Efficiently Managing a High-Volume Practice with VERACITY

As my practice grew and my surgical volume climbed, I found myself spending hours every week picking lenses by hand – a significant bottleneck I needed to address. I had to adapt to become more efficient, not just for my own time, but to maintain the highest standard of care for my patients. In 2019, I adopted ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner and delegated the initial review of diagnostics and lens selection to my highly skilled team to streamline my surgical time. The shift has fundamentally changed operations in my clinic, where today I manage over 100 cataract cases per week, about 70% of which are premium lens cases.

The key to managing my surgical volume has been empowering my team of optometrists and my lead technician to share the diagnostic and lens selection workload. This delegation allows me to focus on what I do best: surgery. Our patient workflow is now a highly efficient, multi-step process, underpinned by ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner.

• Diagnostics and Education: When patients come in, they first receive comprehensive diagnostic testing, including biometry and automated and manual refractions, led by my team of optometrists. Those diagnostic data feed directly into ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner and our EMR, and they drive lens selection.
  • Note that ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner accepts data from non-ZEISS platforms, meaning that my workflow remains uninterrupted.
• Focusing on the Outcome: After assessing patients for visually significant cataract, my ODs review lens types (i.e. multifocal vs monofocal) with the patient. We have found that patients don’t need to get involved in the technical calculations of lens selection: they don't have time for a lesson in optics and physics, and frankly, they rarely want a scientific lecture. Instead, our process empowers patients to guide lens selection by articulating their desired outcome.
  • If a patient is in the clinic on a day that I’m there, I will personally review lens technologies with the patient to see which class of lens best fits their desired outcomes. If I am not at the clinic that day, I will consult with the patient during a presurgical visit to review their lens selection. Either way, I ensure I see the patient prior to surgery.

Once the patient decides on their desired outcome, the process moves to my back-of-house team, where ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner becomes the engine of our efficiency.

• Tech-Led Selection: My lead technician is deeply trained in the IOL selection process, utilizing ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner. The initial onboarding to ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner took some time, but that initial training investment has proven invaluable to my practice. Because ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner integrates with our diagnostic devices and our EMR, all the necessary data is available at my tech’s fingertips with minimal risk of manual error, giving them confidence in the accurate data they review in their initial decision making
• Surgeon Verification: After my technician makes their initial IOL selections, I cross-check those decisions directly within ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner. The process we’ve built is incredibly reliable: I only adjust about 5% of cases, and those are typically for toric lenses.

This entire workflow, driven by technology and a well-trained team, allows me to achieve a higher surgical volume while increasing our clinic's efficiency. The unique demands of my practice drove me to creatively use my staff and ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner to build a more streamlined operational model. For any high-volume surgeon looking to meet the demands of a busy clinic, leveraging technology like ZEISS VERACITY Surgery Planner to make your team more efficient is the key.

^{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.}