KNOW THEIR CHOICE Make sure you're sure which IOL your patient wants before the day of surgery.

IOL INSURANCE
The Right (and Left) IOLs at the Right Time

We've all seen IOL surprises happen: On the day of surgery, the patient says they want a bifocal lens, and you've got a monofocal lens sitting on their chart in the OR. Someone misunderstood someone. That's why you should require your patients to pre-pay for specialty IOLs, never asking for payment on the day of surgery or afterward. This rule not only helps with collection, but also with nailing down patients' preferences. Advance payment is a real decision maker and choice clarifier.

If a patient has made and paid for his choice, everyone in the process can be made aware of what the patient wants. Write the order down in the patient's chart or electronic health record. Have one staffer in charge of ordering and pulling IOLs. Note the eye and type of lens to be implanted in the patient schedule. The more people who know, the more double-checks you have verifying the IOL.

Another thing I do is print out the patient's chart from the electronic medical records system the day before surgery. Paperless is a great idea, but if the system goes down or you're doing cases at another facility where they don't have your system, you have a safeguard for the time out to ensure the correct lens goes in.

Sandra Yeh, MD
Prairie Surgery Center
Springfield, Ill.
[email protected]