Prospectus
MEMBERSHIP NEWS & UPDATES
VOL. 42 | ISSUE 3 | 2016
Where Will Optometry Be in 5 Years? Dawn Chivers, OD, NYSOA President We all see it coming. More managed care, more internet sales of glasses, eye exams being conducted by a smart phone app, kiosk or website, higher demands from the government on quality care measures and electronic health reporting. How do we remain the primary eye care providers for our patients? How do we invest in all this amazing technology and still remain profitable? Healthcare and optometry are changing rapidly. New refractive and medical eye care technologies are advancing at lightning speed. Most practitioners spend the majority of their day taking care of patients. It can be a daunting challenge to keep up with the advances in our treatment options alone. Who has time to manage the computer systems we need to run our Electronic Health Records?
Welcoming the New Class!
Various alliances are trying to help practitioners with group buying discounts, marketing, insurance negotiations and practice management. The problem is that we still have the overhead of our spaces, staff and equipment. Large health care centers and hospitals are developing and capitalizing on huge investments in these departments. Often times, new practitioners are not interested in running their own business. Many graduating optometrists now have over $200,000 in student loans when they enter the workforce. Opening or buying a practice can be financially impossible when you are starting out this much in debt. This directly impacts our both our veteran optometrists hoping to sell their practices and cash out, and our young OD’s who are trying to pay off their debt. This issue impacts all of us. It makes employment opportunities in various settings more attractive to all practitioners. Optometrists and ophthalmologists will start to consolidate their practices at a much higher rate in the coming years due to these outside forces. The next step may be eye care integrated into the large health care systems and hospital-based care centers that are beginning to proliferate. As I look at the specialties at our local health care center, optometry and ophthalmology remain the last men standing on their own. As the trend continues and strengthens, I think we will be next.
| Inside | UPDATE ON CMS MIPS AND PROPOSED CHANGES FOR 2016 MEANINGFUL USE PROGRAM...................2 UPDATE FROM THE NYSOA COMMUNICATION & TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE.........................................4 MEDICAID PROVIDER REVALIDATION........................6 GET TO KNOW NYSOA LEADERS!...............................8 YOU’RE INVITED: NETWORKING WITH DOCTORS ������12 NYSOA MEMBER BENEFITS......................................13 Drs. Ray Pirozzolo and Denise Whittam representing NYSOA and SUNYCO Alumni on Orientation Day for the Class of 2020!
NYSOA BUSINESS PARTNERS..................................14