06 Jul How to Calculate and Increase Your Optical Capture Rate
When patients come into your practice, will they receive a complete eye care experience from you and your staff? Unfortunately, many patients who come in for their eye exam leave without being fully informed about the eyewear available to purchase—which will negatively affect your optical capture rate.
According to a 2019 Trend Report by ABB Analyze, the capture rate for eyewear is typically an average of 50–55%. However, in April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many practices had to close or limit their services, causing their capture rates to drop. With many practices safely reopening this year to a full schedule, and more patients coming into the office, optical capture rates have been rising.
Below, we will share pro tips that you can implement today to increase your optical capture rate so you can ensure every patient receives a complete experience from you and your team.
What is Optical Capture Rate and Why is it Important?
The optical capture rate is the percentage of patients who received their prescription during their visit and actually filled it. High optical capture rates are important because they increase your revenue and provide a complete customer experience for your patients.
How Do You Calculate Optical Capture Rates?
To calculate the optical capture rate at your practice for those patients you give a prescription to, use the following formula:
- Determine the number of patients who “filled” their eyewear prescriptions at your practice.
- Divide the number of patients who filled their prescriptions at your practice by the total number of patients “given” a prescription by your practice.
Optical Capture Rate Examples:
- 50 patients filled prescriptions / 75 prescriptions given = 66% capture rate
- 48 pairs of eyeglasses sold / 70 refractions completed = 68% capture rate
How One Optometry Practice Increases its Optical Capture Rate
We asked Dr. Peter Falk and office manager Sarah Schmutzer at ReVision Eye Care to share their practice success story for managing optical capture rates and how their consistent processes and team education lead to revenue growth.
1. How do you manage your practice optical capture rate?
The exam schedule in our practice needs to remain full for practice success and business growth. A consistent doctor-to-optical hand-off after the doctor completes the patient exam drives success and boosts capture rates.
To accomplish this, Dr. Falk recommends and prescribes the eyewear needs while the patient is still in the exam chair. He then invites and guides the patient to the optical department, introducing the eyewear layout. Dr. Falk also recommends optical-specific solutions for the patient Rx to the optician or optical assistant.
In addition, we have a prepared response for patients who “walk the Rx.” We also create value-added packages that are specific to the financial needs of patients looking for cost-effective outcomes.
2. Can you share critical pro tips that other practices would benefit from?
Patients rely on the doctor to treat all their eye care needs, which is not always medical and can simply be purchasing contact lenses or eyeglasses. Eye care providers need the confidence and knowledge of industry options before recommending products for the patient. The optical capture rate will continue to increase if practices follow this model.
Contact lens wearers receive pricing and manufacturer rebate information before final checkout with reception staff. Our optical assistants build a yearly package for them, and we include any applicable insurance benefits.
In addition, our contact lens distributor allows for direct shipment of one-year supply contacts to the patient’s house free of charge. We also offer a competitive multiple purchase promotion of 50% off for additional complete pairs of eyeglasses.
3. Why is educating your entire office so important to boosting your optical capture rate?
We find that being proactive and educating the entire team about our products and services drives our success during our weekly leadership meetings.
A “total team” (doctor, office manager, technician, optician, front desk) approach will show the practice’s confidence and provides better outcomes and profits. Consumers are looking for the best and most cost-effective solutions, and they want eye care professionals to lead the way.
We keep our staff up-to-date at weekly leadership meetings to learn and communicate the roll-outs in the optical industry. For instance, we encourage all staff to educate themselves and we continually update internal resources so we are all on the same page.
Want to know more about how Dr. Falk’s optometry EHR helps his team run an efficient practice? See why his practice switched from a local server EHR to the new unified MaximEyes.com EHR and practice management eye care software.
Watch On-Demand Optical Capture Rate Webinar
3 Tips for Improving Your Optical Capture Rate from 4PatientCare
The integration between MaximEyes.com and 4PatientCare’s patient relationship management system has become a game-changer in achieving success when increasing your optical capture rate. Here are three tips from the team at 4PatientCare that you can start implementing today to help boost your optical capture rate.
1. Keep your schedule full
It’s simple math: the more appointments you have, the more opportunities there are to improve your optical capture rate. However, to keep your schedule full day in and day out, you need a multi-pronged approach.
“No two patients are exactly alike,” says George Mustafa, Managing Director at 4PatientCare. “Some respond to calls, others prefer text, and some like emails the best. An intelligent escalation system will improve your recall capture rate and boost your optical capture rate in return.”
2. Send sales announcements
Everyone loves a good deal. Try hosting sales at key times throughout the year (Summer, Black Friday, etc.) to entice patients to purchase your frames.
“Postcards are a meaningful, tangible way to get exciting sales information directly into the hands of your patients,” says Holly Hall, Director of Business Development at 4PatientCare. “We’ve found that adding postal to any marketing campaign can significantly boost conversions and improve capture rates.”
3. Give your staff the gift of time
“Repetitive office tasks consume an estimated 30% of staff’s time,” says Jill Harder, Strategic Account Manager at 4PatientCare. “But with the right tools, many of those tasks can be automated.”
For example, by streamlining time-consuming activities like recalls and appointment reminders, practice owners allow their employees to spend more time helping patients find the perfect pair of glasses.
Improving Your Patient Flow Boosts a Patient Experience
When your patient flow begins to improve, you will see an increase in your optical capture rate. However, it’s important to remember that a patient’s experience starts when they open the doors of your practice. The details, such as a friendly greeting, smooth check-in, brief wait times, and helpful staff, will determine if your patients want to do business with you.
After a wonderful experience at your practice, your patients will likely want to know more about the eyewear available for them. The more eyewear sales you complete after every encounter the more you will boost your optical capture rate. Read more on how to improve patient flow in 5 masterful steps from one of our previous blog posts.
A Positive Customer Experience is Key to Increasing Your Optical Capture Rate
It’s never too late to start calculating your optical capture rate and implementing the pro tips we’ve shared above. Always remember to approach optical capture rate as a customer experience to start seeing your rates increase. With the right plan, team, and tools, we know it’s possible! Frequently monitor your capture rates to help you determine what works best for you and your staff.