First, At-Home IOP and AMD Monitoring, What Next?

HOT TOPIC

At-Home VF Testing: Coming Soon?

A recent study published in the Journal of Glaucoma evaluated the reliability and consistency of remote, self-administered visual field (VF) testing in individuals with and without VF defects.

The Virtual Eye device (Virtual Vision) was developed and validated at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and was designed to improve VF testing modalities, accuracy, and repeatability to make it comparable with standard automated perimetry tests.

VirtualVision

In clinical trials, the Virtual Eye showed a mean sensitivity comparable with standard automated perimetry devices for accurately assessing the VF. Quite notably, the product demonstrated an average 26% shorter test time than traditional automated perimetry tests.

The pilot study included 42 eyes from 21 participants, 10 of whom had no ocular disease and 11 with stable VF defects. The participants performed the VF tests at a tertiary eye care institute once per week for 4 weeks. The last three tests were conducted without assistance. These results agreed with the baseline tests run before the study.

My Two Cents

At-home IOP testing has been available with the iCare Home2 tonometer (iCare), and we can offer patients at-home monitoring of their age-related macular degeneration with the Foresee Home AMD Monitoring Program (Notal Vision), so an at-home VF test should come along at some point. Allowing our patients to “rent” these VF units and take them home for at-home testing could revolutionize our ability to use the data to understand what our patients are seeing. If this could be done with a cheap and durable unit, and a billable code earned, it could revolutionize glaucoma care! I know the doctors in our practice who have a passion for glaucoma would embrace this wholeheartedly.

OUTSIDE THE LANE

AOAExcel Invests in EHR Company

AOAExcel, a for-profit subsidiary of the American Optometric Association, has for the first time financially invested in an EHR company (Barti Software). Barti EHR features AI-powered efficiency, enabling real-time charting with an AI scribe and appointment scheduling via AI Office Copilot. It includes a voice over internet protocol phone system that integrates all communications within Barti and facilitates 24/7 online patient appointment bookings, enhancing practice operations and online presence. Barti's revenue cycle management streamlines claim submissions and tracking for quicker reimbursements.

Barti

Sam Pierce, OD, AOA past president and AOAExcel chairman, highlighted the investment as a significant step toward advancing optometric practices with state-of-the-art EHR technology. Barti Co-Founder and CEO Colton Calandrella emphasized that Barti's AI capabilities enable providers to focus more on patient care rather than administrative tasks, marking the partnership as a critical advancement for the eye care profession.

According to the company, Bain Capital Ventures recognizes Barti Software as a Top 50 Emerging Vertical SaaS player. With its AI-driven technology, it aims to revolutionize eye care practice management.

My Two Cents

I’m usually not a big fan of national organizations selecting an “official” anything, as it can sometimes lead to conflicts of interest. However, it does appear that this Barti system could be onto something. In my opinion, it is relevant news, as I would not have believed that AOAExcel would have an “official EMR,” and I would bet many doctors wouldn’t either. This is a system to keep an eye on. At least it’s not owned by a vision plan.

CAN YOU RELATE

I love to read business and self-help books. If you know me or you’ve followed this newsletter long enough, I’m sure you’re aware of this fact.

I recently read the book Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect by Will Guidara. The author chronicles his journey of transforming Eleven Park Madison, a New York City restaurant, into the world’s top restaurant. He discusses his philosophy of “unreasonable hospitality” in great detail and how it revolves around exceeding customer expectations to create memorable experiences. He notably emphasizes six principles:

1. Being unreasonable
2. Being generous
3. Being intentional
4. Being curious
5. Being collaborative
6. Being optimistic

Please reread that list. They all work for an eye doctor or in the eye care field! Guidara discusses how focusing on guest experiences, internal team communications, and almost insane attention to detail can elevate any service-based business to levels that were previously unthinkable.

How can we apply these principles to the eye care profession? If we provide unreasonable hospitality to our patients and customers, they walk away from an experience they never thought possible. Think about personalizing patient interactions, ensuring a warm and welcoming office environment, and using modern technology to streamline as many processes as possible while maintaining that all-important human touch (unlike that silly automatic Zenni eye exam/eyewear kiosk I wrote about last week). We can foster a culture of empathy and excellence within our staff and mold our practice into the place to work in our area while at the same time creating a loyal patient base and standing out in our profession. This is a book I definitely recommend you grab asap!