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Pearle Vision’s shift to eye health a good move
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To the Editor:
I would like to bring to the attention of readers one brief article I thought was important, “Pearle Vision announces doctor-driven model, relicensing opportunities,” March 2013, page 7. I feel it deserved front-page notice.
The article quotes Tammy Reaves, vice president of licensing and development for Pearle, who says, “Our focus in priorities has changed … we’re now going to be doctor-driven … so that they can provide for the neighborhood as eye care centers. Pearle is now about eye health and eye care.”
Why do I feel this is so significant? Because my solo practice in Acworth, Ga., which I sold 12 years ago, was about eye health and eye care for 36 years.
My old practice still thrives under the leadership of a fine young optometrist and his staff. It includes an optometry associate and a complete optometric facility with every known piece of modern diagnostic equipment, including an optical coherence tomographer. There is even a separate vision therapy facility within the office.
That being said, since I sold my solo practice I started a statewide locum tenens practice, through which I’ve provided fill-in coverage in more than 100 various optometric practices including Pearle Optical, Lenscrafters, Sears Optical, Costco, Target, Wal-Mart as well as private solo practices and LASIK centers. I think that I may have seen and practiced in as many or more practice environments than anyone else I know or have heard of in the past 10 years. I even started and was the doctor at a branch ophthalmology practice for more than a year.
As you might guess, all of this locum tenens work placed me in practices that I used to look down on, as many of us in private practice did, but I now have a different perspective. Some of these so-called “corporate practices” are far superior to many private practices I have seen. However, the majority I see concentrate on the optical vs. eye health and eye care. I believe many optometrists were guided in that direction as a matter of corporate policy.
Consequently, I have provided medical diagnosis and treatment in some offices whose resident doctor(s) routinely referred anything “medical” out for further diagnosis rather than treating the patient themselves. Because of their obvious attitude not to treat medical conditions, I often had the patients followed up by someone else in the area, either OD or MD.
The profession of optometry, as well as patients, will benefit from initiatives such as Pearle Vision’s, and I applaud their efforts and hope that others in both the private as well as corporate sectors will follow their lead.
Bill Sharpton, OD, FAAO
Lakemont, Ga.