Bringing Clarity to Complexity: The Optical Patient Journey

Bringing clarity to the complexity of optometry is a monumental task. The use of technology can be explored to ensure the patient is front and centre in the busy day-to-day of an optometry practice. Whether it’s an independent or enterprise practice, the use of technology in an optical practice can make or break your business.

Managing an optical practice is complex. It’s a hybrid of retail and medical services, bringing all the rewards and, let’s face it, challenges from both sectors. The balance of sales vs service is addressed with different styles of practice, such as:

• Clinical
• Fashion
• Independent
• Multiple

Despite how different optical practices are, something that stands out to me is the fact that as eyecare professionals, we’re all trying to achieve the best for our patients. Eyecare professionals share many of the same challenges in managing and growing their businesses.

In this blog, we will explore the art of optical practice, focusing on four key pillars: 

• Understanding your Business
• Your Patient Journey
• Patient Communication 
• Omnichannel Approach

Understanding Your Business (And Your Patients)

When it comes to managing any business, it’s important to understand two things:

• What are you trying to achieve?
• Who are you trying to serve?

After deciding what your missions and values are, you need to think about who your ideal patient is. It’s important to consider:

• Who they are
• Their age
• Their occupation
• Where they’re from
• What they want from you

Your Patient Management System (PMS) can help with this by providing real-life information on your patients from your current database.

Armed with this patient persona, you can tailor your services, create an experience and market it directly to your patient. Build this foundation, and patients will come.

By employing the power of your Optometry PMS, you can track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as patient volume, conversion rates, average transaction value and customer satisfaction. This data can provide valuable insights into areas of strength in your optical practice and areas that need improvement, enabling informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Additionally, understanding your business involves keeping up with industry trends, regulatory changes and emerging technologies that can impact operations and patient care. By remaining agile and adaptable, you can build a successful future for your optical practice.

Your Patient Journey: From Discovery to Advocacy

The patient journey in an optical practice can be complex; it encompasses various stages, from initial discovery to ongoing care and advocacy. By understanding and mapping out the patient journey with your team, you can identify pain points and areas for improvement that can shape the patient’s overall experience.

The patient journey doesn’t start at the practice’s front door; it typically begins with a discovery, as patients become aware of their needs and seek solutions. This search often begins with online research and recommendations from friends and family. It’s key to have a website that reflects your practice, highlights your products and services, and offers a call to action.

Read a blog dedicated to the online customer journey here.

Once patients decide to use your optical practice to address their needs, their experiences can be shaped by factors such as convenience, product selection, expertise, and value. It’s worth noting that value doesn’t always involve money; it is also an emotional measure that is of great importance to your patient.

Review the patient journey’s touchpoints; particularly the stages at which your patient interacts with you and your brand such as during eye exams or recalls. Try to impress your patients at each touchpoint with your practice’s friendliness, expertise, and products. There’s power in simply offering a beverage to your patient.

When your patients leave feeling impressed, it’s natural that they’ll want to tell someone about their experience – and you should encourage them to! Integrate Google Reviews or Net Promoter Scores (NPS) into your practice’s operations to take advantage of the power of recommendations. Your patients can become advocates for your business, and this opportunity shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s a cycle that can widely contribute to the growth of your business. 

Patient Communication: Building Trust and Understanding

Effective patient communication is the cornerstone of a successful practice. From the moment a potential patient interacts with your business online, to them entering your practice for the first time, it’s important to foster clear and empathetic communication in order to build trust, understanding, and ultimately deliver exceptional experiences.

In the age of technology, patient communication extends beyond face-to-face interactions to include digital media, email, messaging services, and even social media. By leveraging these channels effectively, optical practices can easily stay connected with patients.

It's been proven that 40-80% of information given to a patient is forgotten when they leave the practice, and that almost 50% of the remembered information is incorrect¹.  It’s a staggering statistic, but one that we all recognise in daily practice. Digital patient education assets can drastically improve this issue, providing in-practice visuals and videos, which can then be forwarded to a patient’s device to take away and revisit.

Read a blog dedicated to the importance of effective patient communication here.

With media covering all aspects of practice from contact lens care to the explanation of pathology, this is a vital tool for effective communication and great for aiding in compliance.

Technology makes it easy and convenient for your patient to communicate with you too. Online web chats, messaging services like WhatsApp and social media platforms are powerful tools in making your business accessible to your patient when they need it, adding further value to the patient experience. 

Omnichannel Approach: Navigating the Digital Frontier

In this digital world, it’s key to embrace omnichannel strategies to stay relevant and competitive. Omnichannel refers to the seamless integration of multiple communication channels, such as brick & mortar practice, website and e-commerce platforms, social media, and mobile apps to provide a convenient and cohesive experience for patients. 

For an optical practice, this means leveraging technology to enhance the patient journey at every touchpoint, and having a website is a great way to do this. Your website is a great way for you to sell your brand, your expertise and your products to patients. With a web booking platform, you can instantly convert these prospective patients into real appointments, directly into your diary. Integrated payment systems can be used in practice to streamline patient transactions and speed up your end of day banking reconciliation. 

Omnichannel is more than just selling; it’s communication. Email and social campaigns can be linked with your PMS to maintain the relationships with your patients. Whether it’s appointment recalls, newsletters or product promotions, communication templates including your website’s link can be easily made to allow your patients to effortlessly explore your brand and services.

Conclusion

The art of operating an optical practice requires a thorough approach that encompasses omnichannel strategies, effective patient communication, an understanding of the patient journey, and a data-driven understanding of your business. By embracing these four pillars, leaders in the optical world can deliver exceptional patient care, compete in a dynamic and evolving industry and navigate complexity with clarity.

References

1. Kessels RP. Patients' memory for medical information. J R Soc Med. 2003 May;96(5):219-22. doi: 10.1177/014107680309600504. PMID: 12724430; PMCID: PMC539473.