At my LasikPlus Vision Center, my colleagues and I have had access to three of the most advanced excimer laser platforms: the ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye-Q laser (Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Fort Worth, TX), the Technolas 217A excimer laser (Bausch & Lomb, Rochester, NY), and the Visx S4 (Abbott Medical Optics Inc., Santa Ana, CA). We felt that having three platforms allowed us to tailor our patients’ treatments by using the best laser for each individual. Unfortunately, having three lasers also meant a greater financial burden. As the economy weakened and our LASIK volumes declined, we searched for ways to save money while still maintaining excellent clinical care and outcomes. We conducted an internal study of our results with all three laser platforms. The results with the lasers were all very similar. In April of this year, we pared down to two laser platforms—the Visx and the ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye-Q—for economical reasons. We now primarily use the ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye-Q’s wavefront-optimized ablation and the Visx’s CustomVue wavefront-guided treatments. We generally only use Visx’s conventional ablation in instances where tissue preservation is of the utmost importance.

SURGICAL EFFICIENCY
My colleagues and I agree that the ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye-Q laser’s wavefront-optimized treatment is much more efficient than the wavefront-guided treatment on the Visx laser. For patients who desire a customized wavefront-guided treatment, the technicians must spend time capturing five clusters of good scans. This step can be problematic and take a lot of time when the patient is accommodating or uncooperative. Once we capture the wavefront pattern, I build the treatment plan myself, which means I must leave the laser suite, walk to our technology room, and build, print, and save the treatment plan. I then carry the treatment plan by hand on a USB thumb drive from the wave scanner to the laser. This process is time consuming, especially on days when we have scheduled 20 to 30 patients for surgery. If it takes me an extra 5 minutes to carry out these steps—multiplied by 20 patients—it means I have spent an extra 100 minutes (almost 2 hours!) in a day walking back and forth to build and carry custom wavefront-guided treatments to and from the laser room.

With the ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye-Q laser, I do not need to spend time in the technology room, where our wave scanner and topography units are. I do not need to take repeat scans or multiple data captures. Patient flow with the ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye-Q laser is much more efficient. The wavefront-optimized ablation profile is also extremely effective and saves a lot of time. Therefore, I use the ALLEGRETTO Eye-Q laser for approximately 60% of my surgeries. I use it for all of my hyperopes, including mixed astigmats. I have also been using the ALLEGRETTO Eye-Q in patients with small pupils and in older patients in whom I worry about lenticular changes.

Furthermore, the operative speed of the 400-Hz ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye-Q is unbelievable. It delivers 1.00 D of treatment in 2 seconds. Our patients are amazed at the speed of the procedure; in fact, some have joked that they aren’t getting their money’s worth because the operation is over so quickly! This laser enables me to perform complete bilateral LASIK, including using the IntraLase FS laser (Abbott Medical Optics Inc.) to cut flaps, in 10 to 12 minutes. Hyperopic treatments have the shortest ablation time compared to the Visx platform.

I have also found that patients have an easier time properly fixating on the flashing target underneath the ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye-Q laser compared with the Visx laser. Because the procedure is over so quickly, they have even less time to lose fixation.

Finally, my staff prefers the ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye-Q treatments, because its efficiency lets us stay on schedule, and patients do not complain about having to wait.

OUTCOMES AND ENHANCEMENTS
Although efficiency is important, the ability to deliver great results is more valuable. Our results with the ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye-Q laser have been excellent—quite comparable to those with the Visx CustomVue program. Although it is too early to compare our rate of enhancements between the ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye-Q and the Visx laser, it is certainly lower than what we observed with the Technolas 217A laser. I plan to compare the outcomes of the eyes treated with the two lasers once we have had the ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye Q laser 6 months.

IN CLOSING
I think good surgical outcomes have a lot to do with the surgeon’s competence in choosing the right platform for the right patients. Any experienced surgeon can achieve good results with the ALLEGRETTO WAVE Eye-Q laser if he uses it properly. I have been very happy with my outcomes with this laser.

Sonny Goel, MD, is in private practice at the LasikPlus Vision Center in Baltimore, Maryland, and he is the current president of the Maryland Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons. He acknowledged no financial interest in any of the companies or products mentioned herein. Dr. Goel may be reached at (410) 828-2020; sgoel@lca.com.

Back to top

I find the same-old LASIK marketing strategies entirely ineffective today. I mean the newspaper or radio ads that say, “Our surgeon is great. Our laser is great. LASIK will make you young and active and great, too.” In today’s world, this approach does not attract new callers, except perhaps from competitors who are secret-shopping your practice to see if the approach works for you, because they know it sure as heck isn’t working for them.

The practices I counsel are expanding more personal, more involved, and more authentic marketing tactics designed for small, targeted audiences of truly interested LASIK prospects. We call this model Conversation Marketing.

Following are a few ideas on how you can improve this area of your marketing efforts too.

EVENTS
Throw a Party
Everybody loves an event, especially in a slow economy. It’s easy enough to find a reason to gather, share, and celebrate what you do. Is this your office’s 5th anniversary? Is it LASIK’s 15th anniversary? Did the winning coach or local top chef have LASIK with you? Find a reason to celebrate, and let your fan base know. Invite past patients, optical customers, and family and friends of staff and OD referrers. Theme it by offering a cooking demonstration, a musical performance, or an art opening, linked to the past patients you’re celebrating. This encourages friends and family to mingle, talk and consider you in a whole new light.

Reward the Neighbors
Many LASIK practices reside in buildings or complexes that have a centralized lobby, a highly visible exterior wall, or a connected sidewalk. Use that space to let people know what’s going on in your practice. Hang signs from building walls or post professional placards along parking entrances. Leases usually allow for posting signs for a certain number of days per year. Place an attractive display sign outside an elevator bank or in the entryway of the lobby that invites your building mates to stop in for a special offer. New high-quality banner stands with large pull-up signage can be purchased for about $300 at a digital print shop. Also, consider using interesting floor decals on highly trafficked sidewalks to let people know about your latest offer (eg, “Our Turn to Give Back”).

Get Out of the Office
Most people are not actively seeking ways to spend $4,000 to $5,000 right now. So, your best offense is to create a presence (or boost the one you already have) at locations and events where people gather and learn. Explore holding informational lectures and/or screenings at shopping mall kiosks, community centers, health clubs, sporting events, and corporate centers. Although the audiences for these events may be smaller than in years past, they are also more targeted. Many practitioners often shy away from hosting events, because they require night and weekend staffing. However, they are highly effective at reaching people who want to learn about LASIK in a nonthreatening environment. And trust me, our offices are threatening to many people who think they want LASIK.

CONVERSATIONS
Electronic social networking is booming, and my consulting group has focused substantial effort during the last 18 months exploring the marketing effectiveness of social media. E-mailing, blogging, Facebook posts, and Twitter updates have generated very different interest levels and even more erratic conversion rates, so I remain cautious about which of these media might truly generate LASIK patients. However, I have learned that it is absolutely essential to share your personality in these communications and create a dialogue with recipients rather than push out a one-way stream of promotional chatter.

Share Your Story
Both prospects and patients alike love knowing more about you personally; your interests and your family, and they will feel more connected to your practice if you share this information. Our data show that physicians and staff who share personal information on blogs, in video or through newsletters—anything from Rock ’n Roll Fantasy Camp, tennis lessons, father/daughter mission trips, or the antics of the office pooch—generate interest from prospective patients. For help with raising your practice’s profile, I recommend the Practice Growth Program from Brian Boxer Wachler, MD (www.practicegrowthprogram.com). Dr. Boxer Wachler does a fabulous job of explaining how to use personality to create interest in and build loyalty to your practice.

Reach Out
I have our clients tuck FaceBookmarks in their postoperative gift bags that remind patients to “Fan” the practice and share their story about surgery with friends. We’ve created sassy emoticon/avatar ads that attract more notice than the same-old LASIK ads. One practice has placed digital picture frames in the office to share patients’ stories about the various procedures, from LASIK to lifestyle IOLs to blephs to Botox. This is a fabulous, active tool to vertically market your service lines. Our clients are also actively extending their e-mail efforts through services like Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com) and Vertical Response (www.verticalresponse.com). I have found it interesting how many people had no idea that my clients offered Botox or Latisse (both by Allergan, Inc., Irvine, CA) or an elegant gift certificate, but were ready to purchase one of these services once advised. This bimonthly dialogue may start with a small cosmetic purchase, but it keeps the practice at the forefront of peoples’ minds when a friend mentions that he wants LASIK or a parent needs cataract surgery. The challenge is to effectively gather prospective patients’ e-mail addresses, yet not abuse them. Each of these tools has the capacity to start and nurture a conversation, and you must be disciplined about not pushing a sell-sell-sell agenda.

SHARE, EDUCATE, OFFER, AND LISTEN
These concepts are the keys to successful LASIK marketing today. New prospects will come. They’re taking more effort and ingenuity to find, but they are out there. They simply need a compelling reason to choose you right now for LASIK. Think about how you’re starting conversations with prospects, and what they really know about you and your practice.

Promotion is less effective in this climate. Personal referrals, interesting personalities, and genuine education and information are the marketing methods that will help attract your next wave of LASIK customers.

Kay Coulson is President of Elective Medical Marketing (www.electivemed.com), a consulting firm based in Boulder, Colorado, that helps surgeons grow their elective vision service lines. Ms. Coulson may be reached at kay@electivemed.com.

Back to top