Practice Management

AOA members wanting to build their practice's bottom line have a wealth of resources to help them, from peer-to-peer advice, to continuing education, to public relations support. Following is a sampling of some of AOA's most popular sources of practice management assistance:

Career Advocate Program - The AOA Career Advocate Program offers practice management information to optometry students to enhance their classroom programs.

In a six-hour seminar presented by Williams Consulting Group, students receive information on career options; joining, buying and starting a practice; managing personal and practice finances; day-to-day practice operations; patient communication and much more not covered in the standard optometry school curriculum.

This program is offered to 16 U.S. optometry schools and colleges and the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico. For the 2007 - 2008 school year, the program was made possible with a generous educational grant from Advanced Medical Optics and The Vision Care Institute™, LLC, a Johnson & Johnson Company.

AOA's "Career Advocate for the New Practitioner" reference manual is available by clicking here.

Calendar of Eye Care Events -A calendar of eye care events and observances is provided on the AOA Web site that links to other sites for more information. The Calendar of Eye Care Events can be found here.

As are many of the sites mentioned here, this is a password-protected area so members will need to supply their member ID number and password when prompted.

Dr. Locator -Dr. Locator makes finding an AOA member optometrist easier. Dr. Locator search features can be used to locate member optometrists.

Look for coverage of major enhancements to Dr. Locator in an upcoming issue of AOA News.

Employed/Affiliated Handbook - The AOA Resource Guide for Employed/Affiliated Optometrists provides valuable information on issues to consider before signing an employment contract or a franchise or lease agreement. Topics include loans, sharing employees and services, patient records, professional judgment, advertising, access to the office, negotiating leases, and the difference between an employee and an independent contractor - to name just a few.

Culled from the experience of practicing employed/ affiliated doctors of optometry, this guide was written to help AOA members just entering the optometric job market as well as those changing their mode of practice.

The Employed/Affiliated Handbook can be found on AOA's Web site by clicking here.

HIPAA Compliance Manual - This document provides reliable compliance advice, custom-tailored to the optometric practice.

It features answers to many frequently asked questions and a step-by-step guide to help members comply with the often complex and confusing federal privacy regulations.

The advice comes from attorneys specializing in regulatory compliance at one of the nation's most established health law firms.

This document is available for download in Microsoft Word document and PDF versions. The HIPAA Privacy Compliance Manual contains sample notice and authorization forms to help members satisfy the requirements of HIPAA guidelines.

AOA has developed Spanish translations of the forms for patients.

The HIPAA Compliance Manual and forms can be found on AOA's Web site by clicking here and are available from the AOA Order Department at (800) 365-2219.

Optometry's Career Center (OCC) - The OCC is a national, online career matching service for optometric opportunity providers and seekers and an online resource center, with helpful articles and resources including a sample cover letter and resume, interviewing tips, a sample letter to job seekers and much more.

The long-term objective of the OCC is to become the premier, national "hub" of opportunities for the optometric community. More than 1,200 opportunity seekers and providers have registered since the program's launch in September 2004.

This program is made possible through the generous co-sponsorship of Marchon Eyewear, Inc. and Vistakon, a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

For more information, Optometry's Career Center can be accessed at www.optometryscareercenter.org.

Order Department

Patient/Public Education Materials - AOA patient education materials are created by optometric and communications professionals and include "Answers to Your Questions" pamphlet series, AOA Fact Sheet series, charts and displays, eye models, other pamphlets and brochures, along with many other related materials. These materials approach communication and education from the patients' and potential patients' points of view.

Practice Management Materials - Materials on managed care, hospital privileges, nursing home practice, CPT/ICD codes, office stationery and office forms are available for purchase through the AOA.

For patient/public education and practice management materials, check with the AOA Order Department at (800) 365-2219 or Orders@aoa.org.

ILAMO - Located in the AOA St. Louis office, the International Library, Archives and Museum of Optometry (ILAMO) is one of America's finest visual science libraries with thousands of books and journals as well as extensive electronic database research capabilities.

Services include research services, journals, books, audio-visuals, an online catalog, calendar of meetings, and a bi-monthly newsletter Visionlink.

Contact ILAMO at (800) 365-2219 or at ILAMO@aoa.org.

Practice Assistance Program - The AOA Practice Assistance Program is a mentoring program for AOA members who have questions and seek advice on various aspects of practice management. The program is free to AOA membership. The program matches seekers with "coaches" who are experienced practitioners who have expertise in various practice management aspects.

Coaching is primarily via e-mail and phone. If you are interested in being a Seeker or a Coach, the application and agreement forms along with instructions can be found on the Practice Resource Center, a section of AOA's Web site, by clicking here.

Forms also can be obtained by contacting Jenny Koonce at JLKoonce@aoa.org or (800) 365-2219, extension 4111.

Practice Resource Center - The AOA Practice Resource Center (PRC), a section of the AOAWeb site can help both new and seasoned practitioners with practice management, career building, and the day-to-day challenges of running a business. It is designed to provide quick, easy access to practice management information that practitioners need most as well as to online "tools" AOA members can use to take advantage of practice management-related services or find additional resources.

The AOA Practice Resource Center offers an assortment of ready-to-read-or-print articles from Practice Strategies and other respected sources-focusing on four major areas:

Entering Practice - business plan development, practice location selection, contracts and purchases, and related topics.
Operations/Business Management - coding, patient care, staffing, marketing, financial management, and managed care issues.
Special Interest-children's vision, vision therapy, and computer vision.
Exit Strategies-often-requested information on practice valuation, hiring an associate, and related topics.

Other features of the PRC include a bibliography of resources available through the International Library, Archives, and Museum of Optometry (ILAMO), housed at AOA, and a Calendar of Eye Care Events, with links to other organizations and resources.

From the PRC, members also can link to other resources on the AOA Web site, such as the AOA HIPAA Privacy Compliance Manual, the AOAResource Guide for Employed/Affiliated Optometrists, Optometry's Career Center, and Dr. Locator. Additionally, members who need mentoring assistance can access the AOAPractice Assistance Program from the PRC.

Practice Strategies-A series of practice management articles are published in a section of AOA's periodical,Optometry: Journal of the American Optometric Association titled "Practice Strategies."

"Practice Strategies" is published to help AOA-member optometrists build successful practices, manage them more efficiently in today's health care environment, increase their business skills, and stay up-to-date on the latest trends in the business of health care.

Examples of topics include business planning, marketing, coding and billing, financial management, practice valuation, human resource issues, and managed care issues to name only a few. The last three months' of articles are archived on AOA's Web site at www.optometryjaoa.com.

Surveys - The AOA's Committee on Information and Data conducts a variety of membership and other surveys to collect, analyze and disseminate socio-economic and other data relating to eye care and about the optometric profession and ophthalmic industry.

Some of these surveys are recurring and provide an opportunity to examine the changing nature of optometric practice over time.

Other surveys focus on specific policy or practice-related questions that are of topical and timely interest to association members.

The committee routinely makes the results of its study activities available through various association publications, such as the AOANews.

These surveys can be found on AOA's Web site by clicking here.