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.

Latest TV ads

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.

Back at "home" !

No posts for the last couple of weeks, because I have been working for a couple of friends in their practices, so have been out of town.

It's been really interesting - seeing a different group of patients, doing different tests (I have been taking photos for the diabetic retinal screening programme), using different equipment ("Where is the on switch?) and in one case a different computer programme. All a challenge and good fun.

I realised that every practice is different. Most of it is personality-driven - most optometrists have similar skills, so you choose yours because you get on with him/her. Some pracitces just feel "right". Others attract patients for a different reason - perceived price, location, "the only one wh had an appointment to-day and my glasses broke last night". Hopefully, these patients will be happy in their choices, but there should be no embarassment if the patient then decides to return to her previous practice or stay with a new one, if it is a better "fit" for her.

Price isn't everything. But I know that perceived price makes a difference - just ensure that if you want to change practices, make sure you are comparing apples with apples. Feeling at home, knowing that your optometrist welcomes you and is happy to see you (even if you feel that going back for a minor adjustment is wasting her time - it isn't), being remembered and treated as a unique person...all make the experience really what it should be.

May Madness

May Madness!

We are having what is effectively a practice-wide autumn (well, it feels like winter to-day) sale! Apart from 2 brands (Silhouette and Convertibles - and we are the exclusive retailers of Convertibles in Kapiti), everything else is $99 or $199.

We are clearing out older stock but much of the $199 product is very new (still current models). So it is a chance to get a good quality frame at a great price. We are happy if you take a frame away for glazing elsewhere, of buy a frame now and have it glazed here in the future. But if you have a full eye exam in May or June, you can go in the weekly draw for Visique's "Quality of Sight" promotion to win one Mystery Weekend each week. So, come in this month, get a quality frame at a bargain price and enter the draw to win a break.

The national Visique promotion carries on until the end of June, but this May Madness is only until the end of May.

It's floor stock only, so if you want another colour or size of a stock frame, we can order it in for you, but it would be at the standard price.

Introducing OPTIFOG

Optifog official website

Winner of the 2012 Lens Product of the Year at the Optician Awards & 2011 Silmo d'Or award in the Vision Category

Optifog with Crizal UV is the most advanced and durable no-glare anti-fogging lens on the market with everyday UV protection. 

All spectacle wearers have at some point encountered what we commonly refer to as our ‘glasses steaming up’, or fogging. It doesn’t matter where we are, our glasses steam up or fogg when we move from a cold to a hot environment.

For many, this can be problematic as well as being unsightly. It’s also a major inconvenience as we rely on instant vision at all times.

 Although there are sprays and solutions available to buy over the counter that reduce the effects of steaming up or fogging, there has never, until now, been a total solution that will prevent it.


Optifog lenses deliver unique lens technology that gives long lasting fog free vision to all patients.

Credit to

http://www.essilor.co.uk/Lenses/treatments/Pages/Optifog.aspx

Easter!

A time to relax and contemplate life. Those of us with a Christian faith, if gives us a chance to reflect on and be thankful for the great sacrifice Jesus made for us. Those without, there is still a lot to be thankful for - a time to enjoy family and friends, special treat food (eating Easter eggs before Lent even starts seems so wrong to me), spending a few days in the garden....taking time out from our usual busy routines....

Routines are great as they get you through the ususal day almost on auto-pilot so you can spend mental energy on thinking of the things that are unusal or important. Making school lunches is routine, so you can spend the mental effort in actually checking if your 10-year-old has done her spelling...but having a break from then gives you a chance to reflect, recharge your bnatteries and contemplate seomthing higher than the day to day.

We close the practice on Good Friday, Easter Eve, Easter Day and Easter Monday. A break is good. Enjoy yours.