Depending on your practice's specialties and location you might be serving a higher than average senior-age patient base. In today's world, so much time it spent making your practice as modern as it can be to push growth forward, but what are you implementing in your practice to help grow and sustain your senior-age patient base who may not be as concerned with modern equipment and more concerned with being able to physically make it to your office and easily get around once they arrive?

Maintaining an office that is senior-friendly is an important part of growing and sustaining this important segment of your patient base.

How to Maintain a Senior-Friendly Eyecare Practice

Prepare for Limited Mobility

For some patients, moving around your office could be a challenge. Patients with limited mobility might require special accommodations like close-up parking availability, and limited movement around the office once they get inside. Having patients with limited mobility might require you to use portable instruments so your patient can remain seated in one room without having to bounce around devices or rooms for their care.

Other ideas that can help are to make sure that seating is readily available in all areas of the practice, or keeping a wheelchair on site to help with transportation in and around the office.

Note Specific Needs

Taking detailed notes in the patient record will help you be better prepared for the patient's next visit. If you and your staff know ahead of time that a patient has limited mobility or requires special assistance you can have your staff slot the closest exam room and have the necessary instruments prepared for their visit. And if necessary, this documentation could allow you to add any extra time to the appointment slot that may be needed.

Assess Treatment Receptiveness

If you notice signs, it's important to measure a patient's understanding of their diagnosis and treatment routine. Providing written instructions of treatment routines and engaging the patient in a two-way conversation about their care is a good process to ensure their understanding. If necessary, follow up with the patient's caregiver to make sure they have the information needed to help with treatment.

Inventory Product Lines for All Ages

Deciding on your frame inventory is oftentimes one of the more fun tasks in a practice, but can also be challenging to combine the right mix of products for your patient base. Millennials will have different tastes than the Baby Boomers, and Baby Boomers will have different tastes and needs than the Silent Generation. Keeping a healthy balance of products that appeal to a wide variety of ages is important for keeping all generations of your patient base satisfied with the products you carry.

Provide Nursing Home Care

Providing care to nursing homes in your area is another way to build your patient base and spread awareness of your practice. But, there are some added costs and challenges associated with providing this type of care. In most cases, a contract is required with the facility in order to get started with providing care at the nursing home. 

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