A variety of logistics-related decisions should accompany the incorporation of nutritional supplements into an ophthalmology practice, but these are sometimes overlooked. Lauren Levine, regional business consultant and KOL development manager for ScienceBased Health, says that sometimes small details — such as where retail products will be displayed or who will keep track of them — aren’t given attention. This inattention may hamper the opportunity to take full advantage of products that can help both patients and the practice.

Ms. Levine, who runs the Florida Society of Ophthalmic Administrators, recently moderated a “supplementation implementation” roundtable with practice administrators (all of whom are Society members — see "Meet the roundtable members") on some of the logistics-related details involving nutritional supplements dispensed in the practice.

Where will supplements be kept?

Ms. Levine says that practices should think about whether nutritional supplements will be kept behind the front desk, in a display case, in the optical, or in the lane. Each of these locations can have a different impact.

Trish Daniels: We have a display case at check-out and in the optical. Those are the two locations that work best for us. When we had vitamins in the lanes, we did not see an increase in sales. We do have a checklist that includes a list of all the product names complete with pictures.

Trish Barker: Our dry eye supplements are kept at the checkout, although we are currently in the process of creating a pharmacy and they will mostly be stored there once open.

Margie Brill: Our optometrist is our dry eye guru, so they are kept in her area, but each doctor and scribe’s lane has a checklist that includes all of our dry eye products. The doctor or scribe in the lane will check off what the patient should have. That includes a price list, and it’s taken to the front desk where patients get what they need.

Who will introduce the nutritional supplements to patients and when?

Ms. Levine says that when supplements are left in a case or display without any explanation from the doctor or staff, they aren’t going to see much movement. Whether it’s a surgical coordinator, an ophthalmic technician, or the doctor, these products need to be introduced.

Vicky O’Sullivan: Our doctors recommend these products in the lane. We do have information at the front desk, as well. But we’re most successful when the doctor explicitly says, “I need you to start this product for your dry eye.”

What display setups or locations are most successful?

Ms. Barker: Having a display with supplements in the exam room does not necessarily prompt the patient to ask about it, but it does remind the doctor or the tech to bring up the conversation.

Chris Hill: The doctors will provide a checklist of what they recommend, and then it’s available at the front desk. But we are working on having custom displays built right now for all of our locations. When we had these products on display outside of a case of any sort, we did have some go missing.

Should you stock nutritional supplements or inform patients where to get them?

Ms. Daniels: I like to keep all of our services in-house and don’t want our patients to have to go outside to get anything. We want to be a one-stop shop. If they are unable to get to us, we will mail those products to them. We want patients to feel taken care of and that we will give them that extra care.

Ms. Brill: We do not direct patients to the web; we really want to encourage them to buy from us. We do try to encourage the purchase of at least two items so that they don’t run out and have a lapse before they can get back to us for more. We have, on occasion, also mailed product.

How do you get doctors to buy-in to the idea of offering supplements in the office?

Ms. Brill: Attending Dry Eye University was the primary way that our dry eye specialist got onboard with all of the dry eye products. She was then the one to get the other doctors onboard.

Ms. Barker: One of our doctors also attended Dry Eye University and was hooked. While all doctors treat dry eye to some degree, we have had a lot of success with making one person the specialist in this area. Because dry eye does often require a lot of specialized care and some extra TLC, it made sense to have one person in the group handling this. In turn, that’s helped with dry eye product sales.

Ms. O’Sullivan: Early on, we did a Lunch & Learn that helped our doctors to see the value in prescribing these products. Some of our doctors and staff do use the products themselves. That personal recommendation goes a really long way.

Mr. Hill: Our cataract surgeons have been the champions of dry eye products. We do have reminder texts to patients to use these products ahead of surgery.

Are kits, such as those dispensed to patients for pre-op or post-op use, a successful way of packaging supplements?

Ms. Levine says that more and more practices are packaging products into a kit, particularly as pre-op or post-op packages. She says this can be an easy way to ensure everything that the doctor recommends is found all in one place. Kits look aesthetically appealing and can also help with branding, as many practices will add their logo to the pouch or bag or to other products offered, such as eye cooling masks.

Ms. Daniels: We sell both a pre-op and post-op kit and have several variations of them depending upon what procedure the patient is having done. The surgery schedulers educate on what’s in the kit and how to use it.

Ms. Barker: We offer a kit that includes supplements following a thermal pulsation treatment. It ultimately becomes part of the doctor conversation. The patient is told that they’ve had this procedure done, but now they need to keep up with maintenance. They need to follow good dry eye protocol and keep their eyes moist. OP