Optical Store

[csrobinson]

Hi. I work for a children's hospital that does not have a full service eye clinic. We are considering adding an opitical store to make it full service. I am really starting at square A in evaluating whether or not we should do this. Does anyone know of any third party vendors that would come in a run the store, if given the space. Can someone clarify how walmart, target, etc run their stores. Do they run it and full control or do they lease the space to independent optometrists to run. Any feedback would be helpful.

[braheem24]

You've come to the place, Children's optical is a niche you cannot trust to a franchise. You should have some volunteers soon.

[kat]

Contact your local INDEPENDENT lab. They can be lots of help to you. Advising everything from opticians that specialize in children, to what you will need in tools, etc. Also, if you are in a licensed state, contact your state board for help. If not a licesned state see if you have any affiliations of Opticians groups, they also will be vary helpful.

[Diane]

Hi. I work for a children's hospital that does not have a full service eye clinic. We are considering adding an opitical store to make it full service. I am really starting at square A in evaluating whether or not we should do this. Does anyone know of any third party vendors that would come in a run the store, if given the space. Can someone clarify how walmart, target, etc run their stores. Do they run it and full control or do they lease the space to independent optometrists to run. Any feedback would be helpful.

Contact the Opticians Association of Arkansas. Arkansas is a licensed state and they run a very good organizaiton.


OPTICIANS ASSOCIATION OF ARKANSAS
POST OFFICE BOX 1
LEXA, AR 72355

870-572-2847
CEL 601-954-1278

Diane

[drk]

Wait!

Do you have peds ophthalmology? I assume so. Is it referral-based? If so, from who? Optometry? General ophthalmology? Pediatrics?

If you really want to grow your department, you should meet with the department heads and strategize the entire referral network.

Case-in-point, here we have a very established Peds Ophthalmology department at the Children's Hospital, and they do indeed have an optical, but it's generally too expensive, and it's difficult for patients to access a central location to service the eyewear (adjustments, repairs, warranty work, etc.).

What's even worse is that our peds clinic slavishly accepts routine care patients (which is a poor utilization of the facilty), overstressing the system and limiting access. We also have difficulty with the general unwillingness to provide elective contact lens care for those older peds cases, and it's a real pain to share care.

Decades of insular thinking and the classic OD-OMD/MD mistrust (largely based on differing philosophies on tx of refractive errors and binocular disorders) have screwed up the chance to do good for our kids in this area.

I would strongly encourage you to do a little more planning, and create a larger "full service" NETWORK as opposed to a single-facility. It will serve the public much better.

[coupe]

I would offer the following advise. Many of the med cases you will see come from afar and are not necessary local citizens. By this I mean they live in your city or within a mile or two from the hosptital .The rest live elsewhere. We had this happen to us and the rest of the ECP in my area. A ped med group that did tons of children Rx's and would give out the RX. The parents would go to their local ECP and have the eyeglasses made. Everyone was happy. Then these ped meds decided to buy their own building and add an optical shop to it. Now all of the cases for eyeglasses are referred "downstairs' where the doctor told them to go. The parents do what the DR says and gets their childs eyeglasses downstairs. Then they have to return to pickup the glasses. Well time passes and the glasses now need adjustment, parts and pieces, so where do the parents go. Not back to the ped med but to the local ECP. When told by the local ECP there is nothing they can do and the parents will have to go back downtown....well...."I will have to pay for parking....their not open on saturday....I will have to take Johnny out of school......it takes two hours to get there.....etc. etc..ect. So what's my point. Good idea but don't do it. You will not be helping the parents and causing and unwelcome attitude with the local ECP who now fill thses Rx.

[drk]

Well said.

It's a misconception that optical service is not an ongoing relationship that is better served locally. It's not a "one-off purchase"--it's establishment of long-term optical care--especially with the pediatric population.

What's more, the synergy of a large network of referring providers maximizes the gain for the public health.

Consider the possibilities.

[coupe]

Second reply....True story.
Young optician rents a local on the ground floor of a building complex owned by 4 med optho's. The Dr's own the building and are looking for the opt to help pay off the mortgage. The dr's are right beside the young opt and yet he is bankrupt in 6 months. REASON FOR THIS.....Most importantly,the Dr's were to stupid and self-centered to realize that they should have at least gotten togeather....formed a game paln where by each Dr "s would supply a minimum number of referrals to the optician so he could pay the rent and help pay their mortage. BUT THEY DID NOT... And TWO...MOST IMPORTANT, the patients took their Rx's with them when they left the exam and went to their local ECP. It just make sense. The public wants to be served in there local community. So I repeat. Pay attention and evaluate the "damage & trouble" that you may be creating. A big expense on an optical department(that could not be a sucess), the possability of poor relationships with your current opto's and optician ECP's (referrals)....and the inconvenience you will actually be causing your patients/clients, who may not come back the next time but seek help at a closer ECP / clinic or independent optho.

[bob66hall]

Steve, are you monitoring this thread? The "value" being shared here is huge.

[Jubilee]

Now something to keep in mind with this is that with a network type setting, it still could benefit the doctors/clinic. We have a couple of larger pediatric Ophthalmology groups that have locations in 4-5 different areas. Some of those locations are in the Indy area, another one might be in Lafayette, or Bloomington. So if your provider network is set up that way, and is interconnected to allow Jane to get her glasses from the central facility, but receive service and repairs from a more local area.. you could have a win/win.

[Johns]

I don't turn down many offers, but I was recently offered the opportunity to open in one of the largest, and most prestigious hospitals in the area. I turned them down for the reasons that both Drk and coupe cited, as well as the fact that I used to sell to them on a wholesale basis, and saw all the behind the scenes politics that I wouldn't have been privy to otherwise.

An optical in a ped hospital seems like a noble endeavor, but I for one, wouldn't touch it.

[LENNY]

There was an optical store right next to Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital!
Did you noticed that it WAS there!
Could not pay the rent!

[coupe]

Having a captured audiance for MEDICAL CARE is not the same thing as offerring them a retail inviroment.
3rd and finall true senario:. Optician opens a beautifull clinic and in order to have eye exams he offerrs a local opthalmogist (who is working out of his home basement) use of the clinic TOTALLY FREE if he can supply two more opto's. So now 3 opto's working and time passes when the optician does an analysis of the rx"s in the clinic. An acceptable ,but not of the volume you would consider from the Dr. getting everything for free. And next to nothing from the other two Dr's. So optician confronts the two opto's who are not supplying explaining too them ....that because they are working for free they should be referring the Rx's. ARE YOU READY FOR THIS. Dr freeby is CHARGING the two other Dr's for everything...rent,heat,electric,secretary,phone,parking,copi es...you name it. Opticain then makes a deal with the landlord and pays a small penatlty and cancels the clinic lease. Landlord gives the 3 Dr's 24 hours to sign a new lease or get out. They all leave.
So, the moral of this story is ...you may have all of the Dr's at the hospital but I can guarentee that there will only be a small percentage of them that will actually take the effort to support the optiacl store. It is in their nature that unless there is some money in it FOR THEM & IT DIDN'T COST THEM ANYTHING....they don't care .

[coupe]

Csrobinson,
Are you still there. You have asked for our opinion and when offerred you................

[Johns]

Csrobinson,
Are you still there. You have asked for our opinion and when offerred you................

Hey! It's only been 24 hours! Maybe the poster is not addicted to OB the way some folks are...yet.:bbg:

:cheers::cheers:

[coupe]

my apologies