How to get started in nursing home optometry?

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How to get started in nursing home optometry?
Optometric Practice in the nursing home setting
is not always very glamorous however, there are
many reasons optometrists might want to consider
adding this specialty to their practice arsenal
due to tremendous need. This is a common question
among new grads due to the changing landscape of
healthcare along with the disruptive forces and
entities putting pressure on eye care
providers. How much business knowledge is needed
to open an optometry practice? Many successful
ODs have opened private practices without any
business knowledge. The most basic business
principle is that you need more money coming in
than going out. One misconception students have
is that to be successful, one must have a wealth
of business knowledge and efficient
nursing optometry billing. This is not
necessarily the case. Dont confuse knowledge
with experience. The difference is that knowledge
can be gained prior to needing it and experience
is what you get just after you needed it. A lack
of business knowledge is not a reason to dismiss
the possibility of practice ownership. If you
dont have enough knowledge of business practices
initially, that is something you can gain through
a little studying as well as acquiring it over
time.
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How to get started in nursing home optometry?
The advantage we have today is the ability
to gain this knowledge from so many entities, now
more than ever before with all the resources
readily available to us. How to get started in
nursing home optometry? After graduating from
optometry working as part-time for an
independent practice include visiting nursing
homes as they provide vision, podiatry,
audiology, and dentistry services to their
residents. They provide all the equipment,
support staff, scheduling, and coordination with
the nursing homes. All you have to do is show up,
see patients, with minimal to no administrative
work to do on your end. Things to keep in mind
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How to get started in nursing home optometry?
If you are not already a provider for medical
insurance plans, your company will help assist in
getting credentialed for the plans they will want
you to take. You do not have to do any nursing
optometry billing yourself as they will submit
all claims based on the procedures you perform on
each patient. You will need to get familiar with
the portable equipment. The equipment required to
do a thorough exam consists of a standard eye
chart, handheld tonometer, pachymeter, portable
autorefractor, handheld slit lamp with a 90D
lens, and a portable fundus camera. How an
average day goes? Expect to travel between 20 to
30 nursing homes during the year. Some are only a
few minutes away from my home, but others are
over two hours away. You will need to decide how
far you are willing to drive as you may be asked
to travel further. Typically you will set up in
a conference room, and lighting control, chairs,
equipment, and so on can get tricky so you have
to be ready to improvise with what youre given.
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How to get started in nursing home optometry?
The staff or your assistant will bring patients
to you unless they are bed-bound or cannot come
to your room. Once they are dilated and ready,
the exam goes pretty quickly, depending on the
patient and their cognitive ability. Some
residents are talkative and good history givers,
whereas others are non-communicative or
combative. You will chart your exam notes on a
laptop using EMR software, which includes a
billing component. You will write orders for
medications, order eyeglasses, and refer to
specialists for surgery or further testing. Your
technician will print out your exam records and
you will review any special notes with the staff
of the home. To know more about our optometry
billing and coding services, email us
at info_at_medicalbillersandcoders.com or call us
at 888-357-3226.