BLOG: Be like Pete Rose
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I first came to Philadelphia in 1976 to start at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry.
I assumed that I would only be here for 4 years and then return to central Pennsylvania to practice with my dad. In 1979, Pete Rose signed a $3.2 million contract to become a Philadelphia Phillie. In 1980, Pete was a big part of the Phillies team that won the World Series for the first time since their founding in 1883. Pete left his mark on our city but left town in 1983. Meanwhile, I have stayed on as a lifelong Philadelphian.
One of the main things that made Pete an icon was his ability to get on base. He is the all-time leader of being on base at 5,929 times in his career. There are only six other players that are over 5,000. On the other hand, Pete never was one to swing for the fences, hitting only 160 home runs throughout his career. Pete often got a hit, but he also got a base on balls or was even hit with a pitch. Whatever it took, Pete ended up on first base. He often said that good things can only happen when you get on base.
Optometry is a lot like baseball, and Pete should be an inspiration to all of us. Good things only happen when we get a new patient into the office. If you track the source of your new patients, you might be surprised to find that the biggest driver is vision plans.
As a young optometrist, I practiced as a solo private practice in a large community hospital. There were many ophthalmology practices also in the hospital, and the initial year was a bit rocky. Early in my second year, the hospital implemented a vision plan for the employees. I was the only eye doctor that participated on the panel, and my patient volume skyrocketed.
I became a big fan of vision plans, and now, 40 years later with seven doctors and four locations, vision plans are still the biggest driver of new patients and new families to the practice.
Now, I am well aware of the low margin on a vision plan encounter and how much more lucrative a medical patient or a full-pay uninsured can be. But, like Pete Rose, I know that a simple vision plan will get me on base. If the patient insists on using only the fully covered services and materials, it is a single, and I am on first base. This patient is now exposed to our friendly, low-pressure service and happy to be part of the family. In the long run, they will be back. Next year, they might try our wellness services like Optos and they will be a double, or perhaps get some noncovered upgrades, which is like stealing third base. As time goes on, they may no longer have a vision plan or may develop a medical eye problem. Eventually, most of these patients will come home to score.
Of course, we are happy to see new patients from many sources. Word of mouth or a referral from another doctor is excellent, and these patients are often a home run on their first trip to the plate. We have tried many forms of paid advertising but found out they were mostly a strikeout.
Not all vision plans are the same. Some are too intrusive and attempt to cover medical services that amount to duplicative coverage of traditional medical service. They need to be monitored and reviewed, and some need to be rejected.
To be the most successful with vision plans, your practice needs to provide robust medical services and perhaps other optometry specialty services like low vision, vision therapy or specialty contact lenses. If you only provide routine exams and glasses, you may need to go into extra innings to win the game.
Pete Rose died this year having never achieved his dream of getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He was not a perfect man, but he was a great baseball player, and as you can see, there are great life lessons from his career.
Thanks for the lesson, Pete. When it comes to the management of your optometric practice, be like Pete Rose!
For more information:
Scott A. Edmonds, OD, FAAO, specializes in vision-based neurorehabilitation at Edmonds Eye Associates in Philadelphia. He can be reached at scott@edmondsgroup.com.
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