Protocols

The ordering process takes place after you’ve reviewed financial counseling with the patient to educate them on fees, establish value, and review the added benefits, etc. By following this ordering process, you are less likely to miss documentation or ordering a patient’s order if everyone is following the same procedure. Have you ever had an order come in to your office and there’s no record of it in the patient’s chart or a patient calls in for the status of their order, only to find out they have not yet been ordered? This can have costly effects as you try to expedite shipping to rectify the situation, you may lose patients because of this. Consistency in procedures is key to eliminate any disruptions to the process.

Here is a sample protocol. You will want to review with your office manager on protocols specific to your office.

1. Claim submission and this is to ensure remittance from insurance providers. Watch our courses available in the OSC, how to file an EyeMed and VSP claim.

2. Patient management and supplier orders, this will include two orders. One to create a patient statement to accurately reflect in your production reports, and another order that the product is ordered directly from the supplier, as this is typically not generated in most patient management systems. Refer to your manager and supplier on how to populate these orders.

3. Status. Review the status and be proactive in offering the patient with updates prior to their projected delivery time. This should include any delays that may come up or any back-ordered item. You’ll want to refer to your patient management training videos to identify how to update this as well as your supplier on how to get an update on products ordered.

4. Check in and verification process. This is to ensure accuracy of the prescription and that the product meets quality standards. Refer to your patient management systems training videos to know where to look for the prescription and order details. Also how update the patient’s order as received.

5. Patient notifications. Your patient communications systems, such as Weave, is utilized to notify the patient that the order is ready for pick up. Refer to any patient communication training videos as well as your patient management system training videos to ensure that all communication with the patient is accurately documented.

6. Dispense. Again, give contact lenses a moment. Ensure that all documentation that is needed for any rebates is given, review your program perks with the patient. Again, this is not as glamorous as the optical, but we should strive to make it professional and consider the patients perception of their experience.