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Practice Management

AOA members wanting to build their practice's bottom line have a wealth of resources to help them, from peer-to-peer advice, to continuing education, to public relations support. Following is a sampling of some of AOA's most popular sources of practice management assistance:

Career Advocate Program - The AOA Career Advocate Program offers practice management information to optometry students to enhance their classroom programs.

In a six-hour seminar presented by Williams Consulting Group, students receive information on career options; joining, buying and starting a practice; managing personal and practice finances; day-to-day practice operations; patient communication and much more not covered in the standard optometry school curriculum.

This program is offered to 16 U.S. optometry schools and colleges and the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico. For the 2007 - 2008 school year, the program was made possible with a generous educational grant from Advanced Medical Optics and The Vision Care Institute™, LLC, a Johnson & Johnson Company.

AOA's "Career Advocate for the New Practitioner" reference manual is available by clicking here.

Calendar of Eye Care Events -A calendar of eye care events and observances is provided on the AOA Web site that links to other sites for more information. The Calendar of Eye Care Events can be found here.

Dr. Locator -Dr. Locator makes finding an AOA member optometrist easier. Dr. Locator search features can be used to locate member optometrists.

Employed/Affiliated Handbook - The AOA Resource Guide for Employed/Affiliated Optometrists provides valuable information on issues to consider before signing an employment contract or a franchise or lease agreement. Topics include loans, sharing employees and services, patient records, professional judgment, advertising, access to the office, negotiating leases, and the difference between an employee and an independent contractor - to name just a few.

Culled from the experience of practicing employed/ affiliated doctors of optometry, this guide was written to help AOA members just entering the optometric job market as well as those changing their mode of practice.

The Employed/Affiliated Handbook can be found on AOA's Web site by clicking here.

HIPAA Compliance Manual - This document provides reliable compliance advice, custom-tailored to the optometric practice.

It features answers to many frequently asked questions and a step-by-step guide to help members comply with the often complex and confusing federal privacy regulations.

The advice comes from attorneys specializing in regulatory compliance at one of the nation's most established health law firms.

This document is available for download in Microsoft Word document and PDF versions. The HIPAA Privacy Compliance Manual contains sample notice and authorization forms to help members satisfy the requirements of HIPAA guidelines.

AOA has developed Spanish translations of the forms for patients.

The HIPAA Compliance Manual and forms can be found on AOA's Web site by clicking here and are available from the AOA Order Department at (800) 365-2219.

Optometry's Career Center® (OCC) - The OCC is a national, online career matching service for optometric opportunity providers and seekers and an online resource center, with helpful articles and resources including a sample cover letter and resume, interviewing tips, a sample letter to job seekers and much more.

If your plans include finding an employment opportunity, recruiting a candidate, or connecting with an associate who's right for you, the OCC is the perfect place to start. In addition, the OCC now includes matching for optometric staff positions.

The OCC service is FREE to AOA and AOSA members, and is available at a fee to non-members.

Once registered, users can set up e-mail alerts to notify them of new listings or resumés that match their criteria, post their listing or resumé information, or search the hundreds of detailed opportunity listings or candidate resumés.

For more information or to register and start your search today, visit www.optometryscareercenter.org.

Order Department

Patient/Public Education Materials - AOA patient education materials are created by optometric and communications professionals and include "Answers to Your Questions" pamphlet series, AOA Fact Sheet series, charts and displays, eye models, other pamphlets and brochures, along with many other related materials. These materials approach communication and education from the patients' and potential patients' points of view.

Practice Management Materials - Materials on managed care, hospital privileges, nursing home practice, CPT/ICD codes, office stationery and office forms are available for purchase through the AOA Order Department.

For patient/public education and practice management materials, check with the AOA Order Department at (800) 365-2219 or Orders@aoa.org.

Practice Assistance Program - The AOA Practice Assistance Program is a mentoring program for AOA members who have questions and seek advice on various aspects of practice management. The program is free to AOA membership. The program matches seekers with "coaches" who are experienced practitioners who have expertise in various practice management aspects.

Coaching is primarily via e-mail and phone. If you are interested in being a Seeker or a Coach, the application and agreement forms along with instructions can be found on the Practice Resource Center, a section of AOA's Web site, by clicking here.

Forms also can be obtained by contacting Stacey Liles at SMLiles@aoa.org or (800) 365-2219, extension 4111.

Managed Care Contract Information & Analysis Service -- a licensed attorney with expertise in contracts in the AOA Office of Counsel will review unsigned managed care plan contracts.

Click here for more information on this FREE member benefit or to submit a contract for review.

Practice Strategies-A series of practice management articles are published in a section of AOA's periodical, Optometry: Journal of the American Optometric Association titled "Practice Strategies."

"Practice Strategies" is published to help AOA-member optometrists build successful practices, manage them more efficiently in today's health care environment, increase their business skills, and stay up-to-date on the latest trends in the business of health care.

Examples of topics include business planning, marketing, coding and billing, financial management, practice valuation, human resource issues, and managed care issues to name only a few. The last three months' of articles are archived on AOA's Web site at www.optometryjaoa.com.

Surveys - The AOA's Committee on Information and Data conducts a variety of membership and other surveys to collect, analyze and disseminate socio-economic and other data relating to eye care and about the optometric profession and ophthalmic industry.

Some of these surveys are recurring and provide an opportunity to examine the changing nature of optometric practice over time.

Other surveys focus on specific policy or practice-related questions that are of topical and timely interest to association members.

The committee routinely makes the results of its study activities available through various association publications, such as the AOANews.

These surveys can be found on AOA's Web site by clicking here.