As I read this issue’s cover story on Retina Associates of Cleveland, I was delighted to discover that this renowned practice follows sound business principles to successfully achieve “friendly, patient-centered retinal care.” This insightful piece explains how such proven principles enable this large Ohio-based practice to function in an efficient, effective manner to best serve its patients.

As stated in the article (page 8), Retina Associates of Cleveland’s success is based on establishing uniform business practices and processes, holding regular staff meetings, seeking employee input, training staff thoroughly, supporting technology in-house, and using office space effectively. All practices — big or small — can learn something from Retina Associates of Cleveland, and this is why it earned the coveted cover spot in this issue of Ophthalmic Professional.

Sound business principles

These principles transcend the medical field and can be applied to any business. Case in point, my company, BSM Consulting, follows the same principles. For instance, we are preparing for BSM’s biggest staff meeting of the year — our annual strategic planning meeting, where we identify objectives and initiatives for the coming year. Our “regular staff meeting” efforts don’t stop there. We hold a quarterly company conference call, a bi-weekly team meeting, and weekly — if not daily — department meetings. These meetings promote continuous team collaboration, communication, and coordination, allowing us to run in an effective and efficient manner to meet the needs of our clients — just like Retina Associates of Cleveland.

More guidance

In addition to the cover story, this issue of Ophthalmic Professional is full of articles that will help your practice become more efficient and effective. These topics include:

• At-home IOP testing, which is changing how practices manage patients who have glaucoma and suspected glaucoma.
• The basics of a visual field test and advice for administering the test to patients who might be apprehensive.
• LASIK conversations and how your responses to common patient queries are crucial to keeping patients engaged and informed.

I know you will find some valuable business takeaways from this issue of Ophthalmic Professional. And who knows, maybe I’ll be discussing your successful practice on this page soon. OP