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Acuvue Vita: The New Monthly Lens [#R053]

The Acuvue Vita is a new monthly replacement lens by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

In this interview, I spoke with @Jeffrey Sonsino and @Cristina Schnider OD MSc MBA at AOA Boston about the new lens and how it fits into practice.

(Interestingly, Jeff was the very first person to place a commercial order for the lens, so as of now, he knows more than anyone about its long-term performance in the field.)

About Jeff & Cris:

Jeff Sonsino, OD, FAAO is the Chairman of the AOA’s Contact Lens and Cornea Section. He graduated from the New England College of Optometry with research honors, was a Faculty member at Vanderbilt Eye Institute for 12 years, and now is a partner in a multi-specialty private practice in Nashville, TN. Additionally, Dr. Sonsino consults for nine industry companies, including Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

Cristina Schnider, OD, MBA, FAAO is a Global Professional Affairs Director with Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. She received her Doctor of Optometry from Pacific University College of Optometry, a Master of Science from the University of New South Wales, and she spent 14 years as a contact lens educator and researcher at Pacific University College of Optometry, the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry. Dr. Schnider has worked with Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. for 17 years.

If you have any questions, post ’em here!

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Using a Custom Soft Lens to Build your Practice – SpecialEyes 54 Multifocal Toric [#R052]

The SpecialEyes 54 Multifocal is a custom soft contact lens option for your presbyopic patients. It is unique in that you can custom tailor the optics to each patient’s individual pupil size via the SpecialEyes Multifocal Simulator.

In this fun ODwire.org Radio show, Drs. Matthew Lampa and Moshe Schwartz discuss both the clinical and practice-building aspects of this lens.

We get into:

  • How the lens fits into their daily practices, and what makes a good candidate for the lens.
  • The importance of customization in obtaining a good fit.
  • How much chair time a fit takes.
  • The process of getting the lens ordered, made and delivered from SpecialEyes.
  • The Cost to the patient (and to the clinician!)
  • How the lens has helped build their contact lens practices, built loyalty among their patients, and generated positive word of mouth!

Thanks again to SpecialEyes for being a site sponsor — their support is appreciated!

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Growing your “Middle Age” Practice to $1MM and Beyond – Dr. Kevin Henne [#R051]

Fewer than 5% of optometric practices ever get past the $1 million dollar a year revenue landmark.

Indeed, according to Dr. Jerry Hayes in his book, getting past the $900k barrier is one of the most daunting challenges a practitioner faces.

The Challenge:
How can a solo practitioner, in practice for 30 years with mostly static growth, ramp up his practice to crack the $1MM barrier?

In this on-the-road episode of ODwire.org Radio, we take a trip to Jacksonville, FL to speak with Dr. Kevin Henne and Dr. Tim Petito.

We first talk to Dr. Henne about how he’s transformed his “mature” practice to accelerate its growth in an attempt to crack the million-dollar revenue barrier.

We specifically cover:

  • Why Dr. Henne decided to “go for it” and accelerate the growth of his practice with new technology, after years of stable growth
  • What tech he decided to implement, including automated refraction systems (the EPIC system) and automated patient recall systems
  • How it altered his workflow
  • Whether or not his staff resisted (or mutinied!)
  • How his gross and net have improved
  • How the perception of his office has changed with patients
  • What some of the challenges were in the implementation phase
  • …. and whether or not he’s made it to $1MM!

Dr. Petito also tells us about his practice which is demographically very different from Dr. Henne’s (ie, more elderly), but still benefitted from new technology.

Dr. Henne and Dr. Petito can take your questions in this thread.

(Thanks to Marco for inviting me into their corporate HQ and providing us with a nice quiet space for us to record the interview! I confess that I totally littered their place with cables, microphones, etc… and I didn’t even have Paul around to blame!)

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Acuvue Oasys 1-Day: New Product Launch, Exclusive Interviews: Manufacturing & QC [#R50-3]

You may not think a lot about where contact lenses come from, but ponder this: a daily disposable needs 30x the number of lenses that a monthly does.

How does one scale up to consistently produce a new product like this? In a wide parameter range, no less? (Acuvue Oasys 1-Day will cover +8 to -12 at launch, and nearly 20,000 fit sets will be produced within the first several months, so all fitters that want to will have a crack at it.)

I got a tour of the production facility and was able to interview Tim Ryan, JJVC’s Plant Manager, and Mike Alleva, World Wide VP of Operations to talk about this new production lines & how they have been able to produce the lens in the quantities that will be needed right out of the chute.

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Acuvue Oasys 1-Day: New Product Launch, Exclusive Interviews: Dave Turner, Bart Johnson on the Science Behind the Lens [#R050-2]

Dr. Dave Turner, Senior Director of World Wide R&D at JJVC, and Bart Johnson, Senior Manager R&D at JJVC Jacksonville discuss the science behind the lens, its design, and comparison to other products such as DT1.

 

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Acuvue Oasys 1-Day: New Product Launch, Exclusive Interviews: Laura Angelini, Millicent Knight [#R050-1]

In this first interview with Laura Angelini, President, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. and Dr. Millicent Knight, Head of Professional Affairs, JJVC we talk about Acuvue Oasys 1-Day, what makes this product launch different from all others, and what it will mean to clinicians and patients.

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Dr. Faive Kovalis, SmartOD.com: Striving to be the “Zappos” of your Optical [#R049]

In this ODwire.org Radio Show, we interview Dr. Faive Kovalis, the founder of SmartOD.com.

The company provides an online site for eye care professionals to directly order frames and lenses WITHOUT the need for sales rep visits or ‘boots on the ground’. This removes a great deal of cost.

Using Zappos as a model, docs can go to the SmartOD.com web site, order product that they want to evaluate, and return any product they don’t want in a pre-paid box.

We get into:

  • The history of SmartOD — Why it was founded
  • How the SmartOD business model keeps costs low and improves profit margins for docs on frames and lenses
  • How Dr. Kovalis and SmartOD have incorporated feedback from ODwire.org members as the company has evolved
  • How the “force of habit” in purchasing is preventing docs from saving money in their opticals
  • Updates on the latest frame lines that they now carry
  • How docs can get started with SmartOD.

If you have any questions for Dr. Kovalis, please post them here!

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Managing Your Financial Profile – Tom Baker, Wells Fargo Practice Finance [#R045]

In this episode, Adam & Paul continue their conversation with Tom Baker, Business Development Manager at Wells Fargo Practice Finance.

We discuss your financial profile — which is the “snapshot” that banks use to determine your eligibility for loans, as well as the interest rates you’ll pay.

Tom gives advice on how to “tune up” your profile, how to detect (and correct) inaccuracies, and the types of entries that impact your profile the most positively and negatively.

This is a great talk, and not just for folks currently going after a loan!

Ask Tom any follow-up questions in this thread.

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Assembling your Professional Team – Tom Baker, Wells Fargo Practice Finance [#R044]

In this episode, Adam & Paul continue their conversation with Tom Baker, Business Development Manager at Wells Fargo Practice Finance.

When starting a new practice, you need help — and lots of it!

Professionals such as: Lenders, Attorneys, Accountants, Insurance brokers (… and more) are critical to getting your practice off the ground.

We discuss how to assemble your professional team with Tom, and give you tips for finding the right folks.

Ask Tom any follow-up questions in this thread!