Kimberly Bonvissuto

Today ophthalmologists are facing decreasing reimbursement rates and increasing costs. John R. Fitz, MD points out that ophthalmology is a high fixed-overhead business, and to be successful a practice first needs to reach the break even point. Some strategies for increasing profits include cutting a staff member and increasing patient volume. To increase patients he suggests adding IOLs, increasing the amount of patients seen, and making the experience better for the patient. Dr. Fitz also suggests being diligent about filling out paperwork.

Dr. Rojas opened Rojas Eye Care in his new hometown of Allentown, PA. He quickly discovered major cultural differences between his former patient base, which was 95% Caucasian, and his new patient base, which is 80% Hispanic. In his Spanish-speaking patient population, Dr. Rojas found undiagnosed systemic medical issues impacting eye health, a lack of education on preventive measures, and patients who were chronically late or just skipped appointments.