Viewpoint from the co-editors

Timely, Relevant and Practical Resources for a Changing Profession

Bruce Maller, Co-Editor

In conjunction with our friends at Ophthalmology Management, I am excited to welcome you to Ophthalmic Professional, a publication dedicated to identifying and meeting the unique needs of management, allied health, and other office personnel.

Our mission is to provide timely, relevant, and practical business and clinical resources to make your job easier. We have assembled an all-star team of professionals on our editorial board and paired them with an outstanding team of expert authors. I am especially pleased and proud to have the opportunity to serve as co-editor of the publication with my long-time friend and colleague, Jane Shuman. Jane brings a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience in the clinical aspects of the practice. I believe Jane's acknowledged clinical expertise will serve as an excellent complement to my comprehensive business and practice management orientation.

As you know, the world of ophthalmology is in a constant state of flux. For practice personnel, the focus is principally on optimizing the patient-care experience while making sure you get paid correctly for the important work you do for patients. There are, however, many challenges that make it difficult to consistently achieve these objectives.

Hardly a month goes by without some form of new technology being introduced to ophthalmology practices. These technologies range from new drugs and devices for patients with glaucoma and retinal disease to sophisticated lasers that can be used to assist in cataract surgery. Although physicians generally welcome new treatment modalities to assist patients, there generally are significant operational and reimbursement issues associated with the introduction of technological advances.

In addition, there are many external forces that infringe on the doctor-patient relationship. For staff, the term "compliance" now means so many things, most of which involve extra work. In addition, patient access to a provider of choice will certainly be challenged as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is implemented over the next several years.

Via Ophthalmic Professional, we hope to bring clarity to these complex issues and provide a road map that allows you to navigate current and future challenges in the most effective manner possible. We welcome feedback on topics you feel will help improve the operations of your practice. We look forward to you being "active readers" of OP.

Mr. Maller is the founder and president of BSM Consulting, which provides business management solutions to hospitals, ambulatory care facilities, medical trade associations, physicians, health care personnel, pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers across the globe.

Viewpoint from the co-editor

A Wish Fulfilled

Knowledge to make your job more rewarding

Jane T. Shuman, C.O.T., C.O.E., OCS., Co-Editor

For many years, there has been a wish that someone would publish a journal to keep the patient service staff abreast of pertinent industry trends. Today, I am pleased to say that wish has been fulfilled:

Welcome to the premier issue of Ophthalmic Professional.

The goal of Ophthalmic Professional is to keep you, a valued member of the practice's staff, informed of new developments that will help you become more productive, efficient and ultimately satisfied on the job. This can only enhance the business of ophthalmology and make your work more rewarding.

I am both honored and excited to serve as the Co-Chief Editor of the Ophthalmic Professional with Bruce Maller. Our sister journal, Ophthalmology Management, has long been regarded as the industry standard, keeping its readers informed on new developments that enhance the business of ophthalmology. We hope to provide that same broad knowledge to you, the staff of the practice. After all, it is only natural that we tend to become myopic when we are exposed only to the discipline as practiced by our doctors.

We have invited industry leaders to serve on our editorial board and are grateful for their participation. They are techs, administrators and consultants that represent many subspecialty areas of ophthalmology; many of us have performed the job you do. Together, we hope to provide you with a wide range of information.

In addition, we welcome your comments. If you have any suggestions that you would like to have covered, please contact one of us with your ideas. Without them, we can only hope to focus on what it is you would like to read.

Jane T. Shuman, president of Eyetechs, is a nationally recognized authority on clinical flow, scheduling and technician education. Prior to founding Eyetechs, she worked for more than 15 years as an ophthalmic technician and clinical manager.