“A doctor’s ability to explain, listen, and empathize has a profound impact on a patient’s care,” stated the New York Times. Yet the Times found that a startling two out of every three patients are discharged from the hospital without even knowing their diagnosis, and that 60 percent of patients misunderstood their doctor’s instructions after a visit.Read More
Do your patients know what blepharitis is? Do they think Demodex is a type of sales presentation software? Would they confuse MGD with a common Chinese food additive? These may seem like silly questions to eye care professionals, but they’re important to consider for any provider looking to get better results from their practice marketing and patient education efforts.Read More
Recently, we’ve discussed many ways to improve your practice’s marketing efforts. Having a strong online presence and using digital marketing strategies are important in 2017. But those aren’t the only ways to gain more patients. One of the best ways to attract people to your practice costs you nothing but time: referrals. Getting your current patients and other doctors to refer patients to your practice is actually pretty simple. It boils down to good communication and providing excellent care. Here are five specific ways to boost referrals to your practice.Read More
Approximately 41 million U.S. adults wear contact lenses, according to a recent CDC study, along with more than 3 million adolescents. To eye doctors’ dismay, the data show that the vast majority of contact lens wearers engage in behaviors that put them at risk for serious eye infections and even blindness. Here’s a look at how you can help your contact lens patients develop healthier habits.Read More
As the battle over health care reform in the U.S. rages on, doctors may feel that there is little they can do to improve things in any significant way for their patients in the midst of all this uncertainty. A comfortable waiting room and a friendly smile can hardly fix anything, right? Actually, evidence shows those do make a difference to patients – and there are even more factors within doctors’ control to improve their patients’ visits and help them get the best care. Here’s a look at five.Read More
One of the hardest parts of a doctor’s job is telling patients something they do not want to hear. That could mean informing patients that you will not prescribe the opioids they have requested, or that the reason they are not getting better is because they are not complying with treatment recommendations, or that they are facing permanent vision loss. Delivering bad news is never easy. But there are some things you can do to help make difficult conversations with patients go more smoothly.Read More
