optoblog.com

A while ago we had some missing equipment which we believed was taken by patients. At first, I wondered how anyone could pawn it. But with e-bay and now eyecareauctions.com there are ample ways for office thieves to unload stolen optometric equipment.

I think eyecareauctions.com missed an opportunity. If they would only limit their registered users to verified eye care professionals and ophthalmic distributers, then they could market their site as a trusted source for goods. On the same token, one could claim that dealing eye doctor stuff on e-bay could put you at risk for obtaining misbegotten items since anyone can register with e-bay. As it stands today, anyone can register with both.

I would like to ask ophthalmic instrument/equipment manufacturers to put a serial number on their products because this could also provide a way for keeping track of stolen goods. If someone steals my 78D, then I type into a database on the manufacture’s website my information. Now when someone wants to buy an item on an auction site, they simply do a “background check” on the 78D by typing in the advertised serial number. Then once the package arrives, the buyer should verify the actual serial number matches the advertised one.

I know. This seems like a lot of work for a small problem, but have you ever been robbed?

I saw a listing for a practice that said the selling doctor “wishes to continue P/T 3 days per week as employee.”
What the …?
If the practice is in such a nice location and financially desirable to buy, then why would he sell it if he just wants to stay there? Wouldn’t he make more money as an owner than an employee? It doesn’t make any sense that the new owner should have to put up all the risk in buying a practice then contractually hire someone who may not be needed and whom one may not be able to get along with.
I think hiring the previous owner should be an option initiated by the buyer, not mandated by the seller. My $.02

Here are some links about blogs and how to use them in a business environment. I envision an eye clinic practice blog where most of the staff as well as the doctors write entries. Tips/info on insurance, choosing glasses, surgery questions. . .the sky (and HIPAA) is the limit. Of course you cannot practice medicine online, but you can share information in general terms like they do at emedicine.com and if someone asks a specific question about them self, we would reply in general terms and list several possibilities and qualify it by “see us in an exam.”

www.cluetrain.com about why businesses should have things like blogs and forums with real employees talking with the clients (patients). It’s all about accessibility and sharing of information.
The Red Couch talks about great story of a Saville Row taylor who increases his customer base by blogging.
The Red Couch gives good info on a marketing plan for a blog.
Optometric Management writes about practice newsletters. I think of a blog as a real time practice newsletter. Also, see the author’s practice website for a good example of a practice web site.

By the way, The Red Couch is a blog about two authors writing a book about businesses and blogging.

The Arizona Republic reports that an ophthalmologist with a long track record of legal/board problems has been slapped on the wrist by banning him from the operating room. (By the way, this was brought to my attention by an RSS feed.)
If an optometrist failed to refer for eye cancer and then misdiagnose a retinal detatchment, what would they do? Optometry and Ophthalmology are run by different boards, but seriously, are you going to tell the optometrist that he can only Rx glasses and not do any eye health exams? (a.k.a. Banish the doctor to behind the back curtain of a creapy optical.)
I don’t think so. They’d take away the O.D.’s license faster than you can say, “Everything looks fine. See me back in a year.”
And what’s the deal with banning him from RK surgery in 1999? Shouldn’t that have been banned for everyone since 1994?

First it was the bikini car wash. Now folks in conservative Utah Valley and Salt Lake Valley are grappling with bikini haircuts. Which makes me wonder, are medical offices next? Remember the Seinfeld episode with the dentist that had unspeakable magazines in the waiting room? Will optometry ever be lowered to this base behavior? Will unscrupulous ECPs ever consider “exploiting a niche” by having a bikini eye doctor office?
I’m sure there are many in the hair care field who are cringing at the situation in the SLC, but do hair dressers have an organized association that self polices? The AOA does publish ethical guidelines for practice, but the only thing remotely related to this subject is the phrase in the Code of Ethics “TO MAINTAIN their offices and their practices in keeping with professional standards,” which is subject to various interpretations. I propose that we self police ourselves so that communities won’t have to take it to courts. The AOA should have a written policy expelling from the association any optometrist who would endeavor to have a bikini carwash or pornography in their waiting room. Such things would debase our whole profession and should never be tolerated. Paraoptometric associations should also adopt this specific ethical guideline.

Todd Birch, OD from Idaho Falls, ID was asked by his local TV station to comment about “Sunburned Eyes.” (By the way, they bring up an interesting point about gymnasium lights. Should we recommend UV-filtered sports eye wear for everyone then?)
My comment was: are we, as individual eye care practitioners, ready at a moment’s notice to comment on anything or everything-for the record? Someone once told me to never be an expert witness in court because that will complicate your life more than you expect. Does the same thing apply to journalism or blogging?
Saying something dumb on TV could give a negative impression of your practice. Not saying something ,when given the chance, could also turn out negative, “Dr. Incompetent declined to comment.”
So, I think it behooves us to be prepared. Of course, it’s not anything different than what we do several times a day. Sure, some conditions require a quick glance at a reference text, but I’m sure a decent reporter would give you a tiny bit of prep time.

If you’ve been riding the cluetrain, you will better know what your patients are saying. Forums are an excellent way to get feedback, and you don’t necessarily find the most feedback from forums that you sponsor. Over at this forum there was a thread about people’s experience with LASIK.

At work, one of my responsibilities is to be the content manager for the Indian health Service optometry web page. Derek Best over at the IHS IT department has put together a fantastic looking template design.
New features are a feedback form, link to IHS Optometry forum, IHS Eye Care Directory (word document), and rotation announcements for optmetry externs.
Go to the site and use the feedback form to let us know what you want added! Also, I started a thread in “THE LOUNGE” at the IHS optometry forum to discuss what new features everybody wants on IHS optometry site.

I’m going to depart from my optometry theme to sing the praises of Subway. I’m also going to admit to the whole world one of my most deepest, darkest secrets. One that sometimes alienates me from the rest of humanity.
I am not a sandwich eater.
I think it’s the texture, mostly. I can’t reconcile it. It seriously grosses me out. My wife, of course, is a normal person who eats sandwiches and loves to eat at Subway. When we spring for fast food, she always wants to go to Subway. I have to go across the street to some fast food place to get chicken nuggets (I don’t get a burger because that, of course, is a sandwich).
Enter Subway’s recent addition of toasted subs. Several years ago I forced myself to try a pizza sub because I like pizza, so I was hoping it would be similar. Wrong. The coldness of it all changes everything. Now, with toasted subs, it tastes and feels just like a pizza. It’s delicious!
Now I can stay by my family while ordering food. My family spends more time together because of Subway’s toasted subs/pizza sub.
I love Subway.
To Subway owners, please make sure pizza subs are on the menu in your store. You never know when I’ll travel outside of my home town and need a hot, toasted pizza sub.

*shameless self promotion mode: on*
Optoblog is a rising star on the optometric blogging scene. This site was finally indexed by Google, so now people can find us. Yahoo and MSN indexed us right of the bat. Now when you mention optoblog.com when talking to your friends, they can actually google it and find the official site.
Another cool thing is if you enter “optometry blog” in a Google search, optoblog pops up in the middle of the second page. If you do the same search with Yahoo optoblog pops up on the first page at number 1.
We’re moving up in the world and big things are on the way. Soon I will have my first optometric instrument product review, and then we’ll start podcasting. Optoblog’s podcasts will be mostly informative and interesting interviews with distinguished players in the eye world. Right now I’m getting my things together for telephone interviews, but I plan on attending the June 2005 AOA meeting in Dallas to get quality recordings of live interviews. I will have daily blogs coming out of Dallas, so if you can’t make it, just read optoblog, and you will feel like you’re there.
Stay tuned for exciting things coming from optoblog.com.
*shameless self promotion mode: off*