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Factor volume, cost, quality into in-office lab equipment purchases
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SAVANNAH, Ga. - As an optometrist who "enjoys the optical end of the business," Whit Lord, OD, said meeting patient's needs is the key benefit to having a complete optical lab at each of his three practice settings.
"I primarily got into it because a lab dramatically increases your drawing power," said Dr. Lord. "If patients can come to your office from a greater distance and know they can leave after one visit with an exam as well as glasses, they are more likely to come to you."
Dr. Lord owns practices in three settings: a traditional, three-doctor group practice; a super optical practice in a mall; and a hospital practice in an ophthalmological setting. He first ventured into the optical side of optometry with only an in-office edging system.
"I incorporated an edging facility right out of school. I never hesitated," Dr. Lord said. "So when I had a small volume of lenses, I still edged. Even if there's a low volume of glasses dispensed, the optometrist can do edging himself or herself."
Dr. Lord said another benefit to having a complete lab at each of his three practice sites is that it offers him flexibility in satisfying individual patient needs. For example, if a patient's bifocal must be raised 2 mm, he can choose to grind a new pair of lenses and set the seg height higher instead of simply making due by some other adjustment such as squeezing the nose pads to raise the seg height, which may then make the frame not fit properly.
"There's always the chance that you'll have to make adjustments that sometimes require making new lenses," Dr. Lord said, "and if you've got your own lab and grinding facilities, you can do this and satisfy your patients."
Justifying the expense
How many pairs of glasses do you need to dispense in order to justify an in-office lens edging system vs. a complete lab? According to Dr. Lord, anything less than 15 pairs a day would probably not justify the expense of a lab.
"Fifteen pairs a day is not something that a lot of optometric practices are going to do," he said, "and you'd probably lose money because it wouldn't be financially reasonable to have a complete operation." In that instance, he notes, it might be worth considering purchasing and installing a small patternless edger.
The group approach
If starting an optical lab from the ground up is not your goal, you may want to consider the power of a group approach. Richard Goodwin, OD, of Houlton, Maine, did just that 3 years ago, and today he is one of five ODs whose patients enjoy the lenses produced by a jointly owned optical lab.
Located in a rural practice in northern Maine, Dr. Goodwin said he and four other ODs who meet regularly to discuss practice issues discovered that they all used different labs for their spectacle needs, all with different results.
"The consensus was that we felt quality and service could be better," he said. "I don't mean to say the labs are all doing poor quality work, but it is hard to be consistent when you're a big lab."
Dr. Goodwin and the group of doctors decided to start their own lab, called QED for "quality everyday." They invested in the latest technology and computerized equipment, he said, "because we wanted to be in this for the long haul, and this computerized equipment has increased our efficiency. We get our jobs back quicker and they are consistent and correct."
From edging to lab
Dr. Goodwin said QED is able to provide the quality and service the group of optometrists want because "we're not trying to make 200 jobs a day." Before opening QED, Dr. Goodwin said, "Initially, I had just edging capability in my office and a really good optician."
The first 6 months were the most difficult, he said, but a year later the lab began processing enough jobs to begin turning a profit.
"You need a key optician, someone who's really right for that position, and we were lucky to have such person to train the staff and manage the lab," Dr. Goodwin said. "We now want to watch how much we grow, so that we do it slowly and maintain quality and consistency."
For Your Information:
- Richard Goodwin, OD, may be contacted at P.O. Box 277, Houlton, ME 04730; (207) 532-2486; fax: (207) 532-9070; e-mail: goodone@agate.net. Dr. Goodwin has no direct financial interest in any of the products mentioned in this article, nor is he a paid consultant for any company mentioned.
- Whit Lord, OD, may be contacted at P.O. Box 1009, Statesboro, GA 30458; (912) 764-9147; fax: (912) 764-7219. Dr. Lord has no direct financial interest in any of the products mentioned in this article, nor is he a paid consultant for any company mentioned.