Building a Surgical Practice That Scales: Consistency and Flexibility With ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner

When I last submitted an article to this recurring series, I outlined how ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner helped drive conversion to premium offerings. More than 2 years later, I find that ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner continues to play a role in articulating to patients the benefits of premium lens offerings.

My practice has changed significantly in the past 2 years: we have added three physicians to our staff, which now comprises two surgeons (me included), three non-surgeon ophthalmologists who manage clinical workload, and two optometrists tasked with postoperative management. Throughout my practice’s growth, ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner has served a unique structural function: it both acted as a reliable foundation atop which I could expand my practice and acted as flexible infrastructure that adapted to my evolving needs.

This combination of consistency and flexibility is not a contradiction. Rather, it testifies to surgeon-oriented mindset of the engineers and innovators who designed ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner to act as utility player the surgery centers of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Over the past 2 years, my clinic incorporated a range of next-generation IOLs to our list of offerings (ie, next-generation monofocal IOLs, diffractive multifocal IOLs, and an IOL that can be adjusted after implantation) by adding these lenses to specific surgeon profiles in VERACITY. As the surgeons in my clinic have grown comfortable recommending these lenses to the patients who best align with their respective value propositions, we have included these lenses as possible outputs from ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner.

I included these newer lenses in the customizable settings of ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner. In those settings, users select which IOLs they most commonly use; while a surgeon can include as many lenses as desired, I recommend trimming the list to no more than 10 IOLs so that you’re not endlessly scrolling through menu options.

Next, users select which A constants they prefer. These can be A constants from established resources such as the Hill-RBF Calculator or ULIB or can be those suggested by the manufacturer. Users whose EHR systems that connect to ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner have the option to use A constants based on true refractive outcomes measured in the postsurgical period.

During a consultation, I rely on ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner to determine which lens or lenses are a good fit for my patient’s desired outcomes; I keep optionality for patients limited to the two lenses that best fit their profile, as I have found that a binary choice in outcomes (eg, you will need reading glasses with option A, and will not need reading glasses with option B) allows clearer thinking than a multiple-choice menu of similar technologies. Now that I have instructed ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner to consider some specific newer lens models, it includes them in patient output suggestions. 

Despite offering new lenses in my clinic, many of my protocols that used ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner as their backbone remain in place.

I used to have my patients fill out a questionnaire in ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner that collated their desired refractive outcomes in everyday terms. Rather than go through that questionnaire line-by-line, I now hold a conversation with my patients that includes the questions from this questionnaire. I then enter answers into the questionnaire interface on my own. This approach keeps the personal touch of a doctor-patient examination while preserving the essence of qualitative data collation and organization. ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner remains the centerpiece of data analysis, but my patients receive more face-to-face time.

One of my mainstay protocols that is key to educating my patients remains unchanged: showing patients the predicted final refraction calculation generated by ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner. Although this fine print on the interface may be easy to overlook, I point out to the patient that, given their biometric data and lens section, we can expect this specific final refraction. Further, I explain the real-world implications for this final refraction. It might be that, for example, the patient will continue to need bifocal spectacles if they choose this specific lens, but will not need them if they choose a premium lens.

The pushback I used to receive (“But Dr. McKee, my sister had cataract surgery, and she doesn’t need glasses for anything!”) has lessened because my patients better understand that the predicted final refraction calculated by ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner is specific to them and is not a back-of-the-napkin estimation. The ability to immediately re-run calculations with different IOLs empowers patients to differentiate between lenses at a mathematic level rather than a conceptual level. For some patients, that means selection of a premium IOL and a satisfying postsurgical experience. 

As you experience growth in your practice, let ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner help shape the future of your surgical clinic. Include new IOLs and your newer (and preferred) A constants in your surgical profile so that you can toggle between options easily. And also remember that ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner can serve as a faithful mainstay for protocols that work, providing you the stability your practice needs at your rear flank as you advance the vanguard of your surgical center to embrace the latest innovations.

^{The statements of the author reflect only his personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any institution with whom he is affiliated.
The author has a contractual or other financial relationship with Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. and has received financial support.}