With delayed services such as eGOS and making tax digital (MTD) coming into force soon, there is no better time to consider whether your practice management system (PMS) is up to date and equipped to deal with the latest regulations. Optrafair Exchange offered the perfect opportunity to see some of the leading providers in the field as well as some of the smaller developers offering a bespoke service.
Optisoft
Optisoft launched Optisoft.NET at Optrafair, the latest version of its PMS, which has been five years in development. The fourth iteration of the software includes a host of features ‘enabling independent opticians to save time and money on patient recall, increase patient returns, streamline practice management and comply with the new GDPR and MTD legislations,’ says Optisoft marketing manager Sophie Lockwood.
When asked how Optisoft is ensuring compliance with new GDPR rules, as well as preparing customers for the introduction of eGOS and MTD, Lockwood says, ‘We’re in contact with Capita, Primary Care Support England’s (PCSE) chosen agency for eGOS roll out… Optisoft will link with eGOS when the new system is rolled out’.
‘MTD links are required next April,’ says Lockwood. ‘Optisoft will provide a digital link in line with MTD requirements to Sage and Xero, plus we’re also investigating links with a number of other popular accounts packages.’
Besides the work the company has done to ensure compliance with current and upcoming regulations, it has also invested in updating and improving the aesthetics of its PMS. Provided via a monthly subs package, the system looks well thought through, with an ergonomic diary view that shows vacancies in various, customisable ways.
Optisoft showing visitors its Optisoft.NET PMS
‘We’re continually developing for the future,’ says Lockwood. ‘We understand how an optical practice works and how technology and software can improve, automate and save money.’
i-Clarity
In use in more than 250 practices in the UK, i-Clarity has gone from strength to strength since coming on the scene in 2010. ‘We attend Optrafair partly to generate leads for the coming year – and we were kept busy for all of the three days with high quality prospects – but also, and almost equally important, to stay in touch with our existing customers,’ says i-Clarity founder Rob Ward.
In order to ensure its existing customers are prepared for English eGOS, Ward and the i-Clarity team have been running tests with Capita.
‘Capita ran a “testing service”, which was, basically, whether your eGOS submissions would pass in real life,’ says Ward. ‘We were always passing GOS 1 and 3, and that means that forms would instantly be sent to Capita for processing. We have prepared for English eGOS by building on our successful experience in Scotland. What we think makes this unique is that our electronic forms mirror the way that practices currently use paper forms.’
And when it comes to MTD, i-Clarity has been a step ahead for a while. ‘In a sense, we were always ready for MTD, even before HMRC announced the initiative,’ Ward remarks. ‘Support for double entry bookkeeping was built into i-Clarity from the very beginning, and we have had customers transferring their financial data, in a fully-MTD compliant manner, since 2014.’
Finally, and as i-Clarity is focused on helping independents, it offers a personalised service to its clients. Before set-up and training, a member of the i-Clarity team will go into the user’s practice and act as a ‘fly on the wall’. The rep will consider what features of the software are most appropriate for the practice and will tailor i-Clarity’s provision accordingly.
Cosium
At Cosium’s large stand at Optrafair there was a range of interesting software and hardware on display. From its comprehensive DigiHub point of sale system to its ‘leading edge practice management software’, the range of technology at the stand was impressive. One item in particular, however, stood out.
Cosium’s new cloud-based virtual try on (VTO) system contains an artificially intelligent software that identifies the age and gender of a user.
Alessandro Messeri, Cosium’s UK operations manager, says problems have occurred in the past when VTO systems have trouble responding to people with darker skin or bald heads. This has now been solved, says Messeri, and the system is well designed, easy to use and understand, and comes with different filters and modes that can be customised to requirements.
Colin Hurst, business development manager at Cosium UK, says: ‘The new VTO software experience can be offered both online allowing patients to sample frames and lenses in their own time and comfort, and at the point of sale assisted by a dispensing optician or optical assistant.
With no limit on the number of options stored, users can browse limitless frames. This, you might reasonably say, gives almost too much choice. However, Cosium has also developed a ‘frame advisor’ – ‘when using the frame advisor, the subset of recommended frames can be controlled by the optician. It then gives the possibility to offer targeted sales on either best seller, high margin products, or in-stock only products,’ says Hurst.
Furthermore, ‘you can actually simulate prescription lenses through the VTO and therefore upsell patients through demonstrating the performance of the lens,’ adds Messeri.
Blink OMS
Blink once, blink twice and blink again are the three options from Blink OMS, a growing software provider in the field. ‘We believe that Blink is one of the most cost-effective solutions available to independent opticians and well worth a try,’ says Terry Woodhouse, director of Blink.
Relying on mainly internet marketing for the past few years, 2019 was the first time Blink had exhibited at Optrafair Exchange after recording its best ever year in 2018. ‘Following an initial period of slow, steady growth and product development, we now feel that our software is well placed to reach out to a wider audience and so Optrafair marked the beginning of a more active phase of brand promotion and marketing for us,’ says Woodhouse.
Blink is currently working with PCSE with the aim of incorporating eGOS later this year and ‘blink again users can already record dispensing information and output sales figures into a spreadsheet, ready for importing into their own accounting system,’ says Woodhouse, ‘and we believe that this covers the basic MTD requirements’.
He says: ‘We also believe that the intuitive nature of Blink, along with the fact that the hardware requirements are minimal – Blink is cloud based and only requires internet connection and a web browser on any devise, including smart phone – means that it can be picked up by most users with little or no tuition.’
That is why Blink has launched its ‘self-service’ option this year, so that users can register online and start using the system ‘within minutes and needing zero interaction with the Blink support team’, adds Woodhouse.
Optinet
Initially launched back in 1987 to provide computer services to the National Eyecare Group, Optinet has been a feature of the optical software landscape for decades. In 2013 it launched its FLEX software, which has seen many evolutions in recent years.
Optinet was at Optrafair not only to meet with its existing customers, but also to source out new ones by demonstrating the FLEX PMS to delegates.
The FLEX software comes with a host of features to simplify and streamline practice operations. Used in more than 400 sites across the country, FLEX offers users multiple recall options, extensive stock management capabilities, accurate reporting and accounts, and, now, an integrated eGOS system for when the rollout occurs.
Chris Smith, business development manager at Optinet, says the company stands out through its commitment to continuous development.
‘We believe the software you invest in today should continue to keep pace with changes within our industry. eGOS and MTD are perfect examples of how businesses are having to make changes within a digital era,’ says Smith.
‘We have integrated the eGOS system with FLEX. We have integrated with Xero accounting system to allow data to be sent directly into the practice accounts, additionally there is an option to export data for use with other systems,’ he adds.
Thomson Software Solutions
‘We’ve been exhibiting at Optrafair for 20 years,’ says David Thomson, founder of Thomson Software Solutions. ‘Optrafair always provides an opportunity to showcase our software as well as keep up with our existing users.’
Renowned for its pioneering computerised test charts in the mid-90s, Thomson Software Solutions now offers a range of services to its customers. At his busy stand at Optrafair, Thomson was presenting the ReadEZ system for managing visual stress.
Thompson’s Clinical Eye Tracker software
‘The system uses innovative software to help diagnose the condition and determine the optimum colour for overlays and coloured lenses,’ explains Thomson.
‘Thomson Software can then supply overlays, reading guides, coloured clip-ons or coloured lenses at very competitive prices. More than 400 practices in the UK now use the ReadEZ system.’
In addition, the company’s Clinical Eye Tracker is an eye movement recording and analysis system. ‘The system provides a powerful tool for objectively assessing the effects of various interventions – lenses, prisms, exercises, colour – on real-world visual performance tasks such as reading,’ says Thomson. ‘The system has also opened up exciting new opportunities for assessing binocular vision while patients are performing a variety of demanding tasks.’
‘Thomson Software Solutions has a proud history of innovation in the field of vision assessment and screening…We pride ourselves on providing high quality software and excellent support,’ he adds.
Ocuco
Ocuco was another company showcasing its VTO technology at Optrafair. At its large, central stand visitors could engage with its ‘fitting box’, which proved to be a real winner with younger delegates and children in particular.
‘It’s a virtual try on system,’ explains Liadain Murphy, marketing manager at Ocuco. ‘It’s really interesting for people who are trying to attract more footfall in from a shop window. You can load your stock into the system and you can choose what stock appears if you want to push certain frames. Also, you can have your own marketing campaigns on the side of the screen.’
By standing in front of Ocuco’s fitting box, users can trial a plethora of glasses. By scanning a barcode for the frame being shown, you can access all of the necessary information about that model, its costs and availability, says Murphy.
Marketing material on the margins alerts users about potential offers, the frames stocked into the software can be customised to suit a practice’s marketing campaign and the technology serves to entice potential customers from off the street.
Ocuco was also promoting its new iPad app at the show. ‘We have an iPad app now that will enable people to really engage with their patients on the shop floor,’ says Murphy. ‘It’s taking people from behind a screen and allowing them to do exactly what they do at the screen, in terms of dispensing, but allowing them to walk around the shop floor.’
Murphy says, ‘It boosts engagement and helps practices give a great customer service’ and that ‘when you’re an independent practice that really helps you stand out’.
Opticabase
Opticabase was at the show to demonstrate its ‘latest software versions to both new and old customers’. Opticabase has been working with Capita over the past couple of years and has ‘incorporated electronic forms and signatures into the systems in preparation for when Capita has finished testing eGOS,’ says Michael Prais, owner and director of Opticabase. MTD is not applicable to the system.
Opticabase’s director Michael Prais demonstrates the company’s PMS
Developed over the course of many years by a team of opticians, Opticabase is now used in over 500 practices across the UK. Optometrist and IT developer Prais has, with the help of optician colleagues, developed ‘three different software versions, from a simple recall to a full paperless system,’ says Prais, ‘Opticabase offers a very cost-effective solution for any type of independent practice’.
The PMS provider has also teamed up with mailing company MailaDoc to ‘print and post recall letters in full colour for only 47p’. Considering a 2nd class stamp has just risen to 61p, the saving is considerable when scaled up. Prais estimates that the cost of printing 200 recall letters typically would be around £136 (68p per letter). With Opticabase the cost is just £94 – a saving of £42 plus ‘a lot of time’, says Prais.
