What plan are you on?

Independents are repeatedly being told to charge more realistic professional fees instead of lumping high margins on the products they sell.

Emma White looks at the benefits of two patient loyalty schemes

It is now one year since James Murray Wells began Glasses Direct and while few will have felt any direct effect caused by his and others' cheap eyewear on the web, the reliance on high margins on product to offset the losses made in the provision of professional services has increasingly been drawn into question.

Practice Plan and EyePlan are the two main companies specifically set up to tackle increasing competition, while rewarding practitioners for their professional time and maintaining customer satisfaction and loyalty.

When patients sign up to one of the schemes they are charged a monthly fee to cover professional time and the running costs of the practice.

Under both schemes practitioners can work out what they should be charging as an hourly rate for their professional time, so they no longer have to rely on product profit margins.

VAT can easily be applied to product costs as professional time is identified and accounted for separately, making pricing more competitive.

Practitioners can therefore afford to sell contact lenses at lower prices, enabling them to compete with the internet and supermarkets, while at the same time creating a bond between their patients and their practice.

So how do the two companies differ and what do they offer?