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Clinicians say personal experience is most important to patients
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LAS VEGAS – A group of optometrists who participated in a CooperVision-sponsored think tank determined that patients highly value their interpersonal relationships at their optometrists’ offices and think less of online advice than many typically assume.
ODs honored as “Best Practices” identified myths associated with clinical practice and suggested solutions. Three of these clinicians shared these findings here at Vision Expo West.
Michele L. Andrews, OD, senior director of professional and academic affairs, CooperVision, explained how the clinicians were brought together to participate in an “Eyedea Lab,” facilitated by David S. Ricketts, PhD, an innovation fellow at Harvard.
Andrews explained the challenge: Given the new ways consumers are approaching health care purchasing, how can we improve the patient experience and remain competitive?
Carrie Alfieri, OD, of Pinnacle Eye Assoc, McKinney, Texas, explained that the Best Practices group identified the hypothesis that, “patients want more of a consumer-type of experience with their health care.”
However, she said they realized that, “When patients and consumers shop online, they have a set of expectations about the online experience that is different than what they have for your office. Patients are choosing to come to your office for a more personal experience. They value the knowledge of the doctors and staff and only value technology if it enhances their exam experience and not replaces it.”
Shauna Thornhill, OD, of Amarillo Vision Specialists, said that 126 eye care providers and 1,100 consumers were surveyed.
CooperVision told Primary Care Optometry News that the ECP Survey was commissioned by CooperVision and the Florida Optometric Association and carried out online. The YouGov Plc. survey was commissioned by CooperVision and questioned adults 18 years old and older online.
“We found that 82% of ECPs felt that online refractions were a threat to their practice,” Thornhill said. “Two-thirds of consumers said they thought online eye tests were less accurate than in person.”
Further, 87% said they trusted their eye doctor for their eye health, 23% said family doctor, 17% said eye doctor’s office staff, 12% said friends and family, and 9% said online medical advice, Thornhill said.
“Patients are looking online for information, but they’re still coming to you to help with the decision-making process,” she said. “Be confident. When you’re looking to incorporate new technology into your practice, you need to use it to enhance patient care, not replace it.”
Roxanna Potter, OD, FAAO, of Personal Eyecare, Sylvania, Ohio, said, “Patients move like cattle throughout the office to maybe 12 different stations, but what if we got rid of those stations? What if we had a staff member who could take patients from the front door through the whole exam process and lead them out the door? Something like a patient concierge. It endears the patient to the office because they have more of a personal connection to the staff that helped them through the journey. It creates training needs, but it’s not increasing the number of staff.”
Alfieri said another theory was that patients would enjoy the in-office experience if it was more spa-like, with massage chairs or coffee stations.
“We also discussed selling additional products in the office, like dry eye supplies, vitamins, make-up and skin care products,” she said.
However, when the concept was tested outside the Eyedea Lab it “did not hold up,” Alfieri said. “Patients want a better exam experience, but not an unrelated one. When we’re showing them products and telling them about them, we’re not making that connection. Transparency is the most important thing patients want in every part of the exam: What’s going to happen, what it will cost, how much time it will take and why you are prescribing what you are prescribing.”
Thornhill said 58% of the doctors surveyed have invested in a spa-like experience, but 81% of patients said it is not important to them. Thirty-eight percent of ECPs surveyed said they did not offer dry eye products, and 76% of patients said they would not purchase them from an ECP.
Potter said that patients want to be more comfortable while waiting for their exam, “but if patients could choose between having a cup of coffee or not being taken in late for their exam, they’d rather be taken back on time.
“Make your prices transparent,” Potter added. “Make online shopping available. Make it clear to them why you want them to have the product you recommend.”
Andrews summarized the results: “When we look at these ideas, it comes together in one insight that we captured: Visiting the office is not just about services. It’s about how practices develop trust and guide their patients’ decision-making.” – by Nancy Hemphill, ELS, FAAO
Disclosures: Andrews is employed by CooperVision. Alfieri, Potter and Thornhill were honored by CooperVision as “Best Practices.”