News from the AOA's Blog

Accepting and processing insurance claims plays such a big role in today’s eye care practices that the need for an efficient, electronic solution for managing this side of the business is more important than ever. While many practices have embraced the electronic factor for claim filing, they are often choosing solutions that are significantly lacking in terms of efficiency. In fact, in a recent survey of VisionWeb members, 41 percent of respondents said they file claims through their payers’ Web sites; with 54 percent of those claiming this was the easiest method available. These practices assume they are getting the full benefit of electronic claim filing, but what they don’t realize is that visiting multiple sites not only wastes time, it is also much more difficult to manage. When choosing a solution, it’s important to find one that is not just electronic, but is also comprehensive in its functionality and makes claim filing more efficient for the practice. Read the rest of this entry ?

In order to buy a home, get a loan, deal with emergencies, shop online, or do most traveling, you must have a credit card. By using credit wisely, you can make the most of having it and limit the risks.

 Having good credit makes accomplishing your financial and personal goals much easier. You’ll be free to pursue short-term plans while saving for the future! Read the rest of this entry ?

Three out of four Americans are on Facebook and using it to find local businesses such as eye care providers (ECPs) and optical stores.  If you are not using Facebook to promote your practice, you may be missing out on a great opportunity to get noticed and get new patients. Social media is quickly replacing traditional advertising as the power of the business-consumer relationship grows. Facebook and Twitter profiles can not only help you attract new patients, but they can help your Web site show up higher in the Google search results too.

EyeCarePro.net, the optometric industry’s leading provider of online marketing solutions for ECPs, works exclusively with optometrists to generate more revenue for their practices through a strong online presence – with an emphasis on social media. Read the rest of this entry ?

The AOA is excited to announce that all products and services of PMI, LLC, Consultants to Eye Care, are now available to AOA members at significant savings. PMI was formed in 1989 to assist optometrists and their staffs to become more comfortable with the challenges related to medical record-keeping, choices of codes, claims submission, fee schedules, and dealing with insurance companies. With PMI’s assistance, hundreds of optometric practices have developed new fee schedules and internal protocols for better patient care and more accurate coding of visits and procedures.

PMI consultants Ryan Ames, O.D., Charles Brownlow, O.D., and Joyce Josie, LPN, confer with doctors and key staff regarding payer audits and insurance company contracting, provide internal, “friendly” audits of patient records, assist in redesigning medical record forms, case history forms, and route slips to aid in compliance with national rules for record keeping. PMI also offers preprinted forms for use in eye care offices, with each designed to improve the thoroughness and accuracy of medical records with the additional benefit of making it easier to choose codes correctly. Read the rest of this entry ?

The newest addition to the AOA Member Advantage Program, Wells Fargo Practice Finance, formerly known as Matsco, provides more options for optometrists seeking practice ownership and growth.

With more than 20 years of health care experience, Wells Fargo Practice Finance understands the business of running an optometric practice and provides the investment capital, planning resources and expert support to help you succeed throughout your career.

And unlike other practice lenders, their approach to lending, based primarily on historical or projected practice performance, allows those with fewer assets to more easily invest in their practices or make the transition to practice ownership. Read the rest of this entry ?

The challenges related to keeping excellent patient records, choosing codes to represent the services you’ve provided, and dealing with insurance company scrutiny and audits, continue to face all health care providers. 

AOACodingToday.com, a new AOA member benefit, is an Internet-based information portal. AOACodingToday.com provides AOA members and their staff easy, instant access to information related to accurate coding of office visits and procedures and diagnoses, Medicare’s rules and values for services, practice management tools, news items targeted to optometrists, and access to related links. This resource is accessible at AOACodingToday.com, or through the AOA’s Web site, www.aoa.org/coding. Read the rest of this entry ?

From left, Jeff Connon, vice president, Business Development Manager; AOA President Joe Ellis, O.D.; Rhonda Meyer, vice president, Regional Manager; Paulette Pierce, finance specialist; Lori Tulkoff, vice president, Marketing Manager; AOA President-elect Dori Carlson, O.D.; and Allison Farey, president, Wells Fargo Practice Finance.

The AOA announced an agreement with Wells Fargo Practice Advancement Group to become the preferred provider of investment capital, planning tools, educational resources, and expert support for AOA members. The agreement was part of an effort by the AOA Clinical and Practice Advancement Group whose mission is to help optometrists achieve their practice goals.

The affinity relationship through the AOA’s Member Advantage Program will offer a range of financial products to AOA members for practice acquisition, start-up and expansion projects, along with commercial real estate financing. AOA members will benefit from preferred rates, along with customized financing and payment terms based on each practice’s monthly budget requirements.

“Through this agreement, Wells Fargo Practice Finance has shown a great commitment to working closely with optometric professionals to ensure long-term success is achieved,” said AOA President Joe Ellis, O.D. “We are pleased that AOA members will have full access to Wells Fargo Practice Finance’s premier client service and financial guidance for years to come.” Read the rest of this entry ?

 Whether you’re shopping online, picking up groceries or booking a dream vacation, use the AOA Platinum Plus® MasterCard® credit card with WorldPoints® rewards from Bank of America.

 With every purchase, this card lets you earn points on purchases to redeem for cash, travel, merchandise, even unique adventures – your choice of great rewards for the things you buy anyway. Read the rest of this entry ?

 The AOA features Ophthalmic Resources On-Demand (OROD) as a Member Advantage supplier on the www.AOA.org Web site.

OROD provides AOA members with direct access to patient education, product information, patient materials, coupons, vouchers and patient assistance programs, as well as industry updates and research and development.

OROD is the first health care service that is free to those in the eye care professional community who are AOA members. 

The easy-to-use service allows AOA members to obtain the available patient resources offered by manufacturers in a non-commercial, non-partisan, product- and manufacturer-neutral arena, focused on raising the standards of health care. Read the rest of this entry ?

The AOA is currently partnered with Epocrates, Inc. to bring AOA members a 10 percent discount on Epocrates subscription products, including the No. 1 rated Epocrates® Essentials drug, disease and laboratory reference.

Epocrates’ innovative mobile and web-based clinical reference solutions are used by more than 1.1 million health care providers, including 45 percent of U.S. physicians, to help them reduce medical errors, improve patient care and increase productivity.

The company’s trusted clinical content is developed by physicians and pharmacists and is continuously updated to keep users informed and up to date. Read the rest of this entry ?