The Optometry Blog

Posted on Optoblog - Wal-Mart Practice is the Way to Save Vision Health Care

theoptom — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:18:57 +0000

Since it is an election year, everyone has been bringing up the high cost of health care. The liberal democrats, Clinton and Obama, are promising reforms which would inevitably fail and/or turn our country into a socialist/communist state. Then I read an article in Rush Limbaugh’s April 2008 newsletter entitled, “Health Care Diagnostics: […]

Rush brings up an ABC John Stossel report about Dr. Robert Berry who stopped accepting insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid. His office visits are as low as $40, yet his salary is typical of a primary care physician.

Well, I wish Rush would have also shared what hundreds of Wal-Mart optometrists do. We deliver eyecare for a fraction of the private practice fees. Private eyecare practices in my market of Cache Valley, Utah offer routine eye exams from $70-125. My Wal-Mart practice offers the same routine eye exam for $45-55.

Insurance companies have created this health care conundrum. Employers or individuals who buy into vision insurance are really getting scammed. My $45 exam is about what most vision insurances pay doctors anyway. So…why give any money to the middle man? And then there are a couple snobby vision plans that only let private practice doctors on their panels. The beneficiaries of these plans get doubly ripped off because sure, the exam might be covered, but when they want premium coatings or progressive lenses, they get stuck paying the balance over the basic lens. At private practice opticals, this balance can be more than the total price they might pay at Wal-Mart. So again, what good is paying money into this vision plan?

Buying vision insurance makes about as much sense as buying oil change insurance or hair cut insurance. The only people that win are the insurance companies, unless you got the coverage at no cost to you and can use your plan at Wal-Mart so that even if you do have to pay over a balance, at least you will get the best price.

In my former private practice my wholesale cost for lenses were just barely under the retail price of Wal-Mart lenses. As a doctor concerned about the welfare of my patients, I can’t continue to sell overly expensive products when Wal-Mart sells the equivalent premium products 30-50% less than what I could in my own optical shop.

So Rush, please add to your list of professionals doing what they can to control rising health care costs the excellent professionals at Wal-Mart Vision Centers.

From Dr. Kristin Heeney - Threat Number 4: Canadian Optometrists are Terrorists

theoptom — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:18:15 +0000

Ahhh the humour of it. On Monday, Kristin appeared on The Hour with George Strombouloupolous to answer questions about Ontario optometrists being terrorists. Last week Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care George Smitherman called Ontario optometrists “a bunch of terrorists, and I don’t negotiate with terrorists.” He apologized on Monday, November 7, but national and international news (and pseudo-news) media have picked up on the story.

The Colbert Report Threat Down identified Optometrists as the fourth biggest threat to national security.

Bears
NASCAR Romance Novels
Professional Musicians specially those at Radio City Music Hall
Canadian Optometrists
Pirates

Watch The Colbert Report clip QuickTime 5.5Mb

From Dr. Kristin Heeney - heeney.ca

From Eye On Vision - How Will You Spend Your Tax Rebate?

theoptom — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:21:09 +0000

Posted on Optoblog - OPTOBLOG Shifts in Focus

theoptom — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:17:58 +0000

My career started out as a government optometrist. I idolized private practice optometry and demonized commercial practice. I did this so much that I forsook my excellent career in the Indian Health Service, hired a practice consultant, and started my own private practice. Of course, I had to work commercial to make ends meet while I built the practice. The only problem is that becomes a catch-22. I had to work four days a week at Wal-Mart to afford what became my hobby practice two days a week. I couldn’t work enough in my private practice to build it, but if I didn’t work enough in the commercial practice, then I couldn’t pay the bills for the private practice to stay open.

Now the private practice has miserably and utterly failed. There is no return from paying back the practice loan or the remaining months on the lease, but at least the commercial practice easily covers these expenses. I have closed down Summit Vision Center and now I will focus all my energy into VisionHealth EyeCare.

This blog will now take a new direction. I will be advocating commercial practice, demonizing private practice, and waxing nostalgic of government practice (but not idolizing it since I’m a conservative republican that doesn’t believe in big government).

My big beef with commercial used to be that they provided substandard care. Well, the truth is that individual doctors were providing substandard care. Not detecting or treating glaucoma and not having a TPA license to treat medical eye conditions is simply substandard care regardless of where one practices. I’ve seen private practice optometrists who didn’t even have a BIO.

In future posts I intend to show how independent, commercial practice (and in particular Wal-Mart) is the best modality for optometrists. I’ll show you how I create quality care in my practice, and along the way you will see how my practice evolves to become even better.

So subscribe to the site feed and enjoy the ride.

From Dr. Kristin Heeney - CN Tower Climb

theoptom — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 01:17:12 +0000

On October 21, 2006, Dr. Heeney and Karla are participating in the the Enbridge CN Tower Climb for the United Way. That?s right we?re climbing the stairs up the CN Town. It?s 1,776 stairs to the top.

The money raised from the Climb will help support United Way?s network of over 200 health and social service agencies, and help make Toronto a better city for us all. It is something Dr. Heeney always thought would be an interesting challenge to do and fun. Find out more about the United Way CN Tower Climb at http://www.unitedwaytoronto.com/.

Sponsorship Appreciated

If you would like to sponsor Karla and Dr. Heeney it would be greatly appreciated.

From Dr. Kristin Heeney - heeney.ca

From Eye On Vision - Is There A Visual Gender Gap’?

theoptom — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 21:19:10 +0000

Posted on Optoblog - OPTOBLOG Shifts in Focus

theoptom — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:21:22 +0000

So subscribe to the site feed and enjoy the ride.

From Dr. Kristin Heeney - Special Effects Contact Lenses

theoptom — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:20:11 +0000

Every wonder about those cool special effects contact lenses. Dr. Heeney was interview by Christine Crosbie on Global News Hour on October 5, 2006.

From Dr. Kristin Heeney - heeney.ca

From Dr. Kristin Heeney - Thump: MP3 Sunglasses

theoptom — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:19:07 +0000

If you are having a tough time carrying your iPod and your shades, then Oakley has a solution for you. The Oakley Thump sunglasses has an embedded MP3 player.

From Dr. Kristin Heeney - heeney.ca

From Eye On Vision - How Will You Spend Your Tax Rebate?

theoptom — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 07:16:05 +0000