Dear Jerry,

I am in my thirteenth year as a solo practitioner in a rural part of southern Indiana. My town has four optometrists in various settings, plus a Wal-Mart Vision Center.

I see patients 35 hours per week and expect to gross $500,000 with a net of 35% in 2009.

I see possibly one private pay patient per day, with the rest being Medicare, Medicaid, VSP and EyeMed.

Here is my question: You frequently discuss the topic of Collected Gross Revenue without any qualifying information such as patient care hours, geographic location and insurance saturation.

I am trying to use your data to evaluate my practice, but

Dear Jerry,

I have been reading the comments from other ODs about when I should take in an associate and think there are many very valid points.

Delegating certain portions of the exam is something I have a hard time with. I am adding more tests to the tech’s pretest routine to cut my chair time back. That should allow me to see possibly 2-3 more patients per day.

I need to find the right balance between efficiency and appropriate face time with my patient.

Those brief little interactions between your staff, you and your patients are what author Jan Carlzon called "Moments Of Truth" in a business. Here are two personal experiences that stick out in my mind:

Dear Jerry,

In my opinion, the doctor you wrote about last week who is grossing $700,000 is definitely not ready for an associate for all the reasons stated, plus some more.

I have found that most optometrists need

Dear Jerry,

I now have a good problem and want your opinion on how to proceed. Here is my situation.

After being an employed OD for ten years, I opened my own practice cold two years ago.

Working solo four days per week, I generated collected gross revenues of $526,000 in 2008.

My practice is now growing in leaps and bounds with a consistent backlog of 3 to 4 weeks over the last four months.

I am on track to gross $700,000 in 2009. I am still paying off some start-up expenses, so my net is only 25%.

In last week’s blog (OD Buys Practice, Now The Seller Is Opening Across The Street), Dr. Joe Jones sold his practice to Dr. Bill Barry and signed a five-year ‘Non-Compete Agreement’.

What Is A Non-Compete Agreement, And How Do They Work?

There are two ways a Non-Compete Agreement (NCA) typically comes into play in private practice optometry.

Is it important to name your practice for branding purposes? If so, should it be your name or a made-up trade name? 

Here are some pros and cons. Read More | Click To Discuss