With fundus cameras becoming commonplace, their clinical kudos is likely to wane. Some independents are raising the bar of clinical excellence significantly with OCT, in a bid to differentiate themselves further still from the high street multiples.  If your business strategy is to try to keep your patients for life, this evolutionary innovation in the market can help you to achieve it, and an Eyeplan eye care scheme will help you to maximise the uptake of the new technology.

By setting your own standard of clinical care for your patients, you are utilising guerrilla tactics in the patient loyalty and commitment battles. You are offering a service that is not only exemplary, but also superior to that offered by the high street in general. Those patients that take up the service and value it are those that already value what you do, and having experienced this enhanced level of clinical care in the consulting room, you establish a new norm for them.

Whether significant investment is folly in this economic climate is yet to be determined. It could be argued that now is the time to invest, albeit only in the clear knowledge of how the return on that investment (ROI) is going to be realised.

How Much Should I Charge for OCT?

Purchase price for OCT =             £50-60k
Over 5 years monthly cost =       £1000 (approx)
52 weeks x 5 days per week =    260 days
Cost per day =                             £46.15. per day (pd)

The exact amount that is charged will rely upon the balance between take up and price.  Reducing price of course increases take up, but it is important that price is not reduced so much so that the patient perceives no value.  Similarly, increasing price will naturally reduce take up and it is important that price is not increased to the point that negative ROI is achieved.

The following table illustrates how an optimum price is achieved with a balance between take up per day and maximum return on investment. The optimum price in this example is £35:

How does Eyeplan make OCT more attractive?

The Eyeplan Business Model will help to ensure that the service is offered as an opportunity to all patients.  If a patient is presented with the option of having OCT, but at a price that may seem ‘high’, the patient may not take up the opportunity, despite the recommendations of the optometrist.  However, when presented with the same option, accompanied by the same recommendations, but at a price that is just a few pounds per month, the likelihood of the patient taking up the opportunity is much greater.

In fact, the relationship between Eyeplan and an enhanced clinical service such as OCT is entirely symbiotic; the enhanced clinical service encourages patients to join Eyeplan and concomitantly, the Eyeplan membership encourages patients to take up the service.

The table below clearly illustrates the improvement in ROI that can be achieved when the Eyeplan Business model is used to promote the take up of OCT in the practice.

How does OCT make Eyeplan more attractive?

Simple really, the more value you can include within the monthly care fee, the more attractive the proposition is. If a patient is presented with a list of care services, in which all or most are included in the Eyeplan care fee, then the value of Eyeplan becomes clear and the patient is more likely to join. Moreover, they get additional added value benefits from the dispensing perspective.

However, it's not just about fees!

In addition to raising the bar of your professional clinical excellence, and the satisfaction that the best service possible is available for your patients, it is also about ensuring that as wide an audience can benefit from this excellence. This is where promotion of the practice and its services comes in. The marketing opportunities for those who have embraced OCT technology are substantial. Something that, no doubt the manufacturers of OCT equipment will assist with, as will Eyeplan.

By Chris Clemence
Commercial Director, Eyeplan Ltd.