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Thread: Tis the season...

  1. #1
    Master OptiBoarder opty4062's Avatar
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    Tis the season...

    Our docs are double booked through the second week in January and have been for the last several weeks. Now is the time of year when nearly every phone call is a patient who HAS to be seen by the end of the year for one reason or another. I've been cussed out twice already this morning. So I'm wondering, what is it like schedule wise at other offices and how are y'all accommodating the end of the year rush?

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    Quote Originally Posted by opty4062 View Post
    Our docs are double booked through the second week in January and have been for the last several weeks. Now is the time of year when nearly every phone call is a patient who HAS to be seen by the end of the year for one reason or another. I've been cussed out twice already this morning. So I'm wondering, what is it like schedule wise at other offices and how are y'all accommodating the end of the year rush?

    I work in a clinic, so almost all of our doctors are booking well into 2014 (one MD is booking into early 2015 for some non-urgent evaluations). Whenever our patients are being checked out of their appointment, they are asked if they want to schedule an appointment for next year. Most of them do, but there are always a handful who don't. They tend to be the ones who want refills on their contacts to use up flex dollars, when their Rx expired back in November. To them, one could say "well, you were given the option a year ago after your last exam to schedule a new eye exam for this year. But for now the best we can do is put you on the cancellation list."

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    we dont have an opening till mid January... 60 min after opening today, we have 7 cancels for the day and Im sure some no shows coming...

    What can ya do... sorry about your luck is all ya can really say to those that wait till the last min.

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    Master OptiBoarder NCspecs's Avatar
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    Too bad so sad.

    No sympathy from me or the girls at the front desk. If I have a person freak out and I've asked them point blank, "Did you think you were the only one who has a kid coming home from school/has an expired CL Rx/needs to use benefits by the end of the year?" No one has argued with me yet. We have a cancellation list but no one on it is getting a spot. Booked a few weeks out! Yay job security!!! :)
    "Strictly speaking, there are no enlightened beings; only enlightened activity." -Shunryu Suzuki

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    Master OptiBoarder CCGREEN's Avatar
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    Your lack of planing does not constitute a emergency on my part.

    This applies very well to contacts, glasses, and routine appointments.

    (flip side of the coin if I could take a valium, accommodate you, and you be appreciative of my efforts I would love to do it.).

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    Optical Curmudgeon EyeManFla's Avatar
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    We are in the last week of our Flex Spender marathon. Book em, get em in sell em glasses and contacts and USE UP THAT FLEX SPEND ACCOUNT!!!....yes, you really do look nice in those Cazals....
    "Coimhéad fearg fhear na foighde"

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    Crazy busy, not an appointment to be had until second week in January and walk-ins with Rxs galore. I have never understood double booking though, pretty sure our doc fast as he can be could not handle 6-8 exams an hour nor could we. We love being busy, downside is the year end paper work also needs to be done and the office is a constant mess.

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    Master OptiBoarder opty4062's Avatar
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    We have to double book this time of year especially due to no shows and cancellations. We don't have a penalty for missing appointments like some offices do. And most days we have at least one, some days as many as five missed appointments between the 2 docs. With such a high demand for appointments we are doing all we can to see as many as we can, looking forward to a nice year end bonus. :)

    While I was typing this, I thought of another question, if your office charges for missed appointments does it cut down on the number? I've always wondered if it would help if we did that like some specialist offices do.

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    Quote Originally Posted by opty4062 View Post
    While I was typing this, I thought of another question, if your office charges for missed appointments does it cut down on the number? I've always wondered if it would help if we did that like some specialist offices do.
    Never have done that though have thought about it as well. No way to make them pay, they would just go elsewhere is my guess. We don't have that many No Shows and the ones we do have we can almost predict.

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    Master OptiBoarder OptiBoard Gold Supporter Judy Canty's Avatar
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    Sometimes, the thought of having to pay for not showing up is impetus enough to show up.

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    we have a 25 dollar no show/cancel same day policy... they are reminded on the conformation call s well... all it takes is a quick call to say ya cant make it...

    I dont have metrics on what it has effected for certain... we do have a soft policyfor first timers and if they are nice about it... lol or they get that PITA sur charge lol...

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    Not just the eye profession. Blew out my right knee a couple of days before Christmas, I can't get in to see the surgeon until the 15th (I am on the cancellation list though).

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    Quote Originally Posted by opty4062 View Post
    So I'm wondering, what is it like schedule wise at other offices and how are y'all accommodating the end of the year rush?
    The doctor I work for is completely booked as well.

    We just had an extremely rude one ourselves a few days ago.

    The woman called to schedule an appointment as a new patient. When she asked to see the doctor before the end of the year, we informed her that he was all booked for 2013 so that just wasn't going to happen. The woman got even more upset with us and then wanted an appointment for early January only to learn those were filling up and since she wanted back-to-back appointments, it made it even more difficult to get her in. The call lasted a good while and it made me think that while patients can be rude virtually any time of the year, they're even more rude during the holiday season.

    We had another patient call Friday afternoon and Saturday morning wanting to be seen as soon as possible because he had recently moved to GA and was flying back to Atlanta today. No matter how I said it, no matter how hard I tried to get him to understand... he just didn't seem to get the fact that doctor was completely booked and an appointment prior to him flying back to Atlanta wasn't going to happen. The fact he kept calling and bugging us about it wasn't going to change that fact either. It is what it is during the holiday season.

    Everyone is in a great big rush this time of year and they want you to accommodate them somehow that very minute without regards to other patients or the time of the year.

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    What really annoys me during this time of the year is when a patient calls and says they're going on a vacation in the next few days or in the next week or 2 and they're out of or close to being out of contacts and want to place an order thinking the boxes will somehow sprout wings and fly to their destination and then they want you to guarantee their contacts will be in by the time they depart for their vacation.

    The same holds true of patients who come in for exam exams and then learn their Rx has changed and are in need of new glasses. They have no problems springing it on you that they'll be leaving on vacation on such and such a date and then ask you to guarantee that their new glasses will be ready for pick up by the time they have to leave.

    We usually tell patients it's normally a week or 2 when placing their order, but it could take longer, more like 3 to 4 weeks, to get it during the holiday season. Most patients seem alright with it taking so long, but you occasionally get those patients who aren't alright with it and utter the comment they should've gone elsewhere, especially when it comes to frames because they know Pearle and LensCrafters can turn them around the same day — usually in about an hour. While we do have a lab on-site and have a technician that comes in twice a week to cut lenses doctor can also do it but is going to charge more so most patients are going to allow their order to be sent out for processing.

    Since it's a 3rd party involved after an order is placed, we try hard not to make any promises. People who process orders make mistakes and people who process orders take time off as well during the holiday season. Not to mention, the labs are just inundated with orders during the holiday season. Everyone is cramming to use flex spending and health savings or to use their PPO/POS and have it applied to their deductible. As much as you try to explain these things to patients, you feel like you're talking to a brick wall at times. Some really could care less.

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    Master OptiBoarder opty4062's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Suburban Gal View Post
    What really annoys me during this time of the year is when a patient calls and says they're going on a vacation in the next few days or in the next week or 2 and they're out of or close to being out of contacts and want to place an order thinking the boxes will somehow sprout wings and fly to their destination and then they want you to guarantee their contacts will be in by the time they depart for their vacation.

    The same holds true of patients who come in for exam exams and then learn their Rx has changed and are in need of new glasses. They have no problems springing it on you that they'll be leaving on vacation on such and such a date and then ask you to guarantee that their new glasses will be ready for pick up by the time they have to leave.

    We usually tell patients it's normally a week or 2 when placing their order, but it could take longer, more like 3 to 4 weeks, to get it during the holiday season. Most patients seem alright with it taking so long, but you occasionally get those patients who aren't alright with it and utter the comment they should've gone elsewhere, especially when it comes to frames because they know Pearle and LensCrafters can turn them around the same day — usually in about an hour. While we do have a lab on-site and have a technician that comes in twice a week to cut lenses doctor can also do it but is going to charge more so most patients are going to allow their order to be sent out for processing.

    Since it's a 3rd party involved after an order is placed, we try hard not to make any promises. People who process orders make mistakes and people who process orders take time off as well during the holiday season. Not to mention, the labs are just inundated with orders during the holiday season. Everyone is cramming to use flex spending and health savings or to use their PPO/POS and have it applied to their deductible. As much as you try to explain these things to patients, you feel like you're talking to a brick wall at times. Some really could care less.
    Wow, that really is a long time to turn around glasses even having to use an outside lab. I would be mad too if it took over a week, let alone 4? Even during the holiday season our lab turns around probably 98% of our jobs within 4 days or less. And did I read correctly that if you cut the jobs in house you charge the patient more?

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    We added another lane in August, and we are still booked into the last week in February. We've been slammed like this since last May. We are trying to buy the building next to us, so we can add yet another lane, but I'm not sure they are going to sell it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by opty4062 View Post
    Wow, that really is a long time to turn around glasses even having to use an outside lab. I would be mad too if it took over a week, let alone 4? Even during the holiday season our lab turns around probably 98% of our jobs within 4 days or less.
    The vision plans doctor takes are VSP, EyeMed, and Humana's VCP. Most of our patients are covered under VSP and EyeMed and VSP is the most popular insurance of the two.

    That said, we send out to VSP-owned and VSP contracted labs, especially since a lot of our VSP covered patients have the VSP Choice plan which means all lab work MUST be sent to the VSP lab by the nature of the plan.

    We also have to order frames from the distributor. Doctor carries a lot of high end frames like TagHeuer, Öga, and SALT. We're not like For Eyes, LenseCrafters or Pearle which has a large inventory of frames and eyewear on hand at any given time.

    Quote Originally Posted by opty4062 View Post
    And did I read correctly that if you cut the jobs in house you charge the patient more?
    That's correct. We do and we only do it in certain cases when the patient is willing to pay for the rather quick turn around.

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    Quote Originally Posted by opty4062 View Post
    Wow, that really is a long time to turn around glasses even having to use an outside lab. I would be mad too if it took over a week, let alone 4? Even during the holiday season our lab turns around probably 98% of our jobs within 4 days or less?
    One of the labs we use is right next door in Buffalo Grove.

    But you also have to remember where we're located. We're located in Northeastern IL, a heavily populated area (everyone wants to live and work in the Chicagoland area). Between optometrists and ophthalmologists, there are thousands of practices in the 10,856 sq mi (28,120 km2) area. The 2012 estimated population total for the Chicago MSA is 9,522,434. We're now defined as the 3rd largest MSA by population in the United States. We're not the only practice using the labs we use and am sure there's practices outside our area who are also using the same labs we use.

    As I said, outside of the holiday season, we have a fairly quick turn around of about 7-10 days which is about how long it took for me to get my glasses from For Eyes a few months ago.

    The holiday season is brutal, not only for use, but other practices in this area. Everyone is cramming to get in. If they can't get in wherever they normally go, they're going to go elsewhere. The labs we and the other practices use get inundated with orders so naturally it's going to take double the amount of time to get your order. This is a reality when you live in such a heavily populated area.

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    Master OptiBoarder opty4062's Avatar
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    Hmm I just find the contrast interesting.
    Living and working in suburban Atlanta (6million + according to the wikipedia article you got your Chicago MSA info from)I am no stranger to a heavy populated area. I still think it's too long and a heavily populated area should mean more available labs to use than a rural area. Just my opinion.
    :)

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    Two other thngs about this season.

    First, more bounced checks, usually in January.

    Second more backorders, especially for contacts. Manufacturers lowering their inventory having something to do with taxes.

    Harry

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    Quote Originally Posted by harry888 View Post
    ...more bounced checks, usually in January.
    We're in a really well-to-do area so we don't see many personal checks as it is.

    Most of our patients pay via credit card or in cold hard cash.

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    Quote Originally Posted by harry888 View Post
    more bounced checks
    Amazing - we have a lot of older patients who like to pay by check, but I can't remember the last time we had one bounce.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by standarduck View Post
    Amazing - we have a lot of older patients who like to pay by check, but I can't remember the last time we had one bounce.
    Of our 10 offices, we had only one that had bounced checks. We stopped accepting checks at that location 7 years ago. No problems since.

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