Archive for April, 2007

Propelling Private Practice Eyecare to New Heights

Posted on April 16th, 2007 by Rob L.

Providing access to personalized vision care for all Americans and elevating the role of eye doctors in the health care continuum is a central focus for VSP. For more than 50 years VSP has been rooted in the belief that private practice eye doctors deliver the best care and value to patients. Through the years, as VSP has grown, our commitment to eye health and promoting personalized care from private-practice eye doctors has remained constant.

Why is private-practice so important to us? Private-practice doctors develop long-term relationships with their patients and their patients’ families. When patients visit the same doctor year after year, their doctor can track subtle changes in their eyes that could indicate symptoms of eye disease or systemic conditions. And our extensive network of 24,000 private-practice doctors makes it easy for members to find a VSP doctor close to where they work or live. VSP works together with the VSP Family of Companies to support our doctors’ efforts to provide complete personalized service, and educate their patients about the important link between eyecare and total body health.

Our network of private-practice doctors provides valuable disease detection and ongoing patient care through our Eye Health Management® program. VSP’s Evidence-Based EyecareSM leverages medical best practices, comprehensive eye exam standards, and coordination of care with patients’ primary care physicians to deliver a world-class patient experience. This results in the best possible outcomes for patients and yields cost savings for employers by supporting their disease management and wellness initiatives. All of these efforts reinforce the important role that eyecare plays in overall health care.

How can we sustain this level of care? By supporting and reinvesting in private practice. When optometric students are ready to enter the marketplace they can turn to EyeSeek, which enables students, recent graduates, and other eye doctors to locate opportunities with VSP private practices. In addition to strengthening our ties with optometric schools and students, VSP’s Vision LoansSM program provides funds to eye doctors for partnership buy-ins, down payments or the purchase of their first practice. Since its inception in 2003, Vision LoansSM has issued loans totaling $15 million. Additionally, VSP will continue to support legislation in all states and the District of Columbia to allow eye doctors to practice to the fullest scope of their education and training.

With all these tools, VSP will continue to support private-practice eyecare, and our doctors’ efforts to continually enhance VSP members’ vision care experience. It’s who we are. It’s what we stand for. It’s everything we do.

I’m interested in hearing your point of view on private-practice eyecare.

Rob

File under: Private Practice Doctors | Tagged: , , ,
5 Comments »

Greater Access Means Better Vision

Posted on April 2nd, 2007 by Rob L.

A recent study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 61 million Americans are at high risk for vision loss from conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma. Sadly, more than half of this at-risk population fails to get an annual dilated eye exam, and some five million cannot afford the vision correction that they need.

Having vision insurance significantly increases the likelihood of getting an annual eye exam— a 2007 VSP Vision Care study reveals that 61% of Americans with vision coverage received an eye exam within the last year, while only 44% of those without coverage had an exam. But where does this leave millions of retirees, the self-employed, and those who no longer have vision coverage due to a change in employment?

I’m proud to announce that VSP is taking an important new step to expand access to proactive eyecare for all Americans. On March 30th, 2007 VSP launched the first-ever insured vision plan directly to consumers nationwide*. By offering VSP’s Signature Choice Plan directly to individuals and families, we are making quality eyecare accessible and affordable. This also addresses another current healthcare concern – making insurance coverage portable. Since consumers purchase the plan directly, they can maintain their VSP coverage and continuity of care through career shifts and life changes.

I believe that VSP’s new direct-to-consumer vision coverage will open up access to eyecare for millions of Americans for the first time. In doing so, VSP will move another step closer to our goal of delivering quality eyecare to all segments of the population. Expanding access to eyecare can deliver key healthcare savings, as shown in VSP’s work with the State of California, and I think that this step will further demonstrate the value of proactive, preventive healthcare. Really, it’s not just about the cost savings – it’s also the right thing to do for patients and their families. I look forward to your thoughts on VSP’s new direct-to-consumer eyecare coverage.

Rob

File under: Uncategorized | Tagged: , , ,
2 Comments »