Eyeworld

R Contact information Name: EFRACTIVE by Title where we can inform patients. We find some patients want to really understand what those options are before they make a decision. Dr. Thompson: They say that 50–80% of the information that we tell a patient is instantly forgotten. Of the balance of what is remembered, half of it is remembered incor- rectly. That first round is so important. I think the way you do it, Bill, is wonderful because getting all this information to make this life-changing decision can be sensory over- load. Dr. Waring: It is important to be effective and efficient on this part of the conversation as patients are trying to make a lifetime decision during a consultation. Ironically, the preoperative consultation for refractive cataract surgery may take more time than the actual surgery itself. One of the things we learned is the importance of creating an ex- perience around their perioperative and operative care. We try to do things like minimize wait time, and that takes a lot of discipline to do. We all want to see more patients, but there is a tipping point where you can start to lose some experience when trying to see an extra patient, or we don't stick with the schedule. Essentially, we're trying to eliminate a waiting room and taking our patients on a digital tour of their eye. It's a high-tech, high-touch experience. With ad- vanced diagnostics, we're educating them on their anatomy and helping them understand the decisions and recommen- dations that we make. It's been shown that if we make a recommendation, they're twice as likely to follow through with the recommendation relative to if we don't. At the end of the day, they're coming to us for a recommenda- tion, not a bunch of options, which leads to confusion. We have fantastic tools to deliver fantastic outcomes, and it makes the consultative process very genuine and organic, and patients appreciate that. Dr. Vukich: What have you found to be the most effective way to provide education prior to seeing the patient? Dr. Chang: Ideally, this starts at the time of cataract diag- nosis. We educate referring optometrists about the surgical options and encourage them to share that information with the patient. Nevertheless, what referring doctors tell patients is highly variable. Reaching out to the patient prior to the visit is also helpful, but the challenge is to have the right specificity of information before knowing the actual diagnosis. A patient may not even be a candidate for a premium procedure. When we send letters and brochures to patients, we keep it and simple and promote the ex- perience and expertise of our practice and doctors more than any particular technology. When patients come to the office, they see an educational animation video playing in the reception area, so the education starts there, if not continued from page 44 continued on page 49

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