Providing patient experience key to LASIK marketing

ATLANTA — Providing a unique experience and treating patients as individuals is essential to building and sustaining LASIK case volumes, an expert said here.

The concept of economic value has replaced older strategies for differentiating a practice from competitors, Shareef Mahdavi said during Refractive Subspecialty Day preceding the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.

During a recent "bust" phase in LASIK volumes, demand for surgery decreased in tandem with prices, Mr. Mahdavi said. Many believe a recovery phase would involve increasing volume, changing prices or differentiating their practice, he said. "Most surgeons tell me they want to do more procedures," Mr. Mahdavi said. "In that quest to do more, they strive to differentiate."

"There is a better way," he explained. "That way is customer experience. And for refractive surgery, every refractive surgeon has an opportunity to develop a unique customer experience within their practice. ... You need to move from a do-more, mass production concept to a mass customize concept where every customer is treated as unique."

Experience economy for us in refractive surgery is a huge thing. You have to start from the beginning to the end, from the receptionist at the front desk to the intraoperative experience. We are now engaging the patient intraoperatively, trying to distract them during the procedure. With positive experiences during the process, I’ve now had three patients within the last month or so who told me, “Dr. Stonecipher, not only did I get great vision but the best part was I had a great time doing it.” That’s what you want to hear from a patient.

– Karl G. Stonecipher, MD
The Laser Center, Greensboro, N.C.