This year has probably felt like a blur for us all. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, time has moved simultaneously very slowly and yet it feels like it hasn't yet been a whole year. That's why we thought it would be good to take an inventory of what happened this year and what we can learn from it going forward.
In this post we include the top videos, ebooks, webinars, and CE we've released in each month as it relates to what eyecare providers were going through at the time.
2020 in Review for Optometrists
January - February
The year began hopeful and Dr. Halpin discussed how her EHR, Uprise, helped her achieve success when starting a new practice. After interviewing optometrists who are leaders in the industry, own successful multi-location practices, or have undergone big change in 2019, we released the ebook, 2020 Outlook: Advice from America's Top ODs Part II. Even though we didn't know what was to come, re-reading this ebook, the advice and future outlook still stands. Automation/artificial intelligence and accessibility were top of mind and still are.
Practices tended to focus on getting their billing in shape at the beginning of the year, after setting financial growth goals in January. Our webinar: Bill Like a Boss in 2020, aired near the end of February and helped aid this process.
March
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread in the US. The government started to mandate businesses close their brick-and-mortar unless they were essential. This meant eyecare practices could either only stay open for emergency cases or remote care. We started the "Remote Work Series" here on the blog to help keep up morale, give your practice work to accomplish while you can't see patients, and introduce the idea of telehealth visits. This was the beginning of rising interest in online CE and webinars, especially because the popular Vision Expo East was canceled. We created a virtual booth and a series of webinars to act in place of the in-person event, so ODs could still see the updates we have made to our products.
April - June
Telehealth became top of mind for practices experiencing profit loss and waiting for loan forgiveness. We quickly created a few resources to inform everyone on updated telehealth billing practices, workflows, and Uprise's capabilities. We also developed a new offer from Uprise that allowed practices to just use our telehealth features.
The FTC also released new ruling on prescriptions and contact lens brand neutrality for patients. Luckily, Uprise helps practices comply with the new rule.
July-August
After realizing how much external forces can affect the eyecare industry and access to education for ODs, everyone started to change their protocols to be prepared for a more unexpected future. We collected tips on making sure your practice is agile, mobile, and malleable to change with the times. That's how we created the ebook, Building an Adaptable Eyecare Practice.
September
As most practices were either reopening or already reopened, it was time to talk about regaining profit during uncertain times and marketing to patients who might be fearful of the spread of COVID-19. We launched our largest webinar series yet, OD Productivity Masterclass. We collaborated with multiple industry professionals and ODs to deliver advice on managing your profits, staff, marketing campaigns, and even dispensary reporting.
October - December
The end of the year has seen more stability and hope with the development and distribution of vaccines. We reprised one of our most popular webinars, Cold Claim Files, to make it even better and inject a bit of Halloween fun into your evenings.
We're still unsure about the prevalence of events in 2021, but practices have their sanitation protocols honed and are looking forward to implementing changes in the new year. We created 4 comprehensive patient surveys in this free kit that ODs can administer to find out what their patients would like to see moving forward.
We're excited to grow in 2021, won't you join us? Subscribe to the blog below.
