A L LD O C S

ASSOCIATION OFLEASEHOLDINGLENSCRAFTERSDOCTORS

ALLDocsALLDocsThe

NewsletterRx Therapeutics for Practice Growth

Each year, Luxottica Retail be-stows its most prestigiousaward—the Horizon Club—to

LensCrafters affiliates who “reachpast their horizons in job perform-ance expectations, service to fellowassociates, the community, familyand the world.” This year, DouglasKiefer, O.D., was honored withthe award just several weeks shy ofembarking on his 15th Gift ofSight Mission. In December, he

December 2004

headed to Ecuador for his first tripthere.

These mission trips have pro-vided Dr. Kiefer adventure and asense of purpose. “I’ve beenchased by orangutans in the rainforest of Borneo, ridden in a Jeepacross the Moroccan desert whereI saw camels run and taken a longferry ride on the Ganges River inBangladesh.” But mostly, it’s hardwork, he said. “You run on adrena-

lin. We’re work-ing for 12-14hours a day. Insome cases, I’mthe only doctorthis person hasever seen,” headded.

The combina-tion of these pa-tients’ gratitude and the cama-raderie born of intense work withother volunteers can make the tran-sition back to the U.S. practice jar-ring. “You’re going from a placewhere you’re giving people func-tional vision and coming back toour culture of ‘Hurry up, I need itnow.’”

That’s not to say he feels hispatients in Ft. Collins, CO, are anyless deserving of his time and at-tention. Indeed, he’s grateful that

Expanding HorizonsDDrr.. KKiieeffeerr rreecceeiivveess mmoosstt pprreessttiiggiioouuss aawwaarrdd

Dr. Kiefer

When patients come in withan eye infection, theywant relief. That’s why

Melanie Kiser, O.D., Memphis,TN, often reaches for TOBRADEX®

with its potent anti-inflammatoryand antibiotic components. “Pa-

tients love it.They start to feelbetter immediate-ly and, when theycome back for afollow-up, theysay I’ve curedthem.” That’sgood for her repu-tation and officeflow because it

doesn’t require repeat visits to solvethe problem.

Dr. Kiser said a full-scope thera-peutic practice is a benefit for pa-tients. “Patients don’t have time togo to two or three different doctors.It would be a real disservice, espe-cially to the rural patients who fre-

Dr. Kiser

“The Best Meeting I Go to Every Year”

Steve Lutz, O.D., AnnArbor, MI, attended

the ALLDocs annualmeeting in Las Vegas inOctober. “This is by farthe best meeting I go toevery year.” Dr. Lutz saidthis year’s meeting em-phasis on medical billingversus a focus on refrac-tive and optical served as a confir-

mation of where he’d likehis practice to go.“There’s a lot of potentialwith our expanded scopeof practice. Financially, itcan be a lot more appeal-ing. I’ve been looking attrying to expand myscope, but the meetinghelped push me further

in that direction.” ■

Dr. Lutz

Potent Medications Contribute to Success

quently have easier access to anO.D. than to a primary care physi-cian or ophthalmologist.”

She says the therapeutics portionContinued on page 2 Continued on page 2

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Expanding HorizonsContinued from page 1

MedicationsContinued from page 1

of the practice continues to grow aspatients spread the word that she canprescribe medications. “They’repleased to learn they don’t need towait the three or four weeks it mighttake to get an appointment to see anophthalmologist.”

Dr. Kiser has been a Lens-Crafters leaseholder for 10 years,and this year made it to her firstAssociation meeting. “I have threelocations and it’s been too difficultto find coverage.” But now thatshe’s been to an ALLDocs meeting,“I plan to make it an annual trip. Itwas so worthwhile.” After speakingwith a number of colleagues aboutthe success they have had with in-creasing dilations, she and her staffhave begun using the same ap-proach. She’s also consideringadding an Optos retinal scanner.Both of these changes would helpher build the therapeutics part ofher practice, she said. ■

ALLDocsALLDocsThe

Newsletter

Letter from the President

We had an excellent turnout atour annual Association of

LensCrafters Leaseholding Doctorsmeeting. More than 60 O.D.s who hold leases onnearly 200 offices attended the Oct. 17-21 meet-ing in Las Vegas.

First come the acknowledgements. Specialthanks go to our sponsors:

Alcon, which sponsors this newsletter andour annual meeting, also underwrote the CE of-fered by Dr. Leo Semes. We were pleased to

meet Rob Young, Alcon’s new director of National Accounts.CooperVision sponsored Doug Olson who spoke on business theo-ries. We congratulate the company and Ocular Sciences on its mergerand wish them luck. Bausch & Lomb’s Dr. Michael Pier always givesan interesting lecture. Johnson & Johnson’s new Director of Profes-sional Affairs Dr. Derrick Artis shared industry insights and motivat-ed us with his commitment to address our issues. CIBA Vision pre-sented information on the benefits of high oxygen transmission in itscontact lenses; Hydrogel Vision was there, as was AMO and Prio.Paragon and X-Cel presented a session on CRT; Art Optical presentedinformation on their new multifocal lenses and Optos presented asession by Dr. Bill Jones, the well-known retinal optometrist. It wasan honor to have such a distinguished presenter.

We put on a high-powered practice management program withkeynote speaker Randy Brooks talking about medical billing, anarea of tremendous interest to our doctors. In that same vein, I’mpleased to say Dr. John Rumpakis will be featured in this newsletterthroughout next year as well, providing us with more information onthe medical model.

I also want to thank LensCrafters for sending a well-recognizedbusiness lecturer to talk about medical selling and Dr. Kerry Pear-son who spoke about selling consultative services. A hearty roundof thanks goes to the ALLDocs members who worked to put thisprogram together: Dr. Bob Gander, Dr. Richard Hults, Dr. DougKiefer, Dr. Bill Fox and Dr. Bob Mulgrew.

Finally, I’ll refer you to Bob Scott’s column on page 4 inwhich he outlines the reasons to become a member of the Associ-ation of LensCrafters Leaseholding Doctors. As an industry repre-sentative, he shows us clearly how vendors and ALLDocs mem-bers work together to make the organization and professionstronger and better. ■

Dr. Gelb

2

Cincinnati, Dr. Kiefer described theGift of Sight executive team as“outstanding people who careabout the people associated withthe company.” In fact, his only re-gret is that the award recognitiondoesn’t trickle down to his staff. “Ifit wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t begetting the award. They make melook good.” ■

the LensCrafters affiliation allowshim the chance to serve thesetremendously disparate needs. And

he said he appreciates that Luxotti-ca Retail recognizes his efforts. “Icommend LensCrafters for celebrat-ing the people in the corporationthis way.”

During the award ceremony in

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3ALLDocsALLDocsThe

Newsletter

through quickly, the refractive modelcalls for the exam, refractive Rx and sam-ples of artificial tears. The medical model,however, could include evaluation andmanagement follow-up visits and punctal

occlusion. The dif-ferences: the prac-titioner followingthe medical mod-el has truly solvedthe patient’s prob-lem—and provid-ed hundreds ofdollars worth ofmedical services—reimbursed bymedical providers.

In terms of profitability, the effectis sizeable. Whether you’re treating dryeye, glaucoma or allergy patients, on adollar-per-hour basis, those visits arebetween four and seven times more

By John Rumpakis, O.D., M.B.A.

How busy a practice is should notbe the only measure of efficiency.Profitability also must be part of

the equation.While these twinaspirations don’talways follow aparallel path,they can forpractices thathave switched tomedical billingfor services.

A good ex-ample of how themedical model increases profitability forpractices while improving satisfaction—and often reducing costs—for the patientis dry eye patients. In a practice where ef-ficiency means moving these patients

profitable than lim-iting a practice toroutine eye care. Inaddition, they arenot mutually exclu-sive as medical and refractive eye careservices can be combined quite easily.

By correctly coding medical proce-dures, these practices have become muchmore efficient—particularly in the eyes ofthe patient who is no longer being referredfor treatment elsewhere. So look and listento the patient complaints you see and hearevery day: red eye, dry eye, infection andglaucoma. You’ll do your practice and yourpatients a tremendous service by movingtoward a medical model. Understand theprofitability of the services you provide andincorporate a full menu of services to yourpatients. They expect it of you.

It is the classic case of having ourcake, and eating it, too. ■

Dr. Rumpakis

The Medical ModelMaking the Most of Every Visit

Gauge Your Value

Dr. Rumpakis returns in 2005with strategies to help practi-

tioners gauge their value and en-hance their services. He’ll also talkabout the powerful “3 Rs” of suc-cessful optometry: recording, rec-ommending and Rxing. ■

MEETING COVERAGE

Dr. Leo Semes Presents 4 Hours of CE

An estimated more than 1 mil-lion Americans have undiag-nosed glaucoma, making diag-

nosis and management of the diseaseone of the foremost responsibilities op-tometrists can shoulder. “You have toget the intraocular pressure (IOP) downand keep it down,” said Leo Semes,O.D., at the Association of LensCraftersLeaseholding Doctors annual meetingin Las Vegas. Dr. Semes, Associate Pro-fessor of Optometry at University of Al-abama Birmingham School of Optome-try, presented four hours of continuingeducation on glaucoma and ocular sur-face disease. The CE sessions weresponsored by Alcon.

In his session on glaucoma medica-tions, Dr. Semes reviewed the clinical liter-ature on the diagnosis and managementof the disease. He discussed the historicalas well as contemporary treatments, frombeta blockers, alpha-adrenergic agonists,

carbonic anhydrase inhibitors toprostaglandin analogues including Alcon’sTRAVATAN®, which has been shown toprovide more enduring IOP-lowering be-cause it is the most potent FP receptor ago-nist. The medication also works particular-ly well with African American patients.

That point is of particular concernbecause the prevalence of primary open

angle glaucoma (POAG) is significantlyhigher among African Americans (ap-proximately seven percent) than whites(1.9 percent) and Asians (0.58 percent).In addition, African Americans are typi-cally younger and have more advanceddisease than white patients at initial di-agnosis, and glaucoma progression ismore rapid in this population. Glauco-ma is the major cause of blindnessamong African Americans. “Clinicallyrelevant and statistically greater IOPlowering benefits were observed inblack patients” using TRAVATAN, Dr.Semes said. In a nine-month study,more than 78 percent of patients over-all responded to Travaprost 0.004%while only 63 percent had response(IOP < 20 mm) to Timolol 0.5%.

In his session on ocular surface dis-ease, Dr. Semes discussed how tear filminstability leads to ocular inflammation,

Continued on page 4

Dr. Bill Fox (left) chatted with Alcon-spon-sored lecturer Dr. Leo Semes, associateprofessor of optometry at the UAB Schoolof Optometry, during the ALLDocs annualmeeting in Las Vegas in October.

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Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Alcon Laboratories

4 ALLDocsALLDocsThe

Newsletter

By Bob Scott, Director of National Accounts, Ocular Sciences

First, let me take a moment to thank you for anotheroutstanding growth year with OSI. Your support of OSI

and the Versaflex Aspheric and Toric have been absolutelyincredible and we are very appreciative of your business.

Having said that, let me ask if you’ve everheard the popular advertisement for a credit cardcompany that uses a tag line of “membership hasits privileges?” Well, when I think about the ALL-Docs Association of LensCrafters Leaseholding Doc-tors, I think this statement rings true. Just ask anyof your colleagues who are members and havebeen to an annual ALLDocs meeting or two. OSIhas been a longstanding sponsor of the ALLDocsgroup, and as an attendee of many meetings, thecamaraderie of this group is second to none.

At the recent Ocular Sciences Focus Group conductedasked: “What part of the ALLDocs Meeting is the most im-portant to you?” Interestingly, the top four answers were:

- Getting ideas from my colleagues and the inter-action of our group members

GUEST COLUMN FROM OSI

The Benefits of Membership- Obtaining great practice man-

agement tips and business-buildingstrategies

- Meeting and hearing from thereps and key executives from ven-dor-partners

- Getting valuable updates and interacting withLensCrafters management

As a vendor-partner, I encourage every Lens-Crafters Leaseholding Doctor to join and attend theyearly meeting. You won’t be disappointed, and thelearning you take away will reward you with im-proved practice profits, better patient satisfaction,“inside” information and lifelong friendships withcolleagues who understand your business.

The sponsors want to see the attendance improveevery year because that’s what makes our supportpossible. If you’re not a member, please consider join-ing this premier group of your colleagues. You won’tbe disappointed and will find yourself wondering whyyou didn’t join much earlier.

Membership has its privileges! ■

Bob Scott

MeetingContinued from page 3

which is, in turn, a factor in dry eye dis-ease. The inflammation might becaused by environmental factors such aswind or low humidity, or because of ag-ing, menopause, wearing contact lensesor using certain topical ocular agents,the symptoms and clinical signs are thesame. Dry eye symptoms include for-eign body sensation, contact lens intol-erance and general discomfort. Indeed,65 percent of contact lens wearers re-port dry eye and 54 percent of formerwearers stopped wearing lenses becauseof dry eye complaints. Among the treat-ment options, Dr. Semes talked aboutSYSTANE® Lubricant Eye Drops whichhas demonstrated a reduction in clinicalsigns of dry eye and, in comparisonswith other drops, has shown a statisti-cally significant reduction in morningdryness, end-of-day dryness and foreignbody sensation. ■

MEETING PHOTO GALLERY

A

C D

B

A: Alcon’s Rob Young (left), Dr. Leo Semes (center) and Alcon’s Marv Morrison.B: (left to right) From LensCrafters corporate headquarters, Dr. EliotGrossman, Wally Lovejoy, Dr. Mark Jacquot and Bill DiGrezio werepart of a question-and-answer panel discussion.C: Dr. Frank Verdone, Dr. Jeff Hixenbaugh, Dr. Michael Dopkiss and Dr. Robert Rudman.D: Dr. Dan Isaac and Dr. Steve Pinard.E: Former football coach Doug Olson lectured on team-building.

E

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