Dr. Hayes Blog

Jerry Hayes, OD presents a variety of tips and tactics designed to
bring more dollars to your bottom line. You are invited to
comment on the topics we cover.

Sponsored by Red Tray Purchasing Alliance and HMI Buying Group.


The History Of Managed Care

By Jerry Hayes OD | 11/10/2009 - 12:49 pm

Why Doctors Once Loved It, And Why We Now Hate It

The source for this blog is the November 4 issue of NPR’s Planet Money Podcast. It’s a fascinating story that you might enjoy listening to. Click here to listen.
 
If you don’t have an iPod or similar, I highly recommend you get one. They are great little devices for downloading both your favorite music and a variety of interesting podcasts off the internet.
 
How Medicare Got Started
 
When the federal government set out to create the Medicare system in 1965, their single biggest concern
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How Often Should ODs Compare Practice Benchmarks?

By Jerry Hayes OD | 11/5/2009 - 12:44 pm

Dr. Hayes,

I have a question regarding your percentage guidelines for practice overhead expenses.
 
I am in my second year of running my own practice and for the year collected gross revenues are up 3.5%. Our first quarter we were up over 30%, however the second and third quarter we were down about 21-22% on each of them. I am hoping for a positive 4th quarter.
 
I take pride in staying very close to those numbers on my practice budget. However,
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How To Deal With Falling Revenue And Declining Profits

By Jerry Hayes OD | 11/3/2009 - 12:29 pm

Dear Jerry,

Unfortunately, your recent blog on ‘What Happens To Your Net When Your Gross Declines?‘ applies to me.
 
I created a practice budget projecting a decline in collected gross revenues for 2009. With the help of my staff, we made cuts in our variable expenses and even some staff benefits.
 
Ten months later, my gross is in fact down around 10%. But, the cutbacks we made have NOT come close to offsetting the losses. Just like your blog said, my net is down 28%!
 
Now what do I do? Just hang in there?
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What Happens To Your Net When Your Gross Declines?

By Jerry Hayes OD | 10/27/2009 - 10:32 am

The goal of my blog today is to help you understand how your practice profits could be impacted if your revenues decline over the course of a year.

Just so you will know, I am not into doom and gloom. In fact, I tend to be optimistic and positive minded in most any situation.
 
My true hope is that all my readers have
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Vision Council Reports Independents Are Taking Share From Corporate Eyecare

By Jerry Hayes OD | 9/22/2009 - 8:04 am

Things I Learned From The ClearVision Optical Sales Meeting

I recently attended the annual meeting for ClearVision Optical to serve as an industry panelist for their national sales force.

I was very impressed with the energy of the meeting and would like to offer my sincere thanks to CVO president David Friedfeld for the invitation.

A top ten frame company, ClearVision has

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Shifting Patients From The Senior Doc To The Junior Associate

By Jerry Hayes OD | 9/8/2009 - 9:16 am

Dear Jerry,

I am the owner of a practice that will produce collected gross revenues of about $1.5 Million in 2009. Our net is 33% and that includes paying my two part-time associates.

I'm 50 years old and feel like I am carrying too much of the patient care load. I would really like to cut back, but not have a large decrease in pay.

Do you think I am ready for a full-time associate? If so, how can I reimburse the associate fairly

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Million Dollar Solo ODs Speak Out

By Jerry Hayes OD | 9/1/2009 - 8:29 am

Can One OD Really Produce $1 Million Per Year?

Dear Jerry,

I opened cold last year in a small town with two big companies and nearly all my patients are on vision plans.

Although I am working very hard, I don't see how it is possible to

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3 Questions Guaranteed To Increase Your Optical Sales

By Jerry Hayes OD | 8/25/2009 - 9:34 am

You Don’t Have To Be Pushy Or Twist Arms To Sell More Eyewear, You Just Have To Ask The Right Questions

One sure way to increase the amount of optical products you sell and dispense is to ask the right questions, at the right time.

Yet, many ODs are hesitant, even timid, when suggesting eyewear to patients because they don’t want to come across as pushy.

If that’s you,

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Hot Topic: Is It Realistic For A Solo OD To Gross $1.2M?

By Jerry Hayes OD | 8/18/2009 - 8:07 am

Dear Readers,

I ended my Aug 3 blog post by asking: “Assuming the demand is there, is it realistic for a solo OD to perform 16 ‘complete exams’ per day at an average of $307 per patient and in the process, gross $1.2M?”

Here is a sampling of the feedback I received from ODs across the country who both think

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OD Survey Results: Despite The ‘Great Recession’, Most Respondents Are Still Up The First Half Of 2009

By Jerry Hayes OD | 8/10/2009 - 11:44 am

Dear Readers,

Thanks again to everyone who responded to our Sixty Second Survey. To see the complete results, click here.

Comparing 2009 Production To 2008

The majority (58%) of OD practice owners who responded to our survey show increased revenues for the first six months of 2009 as compared to the same period for 2008.

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