Summit Updates

[Wes]

Summit Updates

Why have a Summit?
Because the world of eyecare is changing
• Baby boomers will need more eyecare and eyewear
• ACA will add 25% more eye exams to the system beginning in 2015
• Optometry’s role is becoming more medical
• A shortage of healthcare workers
• Internet eyewear retailing
• Electronic dispensing aids
• Salaries stagnant
• No uniform credentialing or educational standard
• Opticianry’s scope of practice seems stalled

Strategic Areas
• Branding & Consumer Confidence
– Emerging Theme:
• Define what an optician is & their value
• Healthcare Reform & Managed Care
– Emerging Theme:
• Define scope of practice
• Education & Certification
– Emerging Theme:
• Define an educational direction (technical &practical) required for certification/licensure
• Collaboration Among Opticianry Groups
– Emerging Theme:
• All key organizations (OAA, NAO, CLSA, ABO/NCLE, NFOS,independent optician rep, NAOO) should be represented in a collaborative committee to have a unified voice in opticianry
• Refraction
– Emerging Theme:
• What is the role of refraction in opticianry’s future?

NATIONAL EDUCATION STANDARDS, LICENSING, ACCREDITATION, AND CERTIFICATION
Purpose Statement
To define an educational plan (technical and practical) required for nationwide credentialing and certification.
OPTICIANRY STUDY
Purpose Statement
• To study the value that opticians provide consumers and businesses and provide tangible proof that can be used to market/brand today’s optician.
• To identify the most effective ways to identify and develop future optician candidates in a manner that provides the greatest benefit to apprentices/opticians, consumers, and businesses at a reasonable cost.

Accomplishments To-Date, and Plans Going Forward
• Small six-person Working Group represents all aspects of our industry, including certification bodies, state boards, opticianry schools, education in print, retail organizations, state associations, and independent practices
• Held first Working Group meeting May 6
• Completed a Request for Proposal (RFP) to have a third-party agency to manage the study.
• Agency to manage the study has been selected
• Discussions to study and collect data are currently ongoing

MENTORING THE MENTOR
Purpose Statement
• To provide a comprehensive reference source for eye care professionals mentoring opticians in training
§ Eyecare professionals serving as mentors lack training and references regarding mentoring procedures and evaluating competencies performed by mentees
§ Opticians learning on the job, participating in a formal apprenticeship program or attending a degree program all need guided hands-on experience in the workplace

Accomplishments To-Date, and Plans Going Forward
• Mentoring plan and documentation created
• Outlines for mentoring videos prepared
• Partial funding secured through ABO-NCLE
• Hillsboro Community College’s Digital Media Program has agreed to produce the five pilot videos with an expected completion in late December
• Formed a workgroup for mentoring techniques
• Identifying subject matte rexperts as “talent” for the videos
• Identified a video production vendor
• Determining where and how to host mentoring videos
• Awarded a grant from ABO-NCLE to fund this pilot project

1. Create five videos of approximately 10 minutes in length for the following subject areas:
– Best mentoring practices
– Dispensing: Video on frame adjustment
– Laboratory: Video on final inspection
– Contact lenses: video on patient education
– Sales: Greeting and prescription analysis
2. Expand the Mentoring Video series

BRANDING

Purpose Statement
• To define the role of the optician in the eyecare process to the consumer and create a national branding campaign to preserve and promote opticianry nationwide. To create a buzz in the consumer’s eye as to who opticians are and why they do what they do.

Accomplishments To-Date, and Plans Going Forward
• Developed and implemented National Survey of opticians, receiving over 800 responses
• Developed a consumer definition (elevator speech): An Optician is a vision expert,a health professional specially trained to supply, prepare, and dispense optical appliances through interpretation of written prescriptions. An Optician is an integral part of the vision care experience and adheres to exacting standards in order to enhance your vision. (This definition has not yet been accepted by the leadership team.)
• Develop a CE (The American Optician)
o Unified message to opticians
o “Train the trainer” to promote the optician’s brand
• Utilize the survey data in other ways
• National video contest promoting The American Optician
o OAA handling this
• Creating a presentation that would be available for state association meetings
o Help the OAA produce the video
• Create a national opticianry branding campaign

HealthCare Reform& Managed Vision Care
Purpose
• To monitor the ongoing changes in healthcare, assess how they will impact opticianry and develop programs to ensure opticians are included
• To have opticians included on vision care plan panels
§ To level the playing field with Eyemed and VSP for opticians and independent opticianry practices
§ Obtain the same services as practices owned by OD’s and MD’s
§ Greater representation on the healthcare panels for opticians

Accomplishments To-Date, and Plans Going Forward
• Met with both VSP and Eyemed one-on-one and in a joint meeting during the Vision Expo events
• Met with congressional representatives
• Have been following the changes taking place due to the ACA in regards to the optical industry
§ Ongoing conversation with VSP
§ California RE: “Stand Alone Plan”
• Trying to align with VSP to work on supporting their efforts to maintain “Stand Alone Plans” in other states
• Watching healthcare expansion
• Include vision services within the EHB Mandate as directed by HHS in DC.
• Watching the individual states position of moving vision services into the state exchanges as well as the increase in Medicaid services to include exams and materials in all states
• Gain parity for all independently owned businesses with VSP and Eyemed.
• Work to enforce “Any Willing Provider”Laws through communication with legislators and MVC providers
• Gain greater knowledge of the optician’s presence and role in the Healthcare Law
§ Communicate with HHS officials if necessary to establish an identity for opticians within it.
• Continue to follow ACA as it goes into effect January 1, 2014.

REFRACTION

Purpose Statement

• To evaluate the role refraction plays for opticians and their patients
§ Define this role for the future and how we might move forward

Accomplishments To-Date, and Plans Going Forward
• A Mastermind Group has been formed with 9 members
• Past U.S. efforts have been reviewed
• The European model has been summarized
• Established that
– Refracting is alive and well within opticianry
– Opticians who have learned refraction provide better solutions for the public
• Learn More
– Gather information on what education is currently available
• Tell the Story
– Develop a paper that tells individual success stories of opticians that use refraction in some form in their opticianry practice
– Compile results by year-end

COLLABORATION

Purpose Statement

• To provide a forum for state and national opticianry organizations to discuss common goals and challenges
• To share information about key activities and decrease duplication.
– Annual in-person meetings
– Web-based events

Accomplishments To-Date, and Plans Going Forward
• Held meetings at the last three Expos
• Representatives from over 15 optical organizations attended
– For some participants, it was the first time meeting
• Continue to meet bi-annually at Expo East and West
• Help bring the Opticianry Study and Mentoring the Mentor programs to fruition