Volume 39 Number 3 2013
prospectus The State of the Optometric Profession: 2013 Guest Editorial by Robert L. Owens, OD, FAAO, POA President
INSIDE THIS ISSUE State of the Profession: 2013...................1 Compliance date for new
HIPAArules is September 23...........2
NYSOA Wint❄rFest 2014...................2 AOA defends ODs agains new
attack on Harkin Law............................. 3
Wint❄rFest 2014 Program...................5
Optometry Student Corner.....................6 Health insurance marketplace
scheduled to open Oct. 1....................... 1 1
Protect your practice with
new AOA HIPPA notices.................1 2
2013 CVC Contributors.......................15 2013 NYSOA PAC Supporters............17 Prepare now for key health IT
milestones in 2014.............................2 0
Practitioners now have longer to pay
back overcharges to Medicare...........2 1
ODs can easily avoid PQRS pay
penalties with AMD codes...............2 2
Last 2013 Medicare EHR
reporting period begins Oct. 1..........2 3
Upcoming Events.................................2 6 Welcome New Members!.....................2 6 Contact Information.............................2 7 NYSOA Business Partners...................2 7 Prospectus (ISSN 1055-7407) is published by the New York State Optometric Association, Inc., 119 Washington Avenue, 2nd Floor, Albany, NY 12210. All issues are electronic. Yearly subscriptions $25.00, single copies $5.50. The views and opinions expressed are those of the signed author and in no way should be construed to reflect the opinions or position of the editorial staff of Prospectus, or the New York State Optometric Association, its officers, local affiliate societies, or administrative staff. All submissions are subject to editorial change with regard to clarity or length. Final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of any submission lies with the editor.
Robert L. Owens, OD, FAAO President, Pennsylvania Optometric Association www.poaeyes.org
An excellent program was presented by AOA Excel representatives at this year’s Optometry’s Meeting and I would like to share some of this valuable information with you.
Output
Optometrists perform an estimated 88 million refractive eye exams annually (85% of the total 104 million performed by all eyecare professionals) and prescribe at least 90% of vision correction devices. Comprehensive eye exams and corrective devices account for at least 80% of the optometrist’s revenue. Of the 97 million office visits in 2012, approximately 18 million were for medical eyecare services, accounting for approximately 17% of revenue. It is estimated that 80-85% of optometrists are involved with medical eyecare, but it is a major source of income in less than 25% of these offices. The typical patient is examined once every 25 months. AOA member surveys show that the average number of comprehensive exams optometrists perform per hour is around 1.1 per hour. Out of the 82.5 million pairs of glasses sold annually, corporate providers provided 54%, independent optometrists provided 32%, ophthalmologists provided 10%, and
independent opticians provided 4%. Since independent optometrists perform 44% of refractive exams, they have a capture rate of approximately 73% or about 9.8 million pairs of glasses. For contact lenses, optometrists provide about 90% of all contact lens prescriptions. It’s estimated that 16.1% of US adults wear contacts, a steady increase since the ‘70s, and account for 27% of the refractive exams performed by optometrists. Independent optometrists supply about 80% of their contact lens prescriptions. Take home message: 1) Improve recall processes; 2) Upgrade eyewear purchase experience; 3) Broaden your scope of practice; 4) Increase hourly production; and 5) Differentiate the practice value proposition.
Supply
In 2012, there were about 40,000 optometrists in practice as compared to about 18,000 ophthalmologists. At the end of 2012, optometrists accounted for 69% of eyecare professionals in practice, by 2020 they will account for around 72%. The number of practicing optometrists has had steady growth of 1.8%. It is estimated that practicing optometrist growth will increase to approximately 2% annually through 2020 and reach 46,300. It’s also estimated that about 1,550 optometrists
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