Have you ever looked back at your high school pictures and wondered who that person was? Whether it was the mullet or those geeky glasses, life is different now, and you have changed. It is sometimes hard to remember what it was like back then. The same is true for my practice: advances in technology have altered how I care for my patients. Looking back fourteen years ago, my original practice is barely recognizable. Let’s take a look at how technology has changed my practice.

Electronic medical records: About a year ago we made the major step toward paperless exam modules. I now wonder why we didn’t do this earlier! It seems like a no-brainer to not have to store and file all of those paper exam records. The staff loves that prescriptions and information can be retrieved at any point in the office. Exam templates and one click makes notetaking more efficient.

Nerve fibre layer analysis: We added GDx NFL analysis to our pretest a few years ago and we’ve been thrilled with the findings. Patients who fail the screening receive a full glaucoma workup. NFL loss can precede visual field loss by many years. Along with screening FDT visual fields, we offer comprehensive glaucoma pre-screenings. This is part of what we like to call the “Ultimate Eye Examination.”(TM)

Optomap digital retinal exam: We replaced our retinal camera with the Optomap and we were surprised by how much more “wow” factor the Optomap brought to our practice. And while wow is nice, being able to image 80 per cent of the retinal compared to 12 per cent with our digital fundus camera has vastly improved our diagnostic capabilities. Dilation is not required in many instances, and patients are thanking us for this.

Patient education: LUMA is an animated series of educational shorts we use to explain the exam process, various ocular pathologies, and different dispensing options. We run a loop of LUMA in the secondary lobby, and have it available in the exam lanes and at the dispensing tables as well. We also use EyeconX™ to communicate directly with our patients. Articles on various aspects of the eye exam can be emailed and accessed directly by the patient. EyeconX™ allows us to have the intake forms filled out by the patient in advance of the eye exam and emailed back to us to facilitate an easier check-in process.

Social media: We have created a Facebook Fan Page that allows us to interact with patients. We run contests, solicit feedback, and obtain testimonials using Facebook. It’s a fun way to keep in touch with our patients. Twitter is another way we interact with patients in a social way; it allows us to broadcast information about your eyes to a wider audience. One of our staff members sends tweets for our office and I tweet for myself @drtrevormiranda. We also have a blog that we can send out via twitter and our Facebook page.

Innovative products: I am old enough to remember the days of non-disposable contact lenses and before the advent of SiHy materials. Today, we can fit almost all of our patients with disposable, toric, extended wear, and multifocal lens options. Huge technological advances in RGP lenses have allowed more comfortable lenses for those tougher fits. With the advent of free form digital surfacing, we are able to make spectacle lenses clearer and thinner while allowing for better vision. Now we have better options for Rx sunwear. It’s great to say to my patient that with new advances in technology “we can do that now!”

Technology is only helpful if it is understood by the eye care practitioner and recommended to the patient. So many times we miss the boat by not highlighting the latest options available to our patients and just accepting the status quo. It is important that we create a culture of change where we can learn and adapt to the ever changing flow of new technologies and products. I call this fostering a change environment.

It’s no longer acceptable to say that is what we have always done. We empower our staff to say yes and find out how it may be possible, rather than saying no and relying on old information. It’s better to check it out to be sure of what is possible. The future is hard to imagine, but I know it will be exciting. Remember how big and bulky cell phones were when they first came out? Today they fit in the palm of our hand and we can use them to watch movies and video conference. The key is to be ready and embrace change!