Every morning, I’m up by 5 am to work out before my two young daughters get up. Some days, I’m able to sneak in a shower, too, before they’re awake; other days, my husband Tim and I take turns showering while the other takes care of getting the girls ready for their days.
However a particular morning shakes out, Tim and I have our routines down pat—we are extremely efficient in getting ourselves showered and ready for work and our girls dressed (sometimes in tops and bottoms that don’t quite match, but that’s a different story), fed, and ready for school. Most mornings, I think to myself, “Isn’t it amazing what two people can do in less than 30 minutes?”
Although any parent with young children knows what an impressive feat getting multiple kids (and oneself) ready and out the door in under 30 minutes really is, it still does not compare to the efficiency that some ophthalmology practices are able to achieve—seeing patients in a timely manner while also delivering outstanding eye health care. I recently had the pleasure of visiting William F. Wiley, MD; Shamik Bafna, MD; M. Amir Moarefi, MD, and Jeffrey M. Augustine, OD, at the Cleveland Eye Clinic and Clear Choice Custom LASIK in Ohio, and I was blown away by the efficiency I saw both in- and outside the OR. On top of that, they achieved this high efficiency while maintaining superb patient care and delivering a top-notch patient experience.
Part of the reason that Drs. Wiley, Bafna, Moarefi, and Augustine can achieve such a high level of efficiency is the collaborative care model that their practice uses. Other parts come from their cumulative years of experience, keeping their minds open to the changing needs in ophthalmology and in patient care, and listening to the advice of their peers who have also achieved extreme practice efficiencies.
In this month’s cover focus, some of their peers and other colleagues tackle the topic of practice efficiency in great detail. We’ve gathered pointers not only from top ophthalmologists and optometrists but also from the physician assistants and ophthalmic technicians that work alongside them—because in order to succeed in increasing practice efficiency, the entire team must work together seamlessly.
