Power Hour Optometry

Private Equity is getting more and more involved in optometry.  What is private equity, why are they so interested in eyecare, and is private equity something you should look at for your own practice?  Jeff Fronterhouse and Bret Davis, two experts in private equity, join Gary on this episode of the Power Hour!

During a staff training session you tell your optician, "When you sell AR lenses, say X." We've all tried training our staff this way, and whether "X" is effective or not, invariably we have trouble making it stick. Is the problem "X" or the way we're training and teaching our staff? Frank Pigneri, Sr. Manager of Customer Training and Development at Essilor is the guest on our show. He discusses s...

You practice in an area that is very conservative. Your long time trusted, well known receptionist who had brown hair yesterday, shows up with purple hair today. What should you do? What can you do? Your optician shows up with a therapy dog. Your insurance biller is afraid of dogs. Now what? Attorney Julia Goldman is the guest on the Power Hour.  

We have all watched kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span. Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that with her own kids and learned that the average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this time and about the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time—friction she knew...

Years of scientific research and intensive study of real-world applications have led to incredible breakthroughs in the way businesses large and small identify and hire top talent in their fields. Optimize Hire, a leading Internet-based pre-employment testing company focused on helping organizations hire better, joins Local Eye Site on this episode of the Power Hour to discuss this important topic...

The CDC, in close collaboration with industry partners, has organized Contact Lens Health Week as a strategy to increase public awareness and promote healthy contact lens wear and care.  Jennifer Cope, MD, MPH from the CDC and  Joseph P. Shovlin, O.D., F.A.A.O., the President, American Academy of Optometry, join the Power Hour to discuss the fourth annual Contact Lens Health Week. This year's camp...

Five years ago the first Power Hour episode discussed the future of optometry. What's has and hasn't come true since that show? The dialogue will probably surprise you!

It's as constant and inescapable as gravity.  Yet, most of us only focus on the downside of the 80-20 rule and don't look at how it can actually help our practices.  That changes on this episode of the Power Hour when Gary discusses how this powerful principle can help you build your practice.  Marketing, staffing, accounts receivable, and scheduling are but a few of the areas that can be improved...

While Google Glass "1.0" certainly had enough challenges that prevented it from becoming mainstream in optometry, other companies (including Google) haven't stopped developing new and better products.  Listen to this episode of the Power Hour as we bring back industry expert David Friedfeld, the president of ClearVision and Dr. Richard Clompus, the VP of Communications for PogoTec and we visit the...

What's the secret number of dollars that should trigger you to start thinking, "I need help and need to hire an associate?" Does such a number even exist? Regardless, when the time comes and you decide to bring an associate into your practice, how should you do it? On the next episode of the Power Hour, Gary discusses the nuances and best practices to bringing on an associate doctor. When you shou...

Listen to this episode as we discuss the current state of telemedicine, what Smart Vision Labs (www.smartvisionlabs.com) has learned since their last appearance and why they have re-released their latest device. Two of the newest clinical studies will be discussed on the show. Smart Vision believes OD's can work well with them instead of having an adversarial relationship and welcomes your calls o...

Treehouse Eyes opened about a year ago.  Founded by Dr. Gary Gerber and industry veteran Matt Oerding, with two centers already open in the DC area, Matt and Gary discuss how and why the company launched, what the results have been so far and what their future expansions plans are.

Erik Lilligren from Eyecarevideo.tv joins the show and talks about why and how practices can effectively use video in their practices.  Learn the tips and tricks the pros use to promote your practice and make you stand out from the crowd!  An overlooked medium, and often used poorly, video can be a great tool to position your practice, especially in crowded markets.

Whether it's Google ad words, boosting a Facebook post, or a recall snail mail postcard – the basics of marketing still apply.  Ignore any of these and your attempts are sure to fail.  Use all of them and you're sure to succeed.  Gary covers all you need to know about this important topic on this episode of the Power Hour.

Two weeks ago, the Vice President of Operations for the Power Practice, Paul Ferraro, was our guest on the show.  Paul discussed the first steps in recruiting top talent – job posts, telephone screening, etc.  Tune in to this episode of the Power Hour as the discussion continues.  Topics include the actual in person interview – questions, flow, structure, working interviews, the onboarding process...

Tune in to this episode of the Power Hour when Gary invites listeners to share their most "off the wall" customer service tricks and tips.  He also brings many of the strategies he used in his own practice as well as those of very successful practices from around the country.

Harvard Business Review estimates that 80 percent of turnover is due to bad hiring decisions. The consequences of a wrong hire can go beyond turnover costs.  Listen to this episode of the Power Hour to learn how you can minimize the "bad hire" occurrence, on your way to building a happy and productive staff.  

We surveyed ODs to find out!  Learn which ODs are the happiest, what makes them unhappy, and what you can do to increase your own professional satisfaction. Tune in to the Power Hour to hear Gary discuss this interesting topic with Dr. Bethany Fishbein.  

Continuing and building on last weeks' episode on how to elevate your customer service, Gary discusses innovative techniques to empower your staff.  Tune in to this episode of the Power Hour for strategies that allow your staff to help you, are welcomed by them, last beyond one office meeting and immediately add to your bottom line.

What can optometrists learn from the latest United Airlines customer service debacle?  A LOT!  Tune in to this episode of the Power Hour where Gary discusses great ways to amp up your customer service, a simple technique to measure it, and what to do when things go horribly wrong – which at some point, they absolutely will!

There's more to cutting costs than squeezing your sales reps for better deals.  Gary discusses his top five ways so add to your practice's bottom line on this episode of the Power Hour.

Do you look forward to office meetings, or do you dread them and then ultimately cancel them?  Tune in to this episode of the Power Hour where Gary discusses new ways to effectively and efficiently hold staff meetings that are productive and add to your practice's bottom line.

Decreasing revenues with increasing expenses and regulations, online eyeglass selling, "generic" contact lenses and online refraction – to name just a few things – are going to fundamentally change and possibly eliminate optometry as we know it.  Gary talks about why that's a GOOD thing and how you can leverage the tsunami of change NOW to position your practice for whatever the future holds.  Tun...

Vision by Design, the country's best meeting on myopia control is right around the corner. Get a snapshot of myopia control in general and the meeting in particular from Dr. Paul Levine, President of the American Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control. Paul gets listeners up-to-date on what's new in myopia control and talk about why it's important for your practice.

Drs. Mark Rosner and Debby Feinberg are back on the show to discuss some of the latest work they've been doing with minute amounts of prism.  On the previous show they discussed how they have had literally life changing results for their patients by carefully prescribing minute amounts of prism.  Get caught up on some of their latest work on this  episode of the Power Hour.