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Kaiser, APHA, and some other foundation are 1. presenting a webcast of a forum on American Indian health issues. One of the topics will be funding. As I’ve said before, Indian Health Service funding is inadequate. The stats show we spend less per capita on American Indians than we do on the vets.
\rant
I can’t get my patients referred for cataract surgery until their vision is worse than 20/60! If I’ve got a patient with verrucae–tough luck. Only emergency referrals like PDR and RD are being allowed through the referral process right now. Let’s increase funding for American Indians to meet their needs! We signed a treaty, let’s abide by it.
Luckily, some of my patients have Medicare and/or Medicaid. The ones with Medicaid will usually go get their cataract sgx anyway and just pay the $5 copay. But the treaty didn’t say anything about only those on Medicaid can get access to care not provided by the local IHS service unit.
/rant
Anyway, the webcast should be interesting because funding isn’t the only issue. It will be available on 5-9-2005 after 4PM ET.

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A while ago we had some missing equipment which we believed was taken by patients. At first, I wondered how anyone could pawn it. But with e-bay and now eyecareauctions.com there are ample ways for office thieves to unload stolen optometric equipment.

I think eyecareauctions.com missed an opportunity. If they would only limit their registered users to verified eye care professionals and ophthalmic distributers, then they could market their site as a trusted source for goods. On the same token, one could claim that dealing eye doctor stuff on e-bay could put you at risk for obtaining misbegotten items since anyone can register with e-bay. As it stands today, anyone can register with both.

I would like to ask ophthalmic instrument/equipment manufacturers to put a serial number on their products because this could also provide a way for keeping track of stolen goods. If someone steals my 78D, then I type into a database on the manufacture’s website my information. Now when someone wants to buy an item on an auction site, they simply do a “background check” on the 78D by typing in the advertised serial number. Then once the package arrives, the buyer should verify the actual serial number matches the advertised one.

I know. This seems like a lot of work for a small problem, but have you ever been robbed?

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I saw a listing for a practice that said the selling doctor “wishes to continue P/T 3 days per week as employee.”
What the …?
If the practice is in such a nice location and financially desirable to buy, then why would he sell it if he just wants to stay there? Wouldn’t he make more money as an owner than an employee? It doesn’t make any sense that the new owner should have to put up all the risk in buying a practice then contractually hire someone who may not be needed and whom one may not be able to get along with.
I think hiring the previous owner should be an option initiated by the buyer, not mandated by the seller. My $.02

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Here are some links about blogs and how to use them in a business environment. I envision an eye clinic practice blog where most of the staff as well as the doctors write entries. Tips/info on insurance, choosing glasses, surgery questions. . .the sky (and HIPAA) is the limit. Of course you cannot practice medicine online, but you can share information in general terms like they do at emedicine.com and if someone asks a specific question about them self, we would reply in general terms and list several possibilities and qualify it by “see us in an exam.”

www.cluetrain.com about why businesses should have things like blogs and forums with real employees talking with the clients (patients). It’s all about accessibility and sharing of information.
The Red Couch talks about great story of a Saville Row taylor who increases his customer base by blogging.
The Red Couch gives good info on a marketing plan for a blog.
Optometric Management writes about practice newsletters. I think of a blog as a real time practice newsletter. Also, see the author’s practice website for a good example of a practice web site.

By the way, The Red Couch is a blog about two authors writing a book about businesses and blogging.

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The Arizona Republic reports that an ophthalmologist with a long track record of legal/board problems has been slapped on the wrist by banning him from the operating room. (By the way, this was brought to my attention by an RSS feed.)
If an optometrist failed to refer for eye cancer and then misdiagnose a retinal detatchment, what would they do? Optometry and Ophthalmology are run by different boards, but seriously, are you going to tell the optometrist that he can only Rx glasses and not do any eye health exams? (a.k.a. Banish the doctor to behind the back curtain of a creapy optical.)
I don’t think so. They’d take away the O.D.’s license faster than you can say, “Everything looks fine. See me back in a year.”
And what’s the deal with banning him from RK surgery in 1999? Shouldn’t that have been banned for everyone since 1994?

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First it was the bikini car wash. Now folks in conservative Utah Valley and Salt Lake Valley are grappling with bikini haircuts. Which makes me wonder, are medical offices next? Remember the Seinfeld episode with the dentist that had unspeakable magazines in the waiting room? Will optometry ever be lowered to this base behavior? Will unscrupulous ECPs ever consider “exploiting a niche” by having a bikini eye doctor office?
I’m sure there are many in the hair care field who are cringing at the situation in the SLC, but do hair dressers have an organized association that self polices? The AOA does publish ethical guidelines for practice, but the only thing remotely related to this subject is the phrase in the Code of Ethics “TO MAINTAIN their offices and their practices in keeping with professional standards,” which is subject to various interpretations. I propose that we self police ourselves so that communities won’t have to take it to courts. The AOA should have a written policy expelling from the association any optometrist who would endeavor to have a bikini carwash or pornography in their waiting room. Such things would debase our whole profession and should never be tolerated. Paraoptometric associations should also adopt this specific ethical guideline.

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