighting, speaking disrespectfully to one another and even physical altercations. This is what passes as "acceptable" behavior in society today? This is the generation that developed the word, "Frienemies." Oh, how far we have fallen!

What ever happened to civility? Where saying "please" and "thank you" were things we did because we truly appreciated and respected other individuals, where greetings and salutations were the norm and not the exception - so too, with "servitude". How many times have you checked into a hotel or been to a restaurant where the person waiting on you had no interest in being there and no interest in "serving" you? Can you believe this industry is actually called the "Service Industry"? Pretty ironic isn't it?

What does this have to do with ophthalmology and your practice? With looming Medicare cuts, new and expensive technology emerging in cataract surgery and the new health care reform, how is your practice going to survive this perfect storm? The answer-increased "fee for service" care. The easiest way to increase revenue is to train your staff to become "Civil Servants." Patients want - and will pay for an experience they consider to be exceptional. This is especially true in the health care business.

What do you hear when you walk through your practice during clinic hours? Do you have some employees that emerge as "Civil Servants" or are they just going through the motions of patient care?

• Receptionist - "Do you have an appointment?"
  Patient interpretation: "Do you have a right to be here?"
  Civil Servant: "Good Morning, welcome to Eye Associates! It would be my pleasure to assist you."
• Technician - "Hold this with your left hand and read the chart on the wall."
  Patient interpretation: "They want me to perform a military drill!"
  Civil Servant: "Please hold this with your left hand and share with me what you can read on the chart just ahead of you."
• Surgery Counselor - "The doctor only does surgery on Wednesdays and his next opening is next month."
  Patient interpretation: "Continue suffering with your cataracts for another month."
• Civil Servant: "Mrs. Smith, I know you want to start seeing better as soon as possible. With that in mind, it would be my pleasure to schedule you for your cataract procedure at the earliest possible time available."

Ask yourself this question: When was the last time you truly experienced an individual who treated you with a genuine sense of wanting to serve you and who was polite in the process? Were you pleasantly surprised and did it make you feel special? Do you think your staff delivers this type of care to all your patients?

It takes very little to become a "Civil Servant" yet the impact to your practice is monumental! Simply by having your staff be polite, treat people with respect and have an attitude of serving others will exponentially increase your practice revenue - and, it just might move the career of a "Civil Servant" to the top of everyone's list!

Remember, you don't have to be great to get started, but you do have to get started to be great!

To Your Success,
Catherine

---

A sleigh ride for the tongue! Many of you may be familiar with wine tasting events. A particular wine is tasted to evaluate its initial impact, flavor and how well it finishes on the tongue. This is known in the wine world as "balance." A fine wine is usually determined by its smoothness from start to finish. One particular wine with this type of balance is - my favorite, Amarone della Valpolicella. This wine finishes with a subtle hint of chocolate! (Are you surprised?) It should come as no surprise that a wine that can deliver this type of smoothness and balance will command a greater price in the market place. So too is it in business. Balancing the patient experience, administrative protocol and surgeon recommendation have long been a challenge in ophthalmology practices. These three processes must be balanced with each other and delivered smoothly from start to finish in order for your practice to command out of pocket fee's for the Life Style Lenses.

The Crystalens High Performance System, (CHPS) is designed to help you deliver this type of balance to your practice, specifically, the overall cataract evaluation process.

Three areas that are consistently out of balance for most ophthalmology practices are:

• Patient flow for the cataract evaluation
• When price of the Life Style Lens is shared with the patient
• Surgeon "specific" recommendation on appropriate lens for the patient

When was the last time you reviewed your current patient flow for a cataract evaluation at your practice? Remember, the initial patient flow for cataract evaluations was originally established for 'insurance" purposes. Do these tests first get paid, do this test next and get paid. Having only this type of system in your practice will get you paid by insurance and Medicare but it will rarely motivate a patient to reach into his/her pocket to pay for a Crystalens. Life Style lenses require that you also have a "fee for service" patient flow protocol. These two systems must be in "balance" in order for your practice to thrive in the Life Style lens market. A "feel for service" protocol should include the following:

• Patient must know what a cataract is and how it is treated.
• Patient must know the fee associated with the Crystalens BEFORE they see the surgeon in the lane.
• A "Global Fee" including, LRI's and touch ups if necessary.
• Surgeon must make a specific recommendation for the Crystalens to the patient if appropriate.

It's that simple! Merging the "insurance" and "fee for service" systems in your practice is critical for increased Crystalens conversions. Once you create this type of patient flow, you, your staff and your patients will experience a "smooth and balanced" cataract evaluation - just like that Chocolate bottle of Amarone!

Make ordinary extraordinary with CHPS!

To Your Success,
Catherine

Fun Facts:

Theobroma Cacao
The official name of the cocoa tree - 'Theobroma' is Latin for "food of gods"

Cacao
Became "cocoa" as a result of a misspelling

Cocoa Beans
Have been a part of human culture forover 2000 years and was used as currency by the Mayans

Raw Cacao
Is the highest known source of anti-oxidants by a factor of almost 5 - nearly 20 times the antioxidant levels of red wine...

---

Dessert? Before dinner? At the beginning of our evening our waiter "reminded" us that the chocolate soufflé would take some time to prepare - so, if we wanted one for dessert we would have to order it right away. We hadn't even ordered our dinner and the waiter was talking about dessert? Hmm… ordering dessert before dinner? Surely, this went against everything I was taught about table etiquette and social correctness. But was it?

Many practices want to increase their Crystalens usage but they do not think about the end goal at the beginning of the patient's appointment. Most practices do not mention LifeStyle lenses to the patient until the patient is in the lane with you, the surgeon. Does a review of your current cataract patient protocol include the following three common mistakes?

• Under utilization of the practice web-site
• Failure to educate the patient about LifeStyle lenses before they see the surgeon
• Limited staff involvement in educating patients about LifeStyle lenses

Imagine going through your practice as a patient and seeing it from their point of view. From the moment the patient schedules their appointment to the moment they leave their exam they need to know - "what's in it for them?" Or, "what's for dessert?" For the patient, they need to know the benefits of the Crystalens before they see the surgeon.

You have the power to bring new ideas to these age old mistakes! How? By getting your staff involved in educating the patient about what a cataract is, how it is treated and the life style benefits the Crystalens is designed to deliver.

Consider asking your staff to participate in the following activities to help educate your cataract evaluation patients about the Crystalens.

• When the staff member completes scheduling the patients' cataract appointment, ask your scheduler to close the call with - "The doctor is looking forward to meeting you and together we invite you to visit our practice web-site at (give the address of the practice web-site). You will be able to learn more about what your visit to our office will entail." Be sure to have some information on your web-site regarding the Crystalens and our "See Better + Save" rebate program.
• If there is sufficient time, send out a "patient" packet to the patient prior to their appointment date. Be sure to include you bio, the services your practice offers and some information about what a cataract is and how it is treated. You may want to include the "See Better + Save" rebate coupon as well.
• Once the patient has arrived for their cataract evaluation, consider asking your receptionist to hand the patient a brochure that describes what a cataract is, how it is treated and the benefits of the Crystalens. The receptionist may want to say to the patient - "The doctor is looking forward to seeing you today and he has asked that you review this brochure prior to seeing him." As a caution; please make sure the receptionist doesn't just hand this to the patient. The chances of the patient reading it without specific instructions to do so may be slim.

Having the scheduler and receptionist initiate the first steps toward educating the patient about LifeStyle lenses is like ordering dessert before dinner! It creates awareness and anticipation in the patients mind regarding the Crystalens. Your staff's ability to educate the patient prior to the patient seeing you in the lane, will lead to increased Crystalens demand by the patient! It may take some work, but worth the effort - just like the chocolate soufflé!

Make ordinary extraordinary with CHPS!
Sincerely,
Catherine

Fun Facts:

Chocolate
Comes from the Aztec word "xocolatl", which means "bitter water"

Souffle
A French word which literally means "puffed up," and is a product of the 18th century

Dessert
Old French term desservir which means cleaning the table

97%: the number of Americans who eat dessert at least three times per week!

---

Okay, I admit it. I love chocolate - all kinds of chocolate! Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, hot chocolate and yes, even chocolate chips. You would be hard pressed to find a situation when chocolate didn’t take an ordinary moment and transform it into an extraordinary event. Relaxing in a ski lodge with a cup of hot chocolate, finding a piece of chocolate on your pillow in your hotel room, chocolate covered strawberries on Valentine’s Day and chocolate cake on your birthday! It is what I call the “Chocolate Factor.”

It is in this spirit that I launch my monthly newsletter entitled, “Chocolate CHPS.” These communications are filled with pearls of information that will empower you to take an ordinary situation and transform it into an extraordinary opportunity for the patient, the staff and you, the surgeon! The Crystalens High Performance System, (CHPS) is designed to show you how to help increase your Crystalens usage. This month we will be focusing on your surgery scheduler.

My journey to practices all over the country has brought me to the following conclusions that are virtually universal with all surgery schedulers.

• They don’t want to “sell”
• They do not like to discuss money issues
• They are fearful of patients’ questions and concerns

You have the power to help them overcome all of these fears! Help turn their fears into an opportunity to educate the patient about their options for care. Share with your surgery scheduler the following directives for delivering care to your patients;

• The level of cataract care has changed—no longer is cataract care just about scheduling the patients for their procedure. It is about educating the patient about all the options of care your practice has to offer.
• The way your practice does business—yes, I said, “business”—with your patients has changed—no longer are you merely an insurance based practice. Your practice is transforming into a “fee for service” practice. Discussing the cost of care options is now part of their job description.
• Patients’ knowledge of options for care has changed—they are more familiar with what options are available in the market today—especially in the area of cataract care. “Questions are not objections.” It is your expectation they, (surgery scheduler) be knowledgeable about the Crystalens and how it can help the patient achieve a more youthful range of vision.

The CHPS system includes “word tracks” for handling patient concerns and objections. It is entitled: “Overcoming the five common patient objections.” You can request a copy of these “word tracks” simply by e-mailing me or by talking with your local Crystalens Sales Representative/Crystalens Clinical Outcomes Specialist.

The ability of your surgery scheduler to execute on these new directives will lead to your “just dessert” - increased Crystalens usage. I hope it will be dipped in chocolate!

Make ordinary extraordinary with CHPS!

Sincerely,
Catherine

25% of all cookies baked in the United States are chocolate chip cookies.

The official state cookie of Massachusetts is the chocolate chip cookie, invented in 1930 at the Toll House Restaurant.

Chocolate chip cookies were originally called Chocolate Crunch Cookies.

---