evaluating a practice

[blazenmadison]

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I recently saw a practice for sale in a semi-rural area, 20minutes from a small city. The practice is new <5years old. The owner is selling it to moving out of state. During my research, I found that walmart plans to build a supercenter <1mile away but the local community has been protesting it. City council has already approved the measure...so the walmart will most likely be built. I think this may be the real reason why the owner is moving. I hope the owner discloses to whoever is buying the practice that there will soon be some competition. I doubt the practice will be able to grow more than the current 275k gross.

how big of a threat is walmart vision center to your practice?

 

[JMU07]

The practice I worked at in college (and may work for after graduation!) had a WM built literally right across the street from it a year or two ago. I'll try and find out if it's affected his business.. but the way I see it is, people who want a real eye exam, and want to spend a little extra money for good, quality glasses are a different group than the people who are ok with a 3 minute eye exam and a pair for 20 bucks that you can get at WM.

 

[KHE]

I recently saw a practice for sale in a semi-rural area, 20minutes from a small city. The practice is new <5years old. The owner is selling it to moving out of state. During my research, I found that walmart plans to build a supercenter <1mile away but the local community has been protesting it. City council has already approved the measure...so the walmart will most likely be built. I think this may be the real reason why the owner is moving. I hope the owner discloses to whoever is buying the practice that there will soon be some competition. I doubt the practice will be able to grow more than the current 275k gross.

how big of a threat is walmart vision center to your practice?

Does the Ritz Carlton worry when Motel 6 opens up down the street?
I doubt it.

Your goal is to be the Ritz Carlton.

 

[optsuker]

Don't assume there will be an optical. Many of the new SuperCenters do not have opticals/jiffy lubes in them.

It should lower the selling price if nothing else.
When a new SuperCenter went up near us, we did notice a drop the first year or 2, then quite a few patients came back after getting burned at the "low cost leader".

 

[blazenmadison]

Don't assume there will be an optical. Many of the new SuperCenters do not have opticals/jiffy lubes in them.

It should lower the selling price if nothing else.
When a new SuperCenter went up near us, we did notice a drop the first year or 2, then quite a few patients came back after getting burned at the "low cost leader".

you bring up a good point. im working at practice where they are planning to build a 3rd super walmart but this one will not have a vision center.

To the students...Walmart had a competition this past summer on the future business model of optometry? NECO students won (http://www.neco.edu/newsroom/pdf/WalMartScholarshipAward.pdf). Any idea what the model looked like?

 

[socal2014]

Don't assume there will be an optical. Many of the new SuperCenters do not have opticals/jiffy lubes in them.

It should lower the selling price if nothing else.
When a new SuperCenter went up near us, we did notice a drop the first year or 2, then quite a few patients came back after getting burned at the "low cost leader".

I hear this a lot.

Could you perhaps explain the difference between your practice and Walmart, and particularly, what the patients did not like about Walmart?

 

[socal2014]

Does the Ritz Carlton worry when Motel 6 opens up down the street?
I doubt it.

Your goal is to be the Ritz Carlton.

Except, MOST people do not care about the type of eye care service they receive.

If I am the average person, I would go to walmart instead of the other practice grossing millions because not only is walmarts service faster, it is lest costly as well. And how can you beat the idea of getting some furniture, shopping for groceries and buying some clothes, while waiting for your eye exam?

 

[KHE]

Except, MOST people do not care about the type of eye care service they receive.

If I am the average person, I would go to walmart instead of the other practice grossing millions because not only is walmarts service faster, it is lest costly as well. And how can you beat the idea of getting some furniture, shopping for groceries and buying some clothes, while waiting for your eye exam?

Walmart service is not faster.
Walmart service is only less costly if you have no insurance.

How do the practices that "gross millions" do it if the average person would prefer to shop for groceries while waiting for an eye exam.

A large part of the answer is that the average person does not want to shop for groceries while waiting for an eye exam.

 

[KHE]

I hear this a lot.

Could you perhaps explain the difference between your practice and Walmart, and particularly, what the patients did not like about Walmart?

If you find my practice on google earth, you will see that right next to it is a large building. That is a Walmart supercenter with an optical. Walmart is literally RIGHT NEXT DOOR to my office.

We lose negligible business to them.

The difference between my practice and the Walmart next door is large this:

1) We have the latest technology, Walmart does not.
2) Our office can and does handle any case, the doc at Walmart does not.
3) Our office looks about a million times better than Walmart does in terms of decor.
4) The Walmart next door seems to have one optical person who I've spoken to a few times who seems to know what she's talking about. Every other person I speak to over there sounds like they were just transferred from the snack counter or the children's shoe department.

I could go on, but that's basically it.

 

[blazenmadison]

Walmart service is only less costly if you have no insurance.

At the private practice I'm at now, we are 80% vision plans and 20% cash. We take Davis and specterrible. Our reimbursement rates are lower than the walmart exam fees! The income of the practice is dependent upon the optical.

 

[blazenmadison]

Does the Ritz Carlton worry when Motel 6 opens up down the street?
I doubt it.

Your goal is to be the Ritz Carlton.

There is a Ritz Carlton practice down the street...where everyone gets an optomap. Patients have switched to our practice and complained about the unnecessary optomaps and OCTs. Nickeling and diming the patients

 

[KHE]

At the private practice I'm at now, we are 80% vision plans and 20% cash. We take Davis and specterrible. Our reimbursement rates are lower than the walmart exam fees! The income of the practice is dependent upon the optical.

Is that type of practice you want? You have no medical at all? How do you manage your diabetics or glaucoma patients? Yikes. I'd blow my brains out.

 

[KHE]

There is a Ritz Carlton practice down the street...where everyone gets an optomap. Patients have switched to our practice and complained about the unnecessary optomaps and OCTs. Nickeling and diming the patients

Practices who offer optomaps generally offer then as a choice. We do not have one in our office but are patients being forced into them? 😕

And as far as OCTs go, how or why would a patient say that that is unnecessary. It's done for a specific finding or complaint. It's not on a routine or screening basis. That makes no sense.

 

[blazenmadison]

And as far as OCTs go, how or why would a patient say that that is unnecessary. It's done for a specific finding or complaint. It's not on a routine or screening basis. That makes no sense.

Cash paying presbyopic patient with no history of glaucoma/DM/CME/etc. In the chart was an OCT of optic nerve from the other office. Chart didnt specificy diagnosis. It was just one example.

 

[KHE]

Cash paying presbyopic patient with no history of glaucoma/DM/CME/etc. In the chart was an OCT of optic nerve from the other office. Chart didnt specificy diagnosis. It was just one example.

Well that's just ******ed but it's a PERFECT opportunity for you to open up the Ritz Carlton practice that DOESN'T pull that kind of crap. Thing of how busy you'll be!

 

[socal2014]

This is might be off topic, but how many folks here would agree that the Eyelogic system is a great cash generator?

 

[Dogod]

Do you mean profitable for opticians or optometrists? In Canada, this is the autorefractor system that is marketed to opticians to provide stand-alone refractions to sell eyewear, bypassing the need for an eye doctor. They do not market to optometrists at all.

 

[socal2014]

Do you mean profitable for opticians or optometrists? In Canada, this is the autorefractor system that is marketed to opticians to provide stand-alone refractions to sell eyewear, bypassing the need for an eye doctor. They do not market to optometrists at all.

Whats so special about it, since it is just an autorefractor?

 

[KHE]

Whats so special about it, since it is just an autorefractor?

From what I have seen of it, it in theory, it allows people to self direct their own refraction or allow for someone less trained in refraction to perform one using that system.

 

[physicslover]

yea i remember my optometrist asked the receptionist to re-test a guy with the autorefractor, cause she was trouble getting his prescription.

 

[socal2014]

Receptionists refracting.

That's a new one!

 

[KHE]

yea i remember my optometrist asked the receptionist to re-test a guy with the autorefractor, cause she was trouble getting his prescription.

An auto refraction done by a receptionist is not equal to a "retest" of a guy with an Rx problem. That's just a routine test done as an initial starting point.

 

[physicslover]

I'm not saying it is equivalent. I'm just saying she had her do it after she had completed refracting herself, just to see if she would get something different. There was a problem with the patients vision ( could only see blurry) so the autorefractor was no help anyways. She just did it as a precautionary measure.