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Original Article Published in Vision Source OD magazine. Learn more about Vision Source here.
When Tom Nye, OD, of Vision Source® Hamilton in Ohio, brought in his first Marco TRS automated refraction system about 20 years ago, he was confident that equipping one of his two lanes would be enough. But as he began to
see the efficiencies the TRS system delivered, he also began avoiding his second exam lane—the one without the Marco technology.
Today, he has a Marco TRS system in all four of his exam lanes, “and I couldn’t imagine practicing without it. I sometimes see images of a manual phoropter, and I wonder if I still know how to use it,” he says, laughing.
Dr. Nye was on stage at The Exchange® and during a breakout session talking about the difference that Marco technology has made for him. He was first introduced to the technology through his Vision Source membership. “Using the TRS system is night and day compared to what I used to do,” Dr. Nye says.
Supports practice growth
Looking at how busy his solo doctor practice is today, he credits Marco with making that possible. “I could not have kept up with the pace of my patient load today if it were not for that technology,” he says. Before implementing the refraction system, he was seeing two patients an hour. Now it’s three or four, “and
I’m still getting quality time with each of them. The TRS reduces the time-wasting and repetitive elements of a refraction.”
Dr. Nye added the Marco OPD-Scan III, an autorefractor, keratometer, pupillometer, corneal topographer and integrated wavefront aberrometer, at the same time he brought in his first TRS. As a Vision Source administrator, he has shared his experiences with his Ohio colleagues and introduced them to his Marco representative, Alyson Robey.
“She helped me understand what I needed for my office and explained the pros and cons of using a card reader for the OPD or integrating it into our computer system. We chose the latter,” he says, noting that it’s even faster.
The patient experience
When Dr. Nye walks into an exam lane, the staff already has pulled the patient’s OPD readings and refraction results onto a tablet. “I have an excellent starting point. With a few clicks of refinement, I can be done with the refraction,” he says.
Although he has had the system in his office for many years now, new patients who are accustomed to a manual phoropter are pleased at how easy the exam is for them. For many patients, the continual question of “which is better” is stressful.
The toggle switch that shows the patient the difference between the new refraction and their current glasses is a time- and energy-saver. “There’s no guessing or haggling about how much impact the change in refraction has. Some patients will look at a small numerical change and say the impact is huge, and others will say that it’s not a big deal,” he says.
It’s fine either way. The patient who sees value in buying new eyewear does so with greater confidence. The patient who doesn’t may choose to buy another pair anyway— sunwear or computer eyewear, for example. “I can be more of an educator than a salesperson in the exam lane,” Dr. Nye says.
Minutes add up
Dr. Nye continually looks for ways to shave a minute or two off tasks without impacting the quality of his care. He added two iON slit lamp imaging systems just before COVID19. Coincidentally, they helped put a little distance between him and his patients during the pandemic, but they’ve proven their value in other ways.
“We did have an anterior segment camera in another room, so we had to transport patients to that room previously. For some patients, that process took longer, but even if it was fast, it was still about two minutes. For those five minutes or so, I was essentially in limbo because I couldn’t start another exam in another room,” he says. Now, he can snap the image on his small-footprint iON during the exam.
Dr. Nye uses scribes in his office as an added efficiency as well. Yet any data that can be transferred automatically minimizes the chances of transcription errors. With a push of a button, the patient’s prescription is transmitted to the optical and into the patient record.
Reliable technology
Dr. Nye says that during his breakout at The Exchange, several of his colleagues asked about maintenance and how often the systems went down. “Knock on wood, it is extremely rare that we have issues. The questions surprised me because maintenance issues are not on my radar. The entire TRS system is self-contained, so we don’t have issues with smudges or dust. It’s always good to go.”
In those few instances where he has called for tech support, Marco representatives are “always responsive.” He texts his questions to his representative and gets the answer or support he needs. “I cannot speak highly enough of our Marco representative and the support that Marco brings to Vision Source,” he says.
