Sunglasses for summer

Spring sunshine is here - in fact, it has felt like summer for the past few days. And Visique is running a sunglass promotion for this year, similar to that of summer 2011-12, in that we can provide prescription sunglasses from $299 for the frames and lenses. And the beauty is that the sunglasses are fitted into sunglass frames, so someone needing a prescription doesn't have to "just" wear tinted lenses to a standard frame, which look like a prescription pair. Each Visique practice has chosen which promotional ranges to stock, and we have chosen Bill Bass, as they are a good quality, reasonably priced classic range for men and women. We can, of course, supply these with non-prescription lenses too, and many of our other sunglasses can also be glazed. Some of these are older stock, but as I tend to buy "classic" rather than "high fashion", they still look good. One thing many patients tell me is that they do not want to spend too much on sunglasses because "I'm so rough with glasses", "I go through like three pairs a year cos I'm always losing them" or "The ones at the petrol station are good enough for me". I believe that, if you pay a bit more for better quality, it will benefit you much more in the long run - including financially. If you spend $120 on a pair, which last you three years, that is better than 3 years times three pairs at $20 each ($180). And if they last a fourth or fifth year.... Prescription sunglasses, like any prescription, cost more that planos do initially - just as ordinary prescription glasses have a cost - but they are designed to be of benefit for years, not months. And we can supply special-use sunglasses or lenses for ski-ing, boating and fishing too.

Happy Labour Weekend!

It seems ironic, doesn't it, that the holiday celebrating the 40 hour week is one of the busiest weekends of the year. We have many people booking in, whereas Labour Weekend Saturday is often very quiet - patients are away or expect us to be closed so it's hard to encourage bookings, and I hope we don't come in to answerphone messages on the Tuesday from patients who forget the day is a public holiday. It does add a day to getting spectacles made up, but most people understand this. And it goes back to the old "you will need to wear your spare pair for a day longer"...if you don't have a spare, how will you manage when the labs shut down over Christmas/New Year? The weather doesn't look like it will be the best, but hopefully I can get out in the garden at some point. And spend time with my family - that's what a day off is about!

Well, I have finished my four half-weeks in New Plymouth, and it seems I missed the better weather here when I was there, and there to-day. Never mind, the practices are both warm and dry, and the patients warm and friendly. Business is tough for most people at present as it is for most consumers. So Visique Kapiti continues to offer value for money solutions for eye care - we're not the cheapest but we guarantee our products as we use suppliers who have a good track record with both product and service. Everyone can have an off day, but we don't like dealing with companies that blame the patient if the frame breaks when it should be a warranty claim. We tell patients how to look after their contact lenses or glasses when they first get them (but don't teach our grandmothers to suck eggs when they have had glasses for as long as some of us have been on this planet) and reinforce this if a frame is brought back frequently for TLC. And we can tell if something has been abused. If it should be a warranty claim, we will back you up with our suppliers - that's our place (and an obligation under the CGA). But warranties do involve care - if your car isn't serviced as per the schedule, the warranty might be invalidated. Frames and lenses don't always come with a guarantee card, but if they are looked after well, the guarantee that we offer (we keep your records) won't be necessary. And cleaning lenses dry, and by rubbing on your shirt, is never a good idea, never been recommended, and even if "I've always done it", it still means they scratch. And that's handling, not guarantee.

At work...in Taranaki....

Well, I've done two stints of three days each in New Plymouth, and have really enjoyed it (but it's nice to be home). First day up there, New Plymouth was the windiest place in the country, so I didn't get to appreciate it until this week when the sky was blue and it was warm. Really nice practice - wonderful colleagues and staff and the patient mix is different to that at home. I see people who are even younger than I am! Many of them are long-established farming families, so they have a familiarity with the province that comes of living there and visiting generations of family in the cemeteries. Kapiti has a few families like that, but most of us are "immigrants" - I've been here 22+ years and I think 25 makes me a local. I wonder what my children think, and will they stay here and marry other Kapiti people?

At work...in Taranaki

It's very quiet at work at present, but that is a good thing as I have agreed to work at a friend's practice in New Plymouth. I've only been up there about twice in my life, so it will be exciting - and flights to a new airport are always exciting. So, looking forward to meeting different people - and trying to get my head around farming lifestyles....each practice has a different mix of patients from all others. Even in the same town, the practice has a tone that sets it apart. It attracts people who want slightly different things from people who choose to go elsewhere. So, in Kapiti Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays for the next few weeks. Looking forward to going away. And to being back.

Spring again!

A lovely warm spring day, in August - long may the weather last! Visique is promoting a new prescription sunglass programme for 2012-13, so that will be exciting - new ranges,Hoya lenses and still very good value for the person who wants good sunglasses and needs a prescription to see through them. And I was working at a friend's practice yesterday - in Wellington - definitely didn't feel like spring. And each practice has a different group of patients - very obvious when you start working as a part-time locum and seeing several practices in a short period of time. It's not just geographical - Sercombe and Matheson has many people who live up in Kapiti but choose to work in town - but many of their patients are involved in central government, of course. It's more than that - each practice takes on the personality of its principals - young and trendy, older and more conservative, time for a chat, "get it done quickly 'cos I'm busy"....all different horses for courses. So, with several new practices opening up in greater Wellington, I know patients often ask if that is affecting business. The advertising is very obvious, and patients comment on how much they are aware of ads that just weren't there a few years ago. Yes, it can be a problem, especially if you want to retain staff in quiet times. And the advertising often tells only part of the story....*terms and conditions apply....but in the long run, I know our practice will be OK. Because we have so many lovely, loyal patients who have chosen me as their optometrist, their primary carer for their eyes. Not everyone shops at Kirk's, not everyone shops at the Warehouse.Some people like the impersonality of a large medical centre - there is always a doctor to see you, even if it is a different one each time. But many prefer a long-term relationship with one health provider - I'm like that - and I enjoy seeing patients over many years so I can know them and their eyes better. It improves my advice to them, and so the outcomes they get. Glasses aren't just glasses - more info you give your optom means that the most appropriate glassesare the ones you get.

A wet Monday...

...but we were busy this morning with patients, booked patients as well as walk-ins for frame adjustments and advice, and this afternoon it seems to be "rep day". All the "other" things that make optometry interesting. Our income comes, of course, from patients - we are not subsidised by the Government for any exams. (The Enable NZ subsidy, for children under 16 with a Community Services' Card, pays towards the cost of an eye exam, repairs and/or glasses, but that is not universal, only for people meeting certain criteria.) So, anyone who comes in and has an eye exam, visual fields exam, purchases contact lenses, lens solutions or spectacles, pays our wages (and the tax-man, and the bank and the suppliers and the landlord and ....) But in much of optometry, like any other "business", much of the time is spent doing "admin" - contacting suppliers, writing letters to specialists and GPs, tidying up the practice, calculating GST returns, doing continuing education, etc, etc. All necessary, but "doesn't pay the bills" directly. And all the extra work with patients - adjustments, helping select frames, appro-ing frames from suppliers - all fun but again "not paying the bills" directly.But it's all part of the profession, all part of the business. And it's all part of full-scope optometry, and that makes life interesting. Just refracting eyes, checking the power of glasses a person needs and saying "next!" is boring. It's part of the whole, but far from being the whole. I must need a cup of tea - too much philosophy for a wet Monday.

World Council of Optometry Meeting

Missed blogging for a couple of weeks as I was away in Chicago, then catching up and helping a couple of friends at their practices. Back to normal now! Chicago was an amazing place - we had a heat wave so temperatures well over 30 each day - and over 100 Fahrenheit one day too. Brilliant museums - didn't have much time in any of them - and the Adler Planetarium and the Shedd aquarium, which I went to when badly jet-lagged so don't remember much. But some brilliant displays (including the Amazon basin - can't believe how high the water comes in the rainy season)and very tranquil admiring the jellyfish. And the venue for the meeting - the ballroom at the Blackstone Renaissance Hotel on South Michigan Ave - the room was straight out of a fairy tale. The meeting's theme was "Advancing Optometry Worldwide" and presentations dealt with the levels of practice in various countries, with the aim of improving education and legislation to improve the level of optometric care world-wide. Some countries still have a huge shortage of basic eye care, but the feeling of the meeting was that, to call a person an optometrist, there needed to be a minimum standard of education involving refraction and eye health. The eye health needs to be at the level of understanding, diagnosing and (often) treating, not just "detect and refer" - noticing something out of the ordinary and sending the patient on to someone else. This has been an issue in NZ over the past decade, because my training (1980's) was at the "detect and refer" level, simply because we were not allowed to use some techniques and drugs that let us diagnose. Now we can, and we are all expected to be able to diagnose eye conditions, then treat or refer to someone appropriate. Faster, better referrals mean that the patient is served better - seeing an optometrist locally rather than waiting months to be seen at the hospital. And primary eye care, in local communities is the province of optometry. World wide.

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Better technology, better outcomes

Better technology, in terms of lenses, coating and frames, leads to better vision. Well, if your optometrist has done her job well! But assuming that, I don't know of anyone who wants to go back to pre-1995 for their glasses technology by choice. Are you still using your VCR? (Transfer your tapes now as you can't buy them now). Are you still using your 1990's cell-phone? Why ask for 1990's glasses?

I'm not just meaning the fashion look of the frame. Modern materials are lighter, cheaper for the features (titanium frames are no longer double the cost of standard nickel alloys), more durable in terms of plating or colours, and there is more choice.

The lenses are better too. It is rare we use glass - it's heavy and can chip, and too heavy for the modern, large, light frames. Coatings to prevent scratching on both standard plastic and thinner plastics work well now. Anti-reflective coatings last well.(Essilor's Crizal family have a 2 year warranty as they are confident that there will be no problems with the coatings).

Modern technology does cost - the lens and frame manufacturers need to recover their R&D costs. But in terms of value for money, features are present that could not be imagined  a generation ago. Modern progressive lenses have been designed for optimizing near or intermediate vision (great if you spend a lot of time on your computer) rather than just improving distance. And they don't make people nauseous when moving around or moving their heads - in the last 12 years I have felt happy to recommend progressives to people who tend to get motion-sick - just wouldn't have done that prior to 2000!

We can always provide "basic" standard frames and lenses, for people on a budget or people who are happy with something robust, serviceable but without all the bells and whistles. (My cell phone calls and texts only). But remember that you do get what you pay for - and if the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Transitions lenses are up to generation 6 now. Anti-reflective coatings are on their fourth or fifth generation. And no-one wants to return to thick "milk-bottle bottom" lenses with a high prescription.

Enjoy your eyewear - people look at your face more often than your watch so wear something that you enjoy and that others admire.