Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
We use Dallas with pretty good success. If we ever have something that gets out of hand we just email the rep and then it gets taken care of REAL fast.
Pardon my lack of knowledge on VSP issues on the states side, but I know it's far from stellar and they are now entering the Canadian market via FYI and attempting to leave their mark (damage).Originally Posted by ak47
Are you able to elaborate as to what exactly the lab issues are? Quality? Delivery? Turnaround? Service? Support?
Thanks,
2020
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Last edited by Judy Canty; 10-01-2015 at 11:02 PM.
Are you able to elaborate as to what exactly the lab issues are?
Quality? CHECK
Delivery? CHECK
Turnaround? CHECK
Service? CHECK
Support? CHECK
checkmate, grab your donuts and RUN FOR THE HILLS !!!
NO, the issue is for the patients where we must used the VSP-owned labs
All of the above???
Yes.
-Tony
A family member dies, and you insult me, what the hell's the matter with you... Don't be a Rooney, if it's the Choice or a VSP1 only option, I apply the KISS method. Nice lead, one of my favorite movies.
I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. Mark Twain
1+
i second VSP one in Dallas, i never have issues with them.
You can use 3 Rivers for Unity product on every single plan, even Fed VIP.
The problem is when you want to use non-unity product, you then must use VSP one Labs.
I started edging in house for almost all jobs lately, until it got so busy I had to stop - just to avoid patients complaining about one job (an inhouse job) looking nicer than another (Robo Edger line).
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Last edited by Judy Canty; 10-01-2015 at 11:03 PM.
Columbus?
If that is OH.. Lockbourne.. I would not hold my breath. Lost a few patients because of them last year.
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
All depends on what products you're selecting. If it's something they do in-house, you should be fine. All labs that are growing have delays in Jan-Feb due to higher utilization. Just work back with the lab to adjust your patient expectations.
We use Columbus and some of their satellite labs for specialty work with good results. Columbus took a big volume hit last year due to what we were told was higher utilization vs them being prepared. 180* difference this year though. What I hear from peers that have issues most always revolves around product that must be sent out / outsourced. Not surprising. Just adjust what you dispense or adjust your patients expectations.
Are there going to be issues...sure. Been doing this long enough to have seen our fair share. To Jubilee, you may very well have lost a few patients. Happens every day for more than just VSP Lab related issues. In the end though, VSP no doubt drove exponentially higher patients into your office than you lost. No other lab or their parent company is doing that for you. Our avg patient claim payment is approaching $290. Multiply that times the number of new patients we saw last year and no combination of other labs or manufacturers with their "offerings" and "program$$" could touch the revenue we're seeing. Thus why I tell them all to go pound sand when they make such offers.
They don't care and they don't have to. If you want patients to call your office screaming and swearing at you, by all means use Columbus!
This sums up care today, adjust what you want for the insurance company. Nice post Doc!
It has nothing to do with NOT providing what's best for your patient....it's called properly setting expectations regardless. Know your products and turn times based on their source and act accordingly.
You need to pay them a visit. Completely untrue. Been there many times myself.
duplicate - delete
I should never have to tell a patient that they should wait 4 weeks or longer to receive their eyewear from their VCP lab. Promises to call the patient to apologize never fufilled, and then completely blowing their chance to save her by taking 6 weeks for her complementary sunglasses.
The only reason VSP still ranks in the top 3 VCPs in my office is because of the number of Indiana Medicaid that we see that have their vision subcontracted to them through a RiskBased entity. Otherwise the number of Signature/Signature Choice folks have dwindled as more companies are switching to Eyemed in these parts.
As the wife of a federal employee, I encouraged those who were signing up for the FEP benefit to use VSP. As time goes by, the increase premium for the product is dwindling as there is little difference now between it and Davis for the amount of money spent. The changes to reduce the benefits by promoting coverage of only their branded product, and the forcing of sending out the order to only their labs removes the choices that previously made it the plan to be a part of.
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
obviously the above would be true that no one would expect to wait that long. sounds like an out-sourced product that took some breakages and became the job from hell. I'm sure they made you the offer to fit something in-house at least in the meantime. Columbus does whatever we ask in the best interest of the patient. There have been times where they pick up the cost of another frame, fit it with something they can turn quickly and send it out at No Charge, until the original order comes back.
Overall thought, I'm not sure however why the lab would contact a patient? That's VSP Vision Care Customer Service's roll not the lab. The lab is just producing the work, they aren't the Customer Service dept for member. Those concerns credits, whatever should be directed to Vision Care. Any concerns with the lab should be between you the ECP and the Lab. Putting them in the middle isn't going to help and looks bad IMO as the customer doesn't talk with the lab, they talk with you and Vision Care Customer Service. Even if they do get in touch with the lab, that's what they are going to tell them. If it were me, I'd never suggest nor let the lab call the patient. I'd direct the patient to member services.
Their traction does vary but overall nationwide VSP is pulling ahead quite a bit. I think we're going to hear they've crossed over the 70M member mark in the states. That's well ahead of EyeMed. Being in Ohio I have contacts at both places and I've not heard EyeMed is growing nearly that much.The only reason VSP still ranks in the top 3 VCPs in my office is because of the number of Indiana Medicaid that we see that have their vision subcontracted to them through a RiskBased entity. Otherwise the number of Signature/Signature Choice folks have dwindled as more companies are switching to Eyemed in these parts.
Depends on which of the two plans you're husband is on I suppose. The high option is what we see most of around here. it's a solid plan. Patient gets a $200 frame allowance, Poly upgrade, D-Cat. AR and Photocromic coverages, K-cat. lens (VSP offers a backside digital one too) etc.As the wife of a federal employee, I encouraged those who were signing up for the FEP benefit to use VSP. As time goes by, the increase premium for the product is dwindling as there is little difference now between it and Davis for the amount of money spent.
That's your opinion. The Fed Gov't is the client and the one who made that choice not VSP. VCP's don't control the money, that's a clients call. Other VCP's had the very same ability to make such offers and chose not to. It's win win win for the member who gets a higher quality product, the Gov't who saves money and VSP who gets the business. No one else stepped up to offer a Full Backside Digital K Cat Product (ETHOS) and D-Cat. AR coverage (UNITY), and Photocromic on top of a $200 WFA as part of their fully covered bid offering. IIRC employees were not getting ALL of that from their previous VCP. No where close.The changes to reduce the benefits by promoting coverage of only their branded product, and the forcing of sending out the order to only their labs removes the choices that previously made it the plan to be a part of.
VSP also doesn't limit the Federal jobs to just their labs. They have a small selection of other labs you can use too. Now if you want to use other products that cost more in the end, yes, they are going to direct the work to their labs. Again, that's business move and a smart move. I'm sure if Essilor or others wanted to they could have stepped in and offered VSP a fee to allow you to use their labs for their products but they didn't.
Bottom line is this and we've discussed this before, the client sets up the plans and negotiates with VSP to administer them. Once they are a client of VSP, that member is their member and it would be a dumb business move for them to support other vendors to take first-dibs on the business generated from their client/members. You're seeing it with frames, lenses, services, etc. Think about it; why would they want ECP's as a service provider to for their members to fit Essilor, Zeiss, Seiko, etc.. Lenses, use Essilor or Zeiss Labs and fit Safilo or Lux Frames on their members? They don't and won't lead with that. You still have that choice in many cases mind you but don't expect to have it in every case nor will you likely make as much when you do otherwise. Common business practices all around.
In fact what VSP Is dong is NO DIFFERENT than EVERY other lab and ECP is doing....they are pushing their products first. That's why digital is so poplular. Everyone has a digital offering that benefits their wallet first. ECP's buy closeout frames for dollars and fit those too. Please....at least be open and honest about what's happening in the market and don't make out like it's just a VSP thing and that it's wrong. IMO they offer way better products in many cases. If you and your husband don't like his plan, dont' blame VSP, blame the Gov't who made the decision. If you still feel "limited" by having to use their labs then opt out of the plan and go private pay and see if the other lens manufacturers, frame companies and labs will cover the costs for you and every other patient who wants to do that. Then when you're all done with that ask yourself if ANY of those companies have put a federal employee in your chair. I don't think they have.
Last edited by racethe1320; 02-23-2015 at 01:22 AM.
We've been pretty happy with Columbus. Haven't had problems with quality or turnaround.
I'm Andrew Hamm and I approve this message.
We've never had to wait 4 weeks for any work from any lab (VCP owned or otherwise).
That's just a poor lab period and why would you choose to work with them????
We tell patient's 7-10 business days is standard turnaround time for the VSP Dallas lab, but it's usually back in a week.
I will save you all the trouble of going into much detail while I am posting from my phone :)
This was one of a series of orders that got screwed up through Columbus back in the fall/winter of 2013. All were Unity lenses and coating as we were trying to play the game.
Having ran a wholesale lab in the past, I am quite familiar with the occasional problem job. However when the number of issues exceed the number of successes, I could not in good conscious continue to use their lab if given a choice.
Before I found a lab that was not VSPOne but could do Unity in house, I switched many of those folks from Unity to another (Shamir or Seiko ) PAL. I find it interesting that many of my patients had that "wow!" reaction after switching from Unity PLx or PLxpression to a Surmount or InTouch lens.
The few orders I have to send them take longer on the whole compared to my preferred lab. The turn time, service and quality do not wow me. Nor does pricing on Private pay.
I am sure it's just a matter of time till Eyemed will reimburse more for a Lux frame and they already do for Essilor lenses. Soon we will be like the Pizza joints or Gas Stations on the corners branded for our main supplier and very little differentiating us in terms of products and pricing. Completely interchangeable making the VCPs the only clear winners in terms of branding.
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