I have a friend who works WITH, not FOR an Optometrist and she's encountered a little bit of a dilemma so I thought I'd pose the question to Optometrists. So the O.D. has been aboard now for about 4 or 5 months and has really helped hike up the business in my friend's optical store that was otherwise not doing so hot, just by being there and seeing patient's even a mere 2 days a week. What she doesn't understand is why, when the appointment book has 8, 10, 12, even 15 exams patient's come back over from their exam with no prescription change or no prescription at all- CONSISTENTLY. My friend has bent over backwards to help set this new O.D.'s practice up and books all the appointments throughout the week. The overall relationship with the O.D. is actually pretty good. It just seems like the O.D. does not make much of an effort to go out of the way to prescribe say, sunglasses for people who do not own any or to update their obsolete, non-optical, quality sunglasses, or prescribe sport goggles for all the kids who come in who play sports, or computer glasses for people who spend half their day with their eyes glued to a computer screen. She says all the patient's love the O.D. and there haven't been any complaints. It just seems like the O.D. is possibly under-prescribing.(??) People listen to their doctor before they listen to a salesperson. So if the O.D. prescribes something, not just an off the cuff suggestion, the patient is more inclined to want to follow the O.D.'s recommendations. My friend is frustrated because she thinks the patient's could be better served if the O.D. was just a TOUCH more involved in the process, not to mention the store's bottom line. I don't think I put this as eloquently as I could have. Hopefully most of the O.D.'s know where I am going with this...

any thoughts?