Features

This article is best viewed in a PDF Format.

If most eventualities have been considered, the right systems are in place and the team understand what is happening and why, success on the day of launch will be very much down to enthusiasm and a desire to succeed.

To help build enthusiasm immediately prior to launch, consider posters in the staff room, as well as quizzes or competitions with small prizes to test the team's knowledge. The importance and significance of the launch can be marked by providing cakes at tea/coffee time, or finger food for lunch for the whole team. Alternatively, you could all go for a drink after work to celebrate the launch. This is sure to go some way towards engendering a greater team spirit in a fairly natural, unforced way.

Once your new plan has been launched, listen to how each member of your practice team is describing it to patients. Make a note of the better examples and share them with the rest of the team. Also praise those using the most successful techniques. This approach will create a more positive environment and is better than criticising those who do not always say the right thing.

Make one person responsible for keeping a record of how many people are signed up and by whom. This can be transcribed onto a 'league' table in the staff area every few days. This works best if there are team goals and rewards, as well as individual ones, so that staff are happy to share with each other what works best.

There are likely to be aspects that can be improved upon, following the experience gained in the first days and weeks after launch. Do not consider this to be failure - instead this is learning and improving through experience.

Review

Any initial enthusiasm is likely to dwindle unless regular reviews are held, to update on progress, as well as the sharing of ideas and successes. Meetings to review progress, lasting no more than an hour, after the first, third and sixth months following launch are recommended. The meetings should be structured to include the following:

• Number signed up to date
• Practice turnover up/down
• Dispensing rates and values compared before and after the scheme launch
• Objections and how they have been handled, with suggestions of how they could be overcome in the future
• Practice administration of direct debits/credit or debit card mandates/standing orders
• Share success stories with examples, highlight what was done well and the results
• Review of rewards and staff incentives, particularly praising and recognising good work
• Are any additional schemes required for specific patient categories, or is there a way to accommodate them within the existing arrangements?
• Reviewing future targets for monitoring success of the scheme.

The best way to operate a professional fee-based scheme will vary from practice to practice. However, one common factor will be that it is more likely to work better if continually monitored and improved as necessary, on an ongoing basis.

Martin Ling, an optometrist in North Walsham. comments: 'Professional pricing is probably the best move that my contact lens practice has made since I introduced disposable lenses to my patients in 1993.'

The future

Often practices buoyed by the success of launching a scheme for contact lens wearers are keen to consider an eye care scheme for spectacle-only wearers. The practices where these plans are most successful are usually more clinical and offer additional clinical services, as well as a thorough eye examination. These additional services may include retinal imaging, nerve head analysis and so on, where a 'top up' fee would normally be charged, especially to NHS patients. Having an eye care payment scheme can allow an inclusive approach to all and any additional services for a set monthly fee. In addition, those on the scheme will benefit from a substantial discount on all spectacle purchases.

Conclusion

If you feel your practice and patients would benefit from implementing a professional fee-based scheme, a step-by-step guide and other supporting materials can be found at http://www.cibavisionacademy.co.uk/business/fees/intro.shtml

The materials are arranged in 10 steps, from 'Why change', through 'pricing calculations' to help you calculate the true cost of chair time in your practice and ending with details of how to ensure the maximum success at launch and beyond. Even if you feel your practice is not ready to go ahead with this type of scheme just yet, it can still be a useful exercise to calculate the true cost of your chair time.

All the materials have been compiled based on the experiences of numerous practices that have gone through the process over the last few years. There is also a selection of video presentations by practitioners discussing their experiences. If you feel you require additional support there is an option to 'Ask the expert' by completing an online form.

In the author's experience, the only regret the majority of practices have, after implementing such a scheme, is that they did not do it sooner. This seems to be because patients know exactly how much they are paying for clinical time and separately for their eyewear products. The other benefit is the confidence practice staff gain by having a simpler story to tell when handling enquiries and explaining services.

Ultimately, it seems to help independent practices to differentiate themselves from other retailers in the high street optical market.

● Martin Russ is a director of TMR, a consultancy that provides business services for optical practices

Providing exclusive eye care news, information and educational needs every week, including a FREE CET programme. Subscribe to Optician Print Edition.