10. Eleven hours of free CE for the doctors—7 hours of clinical CE and 4 hours of practice management CE

9. Two members-only Think Tanks

8. Engage with fellow Licensed Operators

7. Come home with fresh ideas for efficiency and profitability

6. A night at the Mob Museum

5. Savings: the vendors bring great deals and education to the exhibit hall

4. An outing to the 18-and-older Absinthe show at Caesars Palace

3. A pass to the Vision Expo West trade show floor

2. Qualify for a stipend

1. It’s a meeting like no other. You really have to experience it to understand that value fully.

Seriously, if you haven’t made plans to come, please check our agenda and our lineup of terrific speakers.

There’s still time to register, so don’t miss out. Register here.

Shaun Rawana, OD, holds the lease at a Pearle corporate office in Peterborough, Ontario. He is looking forward to the SNAPP National Meeting because it’s a great chance to talk with optometrists and opticians who face similar day-to-day challenges as he does. “I enjoy the camaraderie and learning about what’s going on in the industry,” he says.

Dr. Rawana

Even though he practices in Canada, Dr. Rawana has practiced in the U.S., so he understands the challenges U.S. providers face with revenue cycle management, increasing costs and a very tight labor market. Dr. Rawana emphasizes, “No matter where we are, we share goals in wanting to keep our patients and staff safe from COVID-19 and wanting to provide patients with an excellent experience.”

Despite some differences in approach and structure, he still learns a lot from SNAPP National Meetings. “I want the practice to grow, so hearing what colleagues are doing to help drive patients in, expand their markets, and do more for patients is very important,” he says. “I always come home with ideas to implement or consider.” For example, he’s initiated a social media marketing platform and is developing a specialty contact lens program after hearing how successful his colleagues have been.

It’s that time again! Vacations are over, and the back-to-school rush is well underway. Don’t panic! Great planning is key to maximizing results during this important eye care season. Being proactive will make things go smoothly.

1. Make sure the front office is pulling both vision and medical benefits. Old habits die hard, especially during a rush. The front office may be checking patients in during busy periods and neglect to ask for medical benefits information. This “shortcut” may cost the practice important revenue opportunities. Take time to observe the front desk’s check-in process to ensure staff members are asking all the right questions. Then train them on the most efficient way to answer common patient questions associated with medical coverage.

2. Regularly run reports of outstanding rejections. First, sort the list by date of service (DOS). There shouldn’t be any rejections with a DOS older than two days prior to when the report is pulled. If there are older DOS entries, be sure that the staff member working on your rejections is familiar with each payor’s timely filing limits. Depending on the payor, the timely filing limits could be as soon as 90 days. Don’t let your efforts go unpaid simply because of a rejection from entering the letter “O” instead of the numeral zero in a patient’s insurance ID. Work through those problems as quickly as possible.

3. Regularly run aging reports and spot-check balances over 90 days. Any balance over 90 days should no longer be on the first round of processing; a story should be added on the account as to why the claim hasn’t paid yet. It’s likely that these claims were either denied, in which case they should be worked quickly due to appeal timely limits, or paid, in which case they should be posted immediately to reconcile the accounts properly for any remaining balance due from either the secondary or the patient.

Finally, keep smiling! Keep your head up and know that these quick steps can prevent a lot of headaches after the waves subside.

Reach out to Amanda with any other billing questions you have here; she might have the solution for you.

It’s not easy to trust your employees—and gain their trust. But trust is achievable—and worth it. Let’s examine a few practical ways to build trust at work.

Learn what trustworthiness means to your employees. What establishes and strengthens trust with one employee may be different than what builds trust with another. Gaining the trust of someone who’s had their trust in others betrayed will be more difficult than gaining the trust of someone who’s not experienced such devastating betrayals. It’s vital to understand these differences.

Build relationships on authenticity, logic and empathy. Executive coach Sarah Noll Wilson recommends a framework called the “Trust Triangle.” We build high-trust relationships at work by being authentic about our values and impact, logical in how we’ve come to our conclusions, and empathetic in all our interactions.

Give employees your time and attention. Respect brings people together. It empowers people to trust.

Acknowledge people’s emotions. Researchers find that acknowledging negative emotions boosts trust even more; it takes more effort on the manager’s part.

Act with transparency, clarity and consistency. We trust others when we believe that they are worthy of that trust—when we believe that they are honest, good, reliable, faithful, compassionate and fair. So keep your promises and be transparent about your decisions.

Believe in your people. This can be challenging because we’re often inclined, and not unreasonably, to perceive employees as costs, risks and liabilities. But they’re also any company’s greatest asset. If we treat employees only as a danger, we tell them loud and clear that we don’t trust them.

Instead, find strength in vulnerability. Acknowledge the rights of your employees and your responsibilities to them. (The employee handbook is a convenient place to do this, but your overall attitude matters, too.) Invest in their growth and success. Celebrate their wins. Trust enables people to work together.

The researchers say the results should prompt more eye screening in this population for early glaucoma detection. Read more here.

Having a quick, objective screening method to bolster behavioral screening could help improve the accuracy and speed with which children are diagnosed. Read more here.

“Many parents may not be aware of both the short- and long-term health issues linked to excessive screen time, including its effect on children’s eyes,” said Mott Poll co-director Sarah Clark. “Our findings suggest that some parents may have inaccurate perceptions of activities that affect their child’s eye health and vision and how to minimize risks.” Read more here.

Getty Images photo credits—Canada/U.S.: cbies; back to school: aqabiz; trust: cifotart; glaucoma: Chris_Carroll; autism: mrs; and kids on device: Thanasis_Zovoilis