Viewpoint from the Co-Editor

Together, We Achieve So Much

Like the field it covers, OP requires contributions from all.

Jane Shuman, COT, COE, OCS, Co-Editor

As we near the end of our first year of publishing, we must thank you for your enthusiastic response to Ophthalmic Professional. The feedback has been rewarding and your suggestions for content have provided us with ideas we would not have considered otherwise.

This issue displays our versatility, with ophthalmic nurses weighing in on intravitreal injection protocols, marketing directors sharing insights into patient financing and one director of clinical operations revealing the secrets to her practice’s improved patient flow. Just as you need contributions from every member of your team, we need contributions from every branch of allied health professionals to properly address the challenges ahead.

We know you do wonderful things in your practices. As regulations and reimbursements change, you hold on to your current patients, recall those you have not seen in a while, and grow the practice. None of these are easy, but you are accomplishing them together as a team. We would like to hear how you provide patients with a level of care that keeps them coming back.

This is also a good time to remind you of Ophthalmic Professional’s cover contest: Send us an e-mail of no more than 250 words describing how your team has demonstrated success, in areas such as:

■ Patient care■ Patient education/marketing
■ Productivity improvements
■ Practice management
■ Customer service
■ Staff accomplishments (awards, certification and education)
■ Teamwork
■ Volunteerism (community outreach, missions, etc.)

Full details of this contest can be found on page 9 of this issue or at www.ophthalmicprofessional.com/coverstorycontest. The winners will be featured on the cover in the months to come.

We hope you enjoy this issue and your summer vacation. OP

Ms. Shuman, president of Eyetechs, is a nationally recognized authority on clinical flow, scheduling and technician education. Prior to founding Eyetechs, she worked as an ophthalmic technician and clinical manager.