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Clinician gives tips for managing glaucoma patients in the busy optometric practice
SALT LAKE CITY — Optometrists should not avoid managing glaucoma patients but instead should take advantage of simple tips for managing those patients efficiently and effectively, a speaker here said.
"You have to be thorough with glaucoma, but you also need to be efficient in doing it," Eric Schmidt, OD, FAAO, said in a presentation at Specialty Day during Optometry's Meeting here.
"You also need to delegate," he said in the Optometric Glaucoma Society-sponsored course. "This is one condition that lends itself to delegation. If you have techs who are trained to do the tests, let them do it. Most of the doctor's time should be spent analyzing results, not gathering information. Just be sure to train staff so you can delegate."
Dr. Schmidt also told optometrists to remember that glaucoma is a disease that develops over time and for the new suspect patient, not all tests need to be performed on the very first day, nor does treatment need to start on day 1. "In all my years of seeing patients, I have never had one go blind from primary open angle glaucoma overnight," he said.
Finally, Dr. Schmidt said, if you do it, bill it.