Our eye doctors know absolutely nothing about billing

And that’s a good thing

Does the sight of this screen horrify you?

It horrified Dr. Jen, one of the optometrists at Vision Specialists.

Working with her one afternoon, I asked if she would come dictate a patient’s retinal photos for me. But my request came a few seconds too early — I was still ringing up the previous patient’s exam when she walked over and glimpsed the messy pile of ledgers, numbers, and tables that is the billing info.

Dr. Jen can make sense of countless lens types, the many buttons and dials of the phoropter, and the subtleties of a retinal photo. All of these things come easily, and even naturally, to her. But catching sight of the screen you see above, she was stupefied.

“What’s that?” she asked alarmingly.

“Oh, nothing you have to worry about” was the simple answer she received before we moved on.

See, at Vision Specialists, administrative hassles like billing and documentation are handled by a dedicated team of scribes. They’re trained to navigate the complicated and sometimes frustrating world of clerical tasks, sometimes going as far as coordinating with other departments in the office.

This spares the eye doctors from countless hours of busy-work and headache. It’s a special privilege that comes with working at this particular clinic. But it’s also a privilege for you — the patient — for obvious reasons. Less time dealing with administrative tasks means more time spent on you. Unlike a growing number of healthcare clinics today, our doctors’ attention isn’t divided between their patients and a variety of non-clinical tasks.

Instead, their day is spent looking at retinal photos, analyzing visual fields, talking to patients, and prescribing lenses. In short: they can focus on the job that actually matters, ensuring that you get the kind of care, attention, and treatment you need.

Our optometrists are ignorant about billing. And why not? That just means they know more about everything else.