Why You should Act Like the Owner of Your Practice Even If you ARen't

You’ve worked hard to become an OD.

You have a good job that provides for your family.

You see patients at a practice where another OD gets to take on the weight of ownership.
 
So, why should you care about increasing revenue, the worries of healthcare regulation, and the minutiae of practice ownership?  We offer a few reasons for your consideration.
 
In the past year or two, emerging mega-franchises have begun purchasing practices as quickly as possible.  And as more and more franchises gobble up the solo practitioners, things like revenue, regulation, and ownership may soon become your burden.  You may have to start your own practice if you ever want to make retirement money or you may be forced to join a franchise that attaches your salary growth to revenue growth.  Acting like an owner before you become one is an essential key to success.
 
But the big reason you should care about revenue, regulation, and practice ownership is that you owe it yourself to practice to the full extent of your license.  In states where Optometrists can write prescription scripts, other doctors resent your privilege to write prescriptions.  In NC, that resentment has gone so far that there is presently a smear campaign running on television surrounding the scope of your practice. 
 
In light of these things, Optometry badly needs professionals who will demonstrate what professional eye care looks like.  Caring about healthcare regulation as if your job depends on it is part of that professionalism. That doesn’t just mean writing scripts and flipping the occasional eyelid.  It means being a kick butt Optometrist who is knowledgeable about what the government requires (and permits) while simultaneously building a profitable practice that will withstand the day to day challenges of our economy.
 
Even if you don’t own a practice, I exhort you to act like you do.  You never know when an OD wants to bring on a partner or when a doctor wants to sell their practice for an early retirement.  You never know when your opportunity will appear, and if you aren’t practicing full-scope optometry (in the chair and in the office), you aren’t living up to your potential.
 
Let’s represent Optometry as the great profession that it is, but let’s do it in such a way that your patients are thankful for you and other professionals respect you.
 
If you want to find out more about revenue, regulation, and philosophy, ProSight Success is here to help.  Contact us at gordon@optometricrescue or purchase our full-scope practice system at www.prosightsuccess.com. 

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