Online Reviews and Reputation Management is a Vital Aspect of Eye Care Practice

Very few people still have not noticed that in the digital age, online reviews have become a significant influence on consumer decision-making across various industries, including eye care. Patients often turn to platforms like Google, Yelp, and Healthgrades to share their experiences and seek recommendations. Therefore, managing your online reputation is an essential aspect of your eye care practice. The following will emphasize the significance of online reviews and provide insights into effective reputation management strategies for eye care professionals.

The Power of Online Reviews:

Online reviews wield substantial influence over potential patients’ choices. Here’s why they matter:

Credibility: Reviews are perceived as authentic, unbiased assessments of your services, making them trustworthy sources of information.

Visibility: Positive reviews can improve your practice’s search engine ranking, making you more discoverable to potential patients.

Decision-Making: Many patients rely on reviews to decide whether to choose your practice, as they provide insights into the patient experience and the quality of care.

Feedback: Reviews offer a valuable channel for feedback. Positive reviews can validate your services, while negative ones can pinpoint areas for improvement.

Effective Reputation Management Strategies:

Managing your online reputation doesn’t mean controlling every review but rather maintaining a positive overall image and addressing issues constructively. Here are some strategies to consider:

1. Encourage Positive Reviews: Although we never ever ask patients for reviews and we don’t even encourage any optometrist to do so, there are indirect methods that infer to the patients in a way that it is possible to leave a review. One of the ways is texting back, or emailing back to confirm a rescheduling; that is including in the message “were we able to address your concerns today?”, “do you have any concerns about rescheduling?”. Those sentences are hyperlinks that drive his curiosity to click and browse additional pages that lead to filling forms, providing feedback and so on. Some Optometrists don’t hesitate to ask satisfied patients to leave reviews. You can also do this in various ways, such as sending follow-up emails or including a reminder on your website. Encouragement often leads to more reviews from happy patients.

2. Monitor Reviews Regularly: Keep a close eye on your online presence. Set up alerts to notify you of new reviews and respond promptly. Consistent monitoring ensures that no review, whether positive or negative, goes unnoticed.

3. Respond to Reviews: Engage with reviewers by responding to their feedback. Acknowledge positive reviews with gratitude and express a desire to see the patient again. For negative reviews, address concerns professionally, showing empathy and a commitment to improvement. Your responses demonstrate a proactive approach to patient care.

4. Be Authentic and Transparent: Authenticity is key to successful reputation management. Be honest in your responses and maintain transparency. Patients appreciate a genuine and caring approach.

5. Resolve Issues Privately: If a patient raises a specific issue or concern in a review, consider addressing it privately. Offer your contact information and invite the patient to discuss the matter further. This demonstrates your commitment to resolving issues and maintaining patient confidentiality.

6. Showcase Positive Reviews: Feature some of your most glowing reviews on your practice’s website. This can enhance your credibility and reassure potential patients of your high-quality services.

7. Learn from Feedback: Negative reviews can be constructive if you use them as opportunities for improvement. Identify recurring issues and take steps to address them within your practice.

8. Consistency Across Platforms: Ensure that your practice’s information and branding are consistent across all online platforms. Consistency promotes professionalism and trust.

9. Educate Your Team: Share the importance of online reviews with your staff. Encourage them to provide exceptional service to patients, as a positive experience increases the likelihood of favorable reviews.

10. Legal and Ethical Considerations: Be aware of legal and ethical guidelines when it comes to managing reviews. Avoid soliciting fake reviews or posting false information.

Online reviews play a vital role in shaping your practice’s reputation. Effective reputation management is not about controlling every review but rather about engaging constructively, learning from feedback, and continuously improving your services. By fostering a positive online reputation, you can enhance your practice’s visibility, credibility, and patient trust. In a digital world, the way your practice is perceived online can significantly impact your patient base and, ultimately, the success of your eye care practice.

Sophia’s Myopia Journey: How Outdoor Time Helped Control Her Myopia

Sophia, a bright and spirited 13-year-old girl, had always been encircled by vision challenges within her family. Her father who even though is a low myopic had suffered from Diabetes and its undesirable effect on his retina that had him undergo laser treatments to stop the progression of his diabetic retinopathy. Her 11-year-old brother had one diopter of hyperopia. Sophia, herself, was no stranger to the world of eyeglasses and vision correction. She had been referred to our practice by her ophthalmologist four years ago, at the tender age of nine, when her myopia was first discovered with a diagnosis of -1.00 diopters of myopia in her right eye with -0.25 @180 diopters of astigmatism and -1.50 diopters of myopia in her left eye.

For the past four years, Sophia and her family diligently followed up with her ophthalmologist to monitor her myopia progression and our practice to get her prescription executed. However, the most recent visit, just two days ago, brought about an unexpected surprise. Sophia’s myopia had remained stable, despite her growing taller as she is transitioning into her teenage years.

The backdrop to this remarkable story takes us to a recent event. I just returned from the American Academy of Optometry 2023 meeting where discussions about the latest findings in myopia management had taken center stage. Armed with fresh insights, I shared Sophia’s journey with the parents and highlighted the pivotal role of outdoor time in controlling myopia.

Sophia’s mother, did not attend any of the conferences, not even her father or anyone in the family have looked up about myopia management on the internet. But Sophia’s mother couldn’t contain her curiosity and promptly inquired about the underlying reason for her daughter’s myopia stability. I immediately seized this opportunity to explain how Sophia’s unique circumstances had probably led to this positive outcome.

Sophia’s myopia story began when she was a nine-year-old, full of curiosity and enthusiasm. Her initial diagnosis of myopia was a turning point in her life. I still remember the first time she was prescribed optical frames she was happy to wear eyeglasses and happy to join the clan like her dad and brother; something that no one should be happy about. She was prescribed corrective lenses to help her see distant objects clearly, but her rough journey was just beginning because for us in Lebanon we still did not have any mean to control myopia at the time. We still believed that under-correction could reduce the evolution of myopia. We were starting to think that multifocals could make a change at that time.

The next four years were marked by regular check-ups, adjustments to her eyeglass prescription did not occur since her myopia did not change, and discussions about potential interventions to manage her myopia progression were always theoretical. I closely monitored Sophia’s condition, and always had this thought in the back of my mind that her myopia will at any moment dramatically progress and we have almost nothing to offer as a solution to stop it.

Two days ago, when Sophia and her family walked into our office, they did so with the usual mix of hope and anticipation. However, what they received was a reason to celebrate. Sophia’s myopia had not progressed, remaining steady at -1.00 diopters of myopia in her right eye with -0.25 @180 diopters of astigmatism and -1.50 diopters of myopia in her left eye. This was exceptional news, and it demanded further investigation and explanation as usual.

So, I shared the story of Sophia’s unique journey and concerns around it with the parents once again, beginning with the importance of understanding myopia and its undesirable consequences. Myopia, often referred to as nearsightedness, meant that Sophia could see objects up close but struggled to see object at distant vision. Sophia’s nearsightedness can be corrected with available ophthalmic lenses and contact lenses to obtain 20/20 vision however, the progression of myopia was concerning, as it could Sophiad to serious eye conditions later in life.

I also discussed risk factors associated with myopia. Genetics played a significant role in Sophia’s case, as her father had astigmatism, and her brother had hyperopia. Additionally, environmental factors, like excessive screen time and a lack of outdoor activities, were also known and proved contributors to myopia development. Therefore, the need of a proactive rather than a reactive strategy for dealing with myopia progression is very important.

As I proactively delved into the methods for controlling and managing myopia, the discussion turned to Sophia’s remarkable progress. I explained that while various interventions did not exist four years ago, many exist now. But what I have discovered later on as I launched this conversation with the parents is that Sophia’s unique circumstances had offered a different, natural path to myopia control – outdoor time.

Sophia’s family had made a significant lifestyle change during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and that continued after the pandemic: Faced with the challenges of remote Sophiarning and the need for a safer environment for their children, they decided to spend all time possible – as the father also has been working remotely – in the house they had in their village, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Here, the children spent most of their time outdoors, connecting with nature and enjoying the benefits of a healthier lifestyle. During the summer vacation their life was nothing but outdoor activities.

I emphasized the significance of this healthy change and that studies had shown a strong correlation between increased outdoor time and the reduction in myopia progression, especially in children of about the same age as Sophia. Tens of researches have been done on this subject during the past few years. In fact, the same day Sophia and her family visited my office I read about a recent study that has been published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology and that has shown that reported time outdoors protected against myopia (Li et al., 2023). Day after day we are starting to say that natural light, physical activity, and the freedom to focus on distant objects while playing outdoors had all contributed to Sophia’s remarkable journey.

Sophia’s mother listened intently, reflecting on the decision to embrace a more outdoorsy lifestyle. She realized that this lifestyle change had not only protected her children from the challenges of remote learning but had also played a vital role in stabilizing Sophia’s myopia. She immediately reminded me of the power of simple, natural solutions.

As Sophia’s story unfolded, I underscored the importance of continued eye care and regular check-ups. While Sophia’s condition had been closely monitored, I must confess once again we would not be allowed for timely interventions if her myopia had progressed due to lake of solutions at hand four years ago. However, what we can do is a least take a look at her axial length and how it is growing. It is true she has significantly grown this year passing the 150cm height however to my surprise her axial length in both eyes was 23.51mm and 23.59mm.

Sophia’s family left our office that day with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation for the role of outdoor time in myopia management. They understood that while there weren’t various methods available to control myopia, sometimes a change in lifestyle, like spending more time outdoors, could be enough to make a significant difference.

Sophia’s story became a testament to the transformative power of simple, everyday choices. It served as a reminder that, in some cases of myopia, nature’s beauty and the great outdoors could be the most effective prescription of all. However, we all know that vigilance is essential in ensuring Sophia’s visual health remains on the right track. So now, with the available methods at hand to probably control the progression of myopia and the evidence we have about myopia progression and the scarcity of compliance, moreover faced with Sophia’s case we need to be reminded of the importance of awareness as a first step in managing myopia.    

References: Li, M., Lanca, C., Tan, C. S., Foo, L. L., Sun, C. H., Yap, F., … & Saw, S. M. (2023). Association of time outdoors and patterns of light exposure with myopia in children. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 107(1), 133-139.

NB 1: “Sophia’s Myopia Journey” Case-1, is part of a series of cases brought to you by the powerful collaboration with Optic Nacouzi the Distributor of Precilens (L’innovation Visuelle sur Mesure) in Lebanon to amplify awareness about the incredible impact of Ortho-K on myopia control management! 

Together, we’re committed to educating and empowering individuals and eye care professionals about the potential of Ortho-K lenses in managing myopia. Get ready for enlightening discussions and valuable insights! 

Join us on this visionary journey!  #MyopiaControl #OrthoK #OpticalForum #OpticNacouzi #EyeCareCollaboration @everyone

NB 2: As a matter of ethical confidentiality, the name of the patient in Sophia’s case is fictitious, and ‘Sophia’ is not the real name of the patient featured in the case.

The 10 Things Not to Ignore When We Develop an Idea into a Viable Startup

In a 2021 post we described how Optometrists with an entrepreneurial mindset can develop an idea into a viable startup. Here are ten things that Optometrists entrepreneurs should not ignore when developing an idea into viable startup:

1. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone, as less than 5% of the society are entrepreneurs. Optometrists should assess if they have an entrepreneurial mindset before starting a business.
2. The lack of formal business knowledge cannot be underestimated. Optometrists should seek to improve their business skills through courses, training, or mentorship programs.
3. Critical decision-making should not be entrusted to someone else or outsourced. Optometrists should make informed decisions on their own.
4. Before drafting a business plan or implementing a business model, aspiring entrepreneurs need to look differently at problems and think differently as well. Optometrists should approach problems creatively to identify unique solutions.
5. Professor James Green’s “The Opportunity Analysis Canvas” can help in identifying entrepreneurial opportunities and building successful and sustainable innovative businesses. Optometrists should consider using this canvas to analyze potential business opportunities. For example, an optometrist might use the “Opportunity Analysis Canvas” to identify a gap in the market for affordable eyewear for people with low income.
6. To be successful as an entrepreneur, one needs to have an entrepreneurial mindset. Optometrists need to develop this mindset to spot opportunities and build successful businesses.
7. The three categories of entrepreneurial opportunities are innovating through inventing new technologies, exploiting market inefficiencies resulting from the asymmetry of information, and reacting to shifts in relative costs and benefits of alternative uses for resources. Optometrists should explore these categories to identify potential business opportunities.
8. The idea of how to build a startup has evolved over time. Optometrists should stay up to date on current startup trends and methodologies.
9. Optometrists seem to lack proactive entrepreneurship and are being disrupted by other entrepreneurs who know how to seek, screen, and seize entrepreneurial opportunities. Optometrists should actively seek out and capitalize on entrepreneurial opportunities to avoid being disrupted.
10. Optometrists should consider utilizing other business models such as “The Lean Startup” and “The Business Model Canvas” to help them build successful and sustainable businesses.

Like in the 2021 post, By taking a creative approach and using the canvas, Optometrists might develop a business model that provides affordable eyewear to people in need. They might also use “The Lean Startup” methodology to validate their business idea and test it before launching.

There is no One-size-fits-all Approach to Being an Effective Leader in Optometry

The concept of leadership has been explored by many scholars over the years, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to being an effective leader. One key characteristic of great leaders is their ability to show up, rather than show off. As legendary martial artist, Bruce Lee famously said, “Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory.” True leaders demonstrate their leadership through action, rather than grandstanding or self-promotion. They work alongside their team to achieve goals and are quick to attribute success to the collective effort of the group. In contrast, fake leaders who show off and rely on their titles rather than their abilities often create false illusions and try to impose their authority on others, rather than inspiring confidence and raising the performance of their team.

According to an article in Forbes, great leaders also prioritize authenticity and honesty, starting by defining facts and reality rather than inventing scenarios to make themselves look good. They understand that success is built through hard work and collaboration, and they don’t rely on their titles to get things done. Instead, they lead by example and inspire others to follow in their footsteps. Additionally, great leaders are great servants, committed to their responsibility and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. They don’t rely on phony speeches to deceive audiences, but instead bring results and attributes that speak for themselves.

In contrast, fake leaders are often identified by their lack of authenticity and their tendency to prioritize their own interests over those of the team. A Harvard Business Review article highlights the importance of being able to identify and avoid fake leaders, who can be toxic to a team and hinder productivity. We often fall prey to hiring superstar leaders even if they are toxic and undermine their detrimental consequences to other employees and the business.

Great leaders, on the other hand, are constantly recruiting and developing new leaders who share their passion for making a positive impact in the world. They are not motivated by occupying positions of power but by a deep-seated desire to effect positive change and improve the lives of those around them.

There is a gray area between a real leader and an impostor that can be reduced by researching literature and applying critical thinking. A 2008 article in the Journal of Business Ethics emphasizes the importance of developing true leaders in organizations for long-term success and sustainability. It serves as a guiding light for students and those starting their careers to embed relevant qualities into their thought processes and organizational culture.

The article explains how organizations end up with impostors as leaders. It suggests that the fault lies within the organization for failing to identify real leaders. Impostors often have self-serving strategies, including nepotism, backstabbing, and deception, to gain a leadership position. Once appointed, they use their leadership role for self-aggrandizement, engage in internal warfare, and surround themselves with docile flatterers. They falsify data and exaggerate their own achievements, ultimately leading to the organization’s destruction.

In conclusion, the qualities of great leaders are many, but perhaps the most important is their ability to show up, lead by example, and inspire others through their actions rather than their words. By prioritizing authenticity, honesty, and a deep commitment to serving others, great leaders are able to achieve remarkable success and create lasting positive change in their organizations and communities.

If You Can’t Save Time How Do You Manage it?

Time management is one of the first lessons in any Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. Time cannot be saved, it is not a tangible currency that can be put in a vault or held in a banking account. Time is ticking no matter what we do. Everyone will spend time either waste it on things that are not valuable and don’t bring value in the future or invest it in useful things that bring more value in the future. Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1746 wrote “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander Time; for that’s the Stuff Life is made of” and “Lost Time is never found again”. It has been proved that top achievers are not more intelligent but they manage time more intelligently and effectively. In a previous post, we emphasized how eye care professionals like business administrators are required to ace time management, and the more they are good at time management the more they are productive and are able to sustain growth and career development. Mastering time management for an Optometrist is crucial to identifying which tasks are not worth spending time on and which tasks are worth investing time in.

Basic simple steps to improve time management include setting reminders for every task, creating daily weekly and monthly planners, prioritizing tasks, setting well defined times and deadlines for each task, stopping and eliminating all distractions, and establishing daily and weekly routines. When it comes to prioritizing tasks the 4D process (Do, Defer (Delay), Delegate, and Delete (Drop) helps in identifying tasks that should be done, tasks that should be deferred and delegated, tasks that should be delayed, and tasks that should be dropped or deleted from your schedule.

Bryan Tracy, author of best-selling books on motivation and leadership asserts that “Strategic time management” starts with asking four basic sets of questions that aim to identify your current state or position, how you got into your current state, where you want to get in the future, and how are you going to do it? He explains that the essence is to be able to set goals and work to achieve them. Moreover, he describes a goal-achieving formula that consists of seven steps. The seven steps basically consist of setting goals, writing them down as plans, setting deadlines, designating everything possible you can do, creating checklists (of do first, do next, etc), starting executing, and getting feedback as you progress from one step to the next.

When it comes to distinguishing “investing time” from “wasting time”, optometrists and practice managers should start by making weekly and monthly lists of all the tasks they do and divide them into activities and tasks that waste time and tasks that invest time. Applying the 4D process will lead them to select the tasks they invest time in and defer, delay, or delete the others.