BLOG: Tools for recovery and some silver linings
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The COVID-19 public health crisis and related economic slowdown have been hard on practices across the U.S.
Ophthalmologists have been concerned about making up for lost surgical volume, as well as how to support staff and maintain morale during this period of uncertainty. Although there are still many unknowns, we are fortunate that there are government, professional society and industry resources available to help us recover.
I personally have found it beneficial simply to talk with colleagues from similar practices to share ideas on practice shutdown protocols and best practices for ramping back up, including keeping our clients and team members safe. Our practice consultants have proven to be invaluable as we navigated uncharted territory. Industry has also been helpful in pulling together webinars, informal consultations and resources for physicians and practices.
For example, Johnson & Johnson Vision is offering both new and curated online resources to help ophthalmologists advance their skills and knowledge, educate patients and navigate a safe reopening. This digital tool kit, titled “Setting Our Sights on the Future,” is available at jjvision.com/setting-our-sights-future. The goal is to help professionals and practices prepare for recovery and ensure patients everywhere are able to prioritize their eye health.
It also strikes me that there are a few silver linings to this terrible public health crisis.
First, the forced shutdown gave us an opportunity to re-engineer and streamline our processes. Downtime is a rare commodity during normal times. During the mandated shutdown, we had valuable time to focus on practice improvement. We created process improvement projects at the beginning of the shutdown to accomplish some of these goals, while at the same time allowing us to postpone furloughs of our team members. For practices that are still not back to full capacity, this is a great time to revisit those items that never seem to make it to the top of the “to-do” list, like evaluating new technology, revising patient education materials or strengthening your social media presence.
The second silver lining has been a bit of a surprise. Many expected the economic downturn to have a negative effect on discretionary expenditures on laser vision correction and premium IOLs; however, we have actually seen an increase in refractive surgery volume (both lenticular and corneal) compared with last year, despite the 6-week closure. The pandemic has actually pushed many “fence-sitters” to invest in their health and wellness and renewed the desire to simplify their lives. In particular, the burden of trying to wear a mask with spectacles has motivated many patients to seek out spectacle independence. This is a great time to focus on the alternatives to glasses that we can provide to help our patients live the lives they want.
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