Maximize the benefits of vision plan participation

Vision plan patients often find your office on their plan’s Web site. However, in this era of easy Internet access, patients may want to learn more about your practice before they call you. They do that by looking for your practice Web site. What they find may determine whether they make the appointment with you or another doctor. The more professional and comprehensive your Web site, the more likely the patient is to choose you.

Keep your Web site up to date and have staff continually monitor Web and e-mail communications. If you offer patients the option of filling out forms online, your staff must be able to access them when the patient comes in. Patients are annoyed if they have to fill out forms a second time.

Quote fees properly

When you accept vision plans, receptionist training is a top priority. We have found that receptionists are generally comfortable quoting fees or copayments for patients who have vision plans. However, practice revenue problems will occur if staff members are tentative in quoting fees for private pay patients. Unless the doctor or office manager is proactive in revenue training for reception staff, the practice may end up losing their private pay patients.

Accepting vision plans generally means increased patient volume, and that makes it essential for optometry practices to invest in time saving technology and staff training for delegation of patient care. The goal is for the doctor to see more patients while still spending a reasonable amount of face-to-face time with each. Increased use of technology and well trained staff result in all patients feeling they have received a higher level of service. This makes patients more likely to refer and remain patients of the practice even if their vision plan or medical insurance circumstances change.

Ally Stoeger

To expedite filing claims and decrease the amount of time to receive payment, sign up for an online claims processing service such as VisionWeb (www.visionweb.com) or Eyefinity (https://secureb.eyefinity.com/welcome/) or send your claims online directly to the vision plan. Efficient record keeping means using effective chart management techniques or electronic medical records.

Use electronic medical records

If your practice is accepting more vision plan patients, you are probably making more glasses than ever before. Electronic medical records reduce the transcription errors that occur when optical staff rewrites prescriptions from examination records. Also, vision plans may periodically audit your records to ensure that you are complying with the record keeping requirements in your participation agreement. Electronic medical records programs can make it easier to prove you are in compliance.

Your staff must be up-to-date on insurance billing and coding so claims are paid on the first submission. It is also essential that your front desk staff collects copays and other fees at the time of the examination. Sending bills to patients is too expensive when you are receiving a vision plan fee instead of a private pay fee.

Most doctors will also find it beneficial to become a provider for the major medical plans that are often associated with the various vision plans. It is not uncommon for a vision plan patient to become a medical eye care patient at some point. For this reason it is important to educate the patient regarding the difference between the two plans.

Tom Cheezum

A good time to do this is when you wrap up the exam and make recommendations. Mention to the patient that should they have symptoms of pain, redness, floaters or other medical problems, you are a provider on their medical plan. Otherwise, patients may end up at their family doctor or another eye doctor’s office when they have a medical eye problem.

Promote noncovered items

An important benefit of accepting vision plan patients is the ability to provide out-of-network products and services. Some practices neglect to do this because they become complacent. Vision plan patients are buying products and services, and the office seems busy. However, your bottom line will not be healthy unless you train the entire staff, including the doctors, in revenue production.

If your practice has low per-patient revenue, it may mean that in an effort to help the patient stay within vision plan fee boundaries, you or your staff may not be offering your patients top quality options for eye care services and products. Some vision plan patients may only want the basics. However, many want the best. The most financially successful practices recognize that the vision plan benefit is best viewed as a “coupon” that they can build on. The ability to market out-of-network products and services is a key advantage in participating in a vision plan panel.

Vision plans may cover only a partial supply of contact lenses. It is important to have a marketing strategy in place to ensure that a patient will purchase an annual supply of contacts from your office. Optometrists tend to underestimate the wealth of skill and advice we offer our contact lens patients. It is likely many practices could raise or even double contact lens evaluation fees without losing patients. If a patient requires complex contact lens fitting, make sure your fee truly reflects the time you spend on it.

One of the key areas of enhancing vision plan profitability is ensuring you provide the services you are being paid for. Vision plans do not pay you for medical eye care, medical decision making and medical treatment. Use medical codes appropriately to avoid providing free medical services to vision plan patients.

For more information:

• Ally Stoeger, OD, founder of a practice consulting company, practices in Burke, Va. She can be reached at (703) 999-9279; e-mail: ally@cwvoffice.com; Web site: www.ConsultingWithVision.com; blog: www.RealPracticeToday.com.
• Tom Cheezum, OD, is in practice in Chesapeake, Va. He is a member of the board of trustees for the Virginia Optometric Association. He may be contacted at e-mail: tcheezum@cox.net.