Strawman argument from RM

RM, the only point being made is that this patient is in need of
somebody somewhere who will spend the time and effort necessary to do
provide the level of service they desire. That kind of service takes
time, and time is money. It has nothing to do with commercial vs.
corporate practice, at least in my thinking. How much time does $70
buy in your practice?

I've been in private practice out of one location for more than 20
years in a state that gave birth to Royal Optical, Pearle Vision, Texas
State Optical, and Eye Masters. I am thriving, thank you, on patients
who are difficult to satisfy. But, I would have been out of business a
long time ago if I charged $70 to fit that kind of prescription. In
that kind of situation, neither the doctor nor the patient wins.

DrG


RM wrote:
LB,

I am glad that you tried to clear this up. Frankly it needs a little
clearing up from some of the remarks that have been made.

Some clear pot-shots were taken at retail optical practices from doctors who
are also clearly biased against them. The following statements were
negative or contained misinformation at least regarding the optical chains I
am familiar with (which is admittedly limited).

quote:
Gas perms (sometimes) require more
time and to fit than soft and more experience. They are not available to
"take and run" as are soft lenses. They are often less profitable in the
short term than soft lenses. Hence you will not find them at
discounters.
(every retail optical chain in the area I live in fits gas perms)

$70 is what I would expect for an oil change, not for fitting
a prescription like yours. Since you weren't charged a professional
fee, I doubt you can expect to get professional service.
(the price may be on the low side but that says nothing about the quality of
the care. I guess the only car that you consider is any good is a Mercedes)

If you want quality, why are you going to the optician-equivalent of a
Wal-Mart?
(actually Wal-Mart has an optical division and in my opinion its one of the
better retail outlets compared to others I know of in my area)
unquote:

I too work at both a private practice setting and an optical chain. So I
know what I am talking about like the other poster. I fit gas perms when
appropriate and have good access to suppliers at both locations. Where I
work, the optical chain management does not dictate any policies to the
doctor-- the doctors are totally independent. In fact they must be by state
law. I know of a few private docs in town who I personally think give
inferior care, and whose pricing is excessive. As you know, it is difficult
for a private practicioner to compete with the pricing that retain chains
can offer.

So I would agree with what a couple of people have already said. Find a
good doctor, and go to that doctor. Its not the location or the price you
pay that determines how good your care will be-- its the doctor doing the
exam.

And to the original poster, you indeed DO need to be more patient and quit
complaining. It is common for multiple doctors to practice at a location.
Retail or private. Thats whats happening at both locations I work at.
Simply ask for the working schedule of the doctor you prefer and make sure
your appointment is with that person.


RM

========

"LarryDoc" <larrybic@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:larrybic-D0BA92.15503224062006@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <1151169654.946715.129830@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
retinula@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Two things, the first being FYI you posted a reply to this thread with
no new text. And next.......

Perhaps it's time to change the subject of this thread.

i think its irrelevant whether the eye doctor works out of his own
private practice or whether he works out of a retail chain. i cant
help but notice that the two doctors who spoke out in this thread have
a biased against retail doctors-- i'm sure its because both are private
docs.

My bias is against the retail opticals, not necessarily the doctors who
work for them. It is the opticals that commercialize eye health care
and that is my primary issue. It matters not if it's optical or
surgical or the fast-buck doc-in-the-box "urgent care" place. The
"insurance" payers have a part in this, too. It creates a mindset on the
part of the health care consumer that ultimately degrades the management
of their health. I have a problem with that.


whats important is that you have a doctor who will take the time to
properly fit you in the type of lenses you need. also-- whether you
paid a high price or not is clearly irrelevant.

That is most certainly true.

I'm certain there are bozo docs in private practice as there are in
retail, but there's a difference in the retail establishments. You could
have a fine, knowledgeable doc who simply does not have access to
product, due to corporate decision makers limiting him/her to certain
brands of lenses or lenses that exceed a certain cost/profit index. The
corporate "deciders" (for those of you outside of Bushville, a new
vocabulary word here in the USA, which is actually a old Middle English
word but I'm sure he didn't know that when he spoke.) may also limit the
amount of time that can be spent on any one service procedure.

I'm not saying that is the policy at all retail opticals, or that some
private practice docs don't do the same things to maximize the bottom
line. I just think that a private practice doctor with competence,
ethics and caring and depending upon good will and patient referrals is
more likely to go the extra mile to satisfy a patient's needs and
concerns. A corporate chain store is just a very different business
model.

personally, i have worked in both environments.

As did I, so I know. I tried to "to do the right thing" and was
promptly told to do otherwise. I lasted a couple of weeks. In private
practice, I try to profit from the time I spend making patients happy.
Sometimes, a contact lens fitting takes a longer time than I feel
comfortable billing the patient and I might make little or no real
"profit" (there's not a lot of $$ in the actual lenses, folks), except
from the many patients referred to me by the one who respects my work.

In the end game, it is, of course, getting what you need from someone
who is able to provide that in a timely and cost-effective, hopefully
pleasant manner. And wherever you can find that..............

LB, O.D.

.

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