We are two blinks away from 2019. The last thing we want is to turn around and realize that the new year is upon us and we still have things that we didn’t accomplish. Here’s what you can do.

Seven Ways to Finish the Year Strong

1. Help patients stock up. Compliance is a key driver to healthy lens wear. Many patients fail to purchase a year’s supply of lenses; when they run out, they end up extending the wear of their lenses beyond what is healthy.
   Many patients have a health savings account, and the purchase of more contact lenses may be just the thing for them. For patients who did not buy a year’s supply, send out a postcard or letter directing them to your practice’s website where they can purchase the lenses. Consider offering a small year-end rebate to sweeten the deal.
2. Evaluate CL sales from the year. Now is the perfect time to consider why more patients did not purchase contact lenses from you. Is it because of price, or perhaps your team is not positioning lenses in such a way that they are easy to order? This is the time to remedy these problems.
   If your lens prices are too high, consider lowering them to be competitive. If your team isn’t selling as many annual supplies, implement more training on supply sales. Realize that you need to be part of that training, too; we all can do better. Consider reaching out to your distributor or contact lens sales representatives for assistance with both of these matters.
3. Review your contact lens service fees. When was the last time that you altered your service fees? If you have not done this in the last 18 months, it is time. We are in a service industry, and with increases in value and cost of living, our service rates should increase.
   A perfectly normal concern is that patients who do not want to pay that fee will leave. If your increased fees cause you to lose 10% of your patients (which you won’t), but your revenue from the remaining 90% goes up, you will still—financially—come out ahead. Consider that the 10% of patients who leave may not value the services that you provide; they may just be coming to you because you are the least expensive.
4. Host end-of-the-year special days. We like to host events around our office at Thanksgiving time to thank our vendors. It’s our special way of letting them know that we would not be able to do what we do without them.
   We also like to invite Santa into the office in late November/early December for our pediatric patients. It saves parents time at the mall for Santa visits, and it gets them into the office during some end-of-year special sales.
5. Offer savings on specialty services as the year ends. Many of us provide elective services in our office as part of our specialty. Examples of these services may include orthokeratology, multifocal fitting, or a medical treatment such as thermal pulsation or other meibomian gland dysfunction treatment. You may have had patients who were interested in the service when you offered it, but they were hesitant due to cost. Recall these patients and let them know about a special service price that you are offering.
6. Recall family members. While you are running reports on patients, consider looking in the insurance portals or through your electronic record for when the last time was that you saw their family members. If it has been more than a year, invite them in for a special exam.
7. Register for the Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS). It is no surprise that the GSLS is being held in January as it is every year. What better time than now to register for the meeting and book your flight and hotel? Make sure to book yourself out of the office so that your team doesn’t need to call and cancel patients. Planning for GSLS this year will help make next year one of your best years yet. CLS