Overview
In an insurance-driven market with limited flexibility in fee adjustments, Dr. David G. Chandler, owner of Alabama Vision Source, recognized that in order to keep his practice growing, he needed to explore alternative revenue streams without solely relying on increasing patient volume.
Says Dr. Chandler: “I have to take decreasing insurance payments and rapidly increasing inflation right on the practice chin.”
Historically, Dr. Chandler did not test for sensorimotor issues. “I didn’t really have an interest in non-strabismic oculomotor issues because I really didn’t feel I could measure them very accurately and repeatedly,” says Dr. Chandler, “I certainly didn’t have any way to provide vision therapy (VT) if they did have a problem.”
“The conundrum was that patients were having problems with computer vision syndrome and other asthenopic issues that I couldn’t really do anything about. While I didn’t really like this, I had no way of solving the issue, short of hiring an associate with these skills and setting up a VT area in my practice. Then, along came RightEye. I saw RightEye as a way to solve this problem and decided to pull the trigger.”
Approach
Dr. Chandler invested in the RightEye Vision System, adding it to his day-to-day patient screening and exam flow. If a patient fails the Sensorimotor Screener during the annual visit, he brings the patient back for a follow-up visit where he then administers the automated RightEye Sensorimotor Exam. Insurance pays for the exam. RightEye customers report insurance reimbursements between $50 – $125.
Dr. Chandler uses the system to demonstrate if his patients have any saccadic, pursuit, fixation, convergence, or divergence issues. “The RightEye reports easily and clearly demonstrate the issues to patients and parents,” says Dr. Chandler. Those patients who do have issues are enrolled in an effective and comprehensive home-based vision therapy program – a companion to the RightEye system.
After completion of the VT program – approximately 90 days – patients return for another follow-up visit where Dr. Chandler administers the sensorimotor exam, once more charging insurance. Follow-up patients typically show substantial improvements compared to their baseline assessment. Dr. Chandler then sets the patient up for their yearly exam and includes a sensorimotor exam as part of their yearly workup. He does not anticipate having to repeat the VT at future exams.
Results
Dr. Chandler’s eye care practice has experienced a significant boost in both patient care and profitability having administered the RightEye Sensorimotor system over 5,000 times.
“The good thing here for me was I didn’t have to see any more patients to incorporate RightEye. Once we were trained, it started generating income right off the bat.”
RightEye is the practice’s second most profitable specialty instrument. Dr. Chandler’s experience exemplifies the power of incorporating RightEye’s advanced eye-tracking technology into an optometric practice.
About Dr. David G. Chandler, O.D.
Dr. Chandler has been in practice since 1983, after obtaining his doctorate at UAB School of Optometry.
At his current practice, Alabama Vision Source in Jacksonville, AL, he maintains “cutting edge” optometric care through continuing education and the use of the most current technologically advanced equipment.
