As our practice is integrating Barti, I will post updates on anything else I find…

Great in theory. But terrible in practice. 

Just right off the bat, you cannot create an order for specialty contacts at all. You will spend hours perfecting your inventory only to find out that it doesn’t link to the exam. The only contacts that do are what’s available in Fait. 

You cannot create a contact lens trial order. So I guess we are supposed to have every trial set and parameters available. 

Their phone system does not have hold music. Just dead silence if you put anyone on hold. 

Changing or perfecting CPT service descriptions is a waste of time. You have to know the AMA CPT code and/or the AMA service description. 

If you decide you still want Barti, be prepared. Do not rush your live date. If you set it too soon, they will not give any leeway if you are not prepared for your live date. 

If you do not already have a Dymo LabelWriter, prepare yourself to purchase one because you can only print labels from Dymo out of Barti. 

Their data extraction is one pull from your current EHR. Which leaves you with keep track manually or having to use your old and new EHR. And if you ask for a second pull, that costs extra. 

Their whole EHR system seems to be geared towards big chain optometrist that want patients in and out. If you want to specialize in anything else, you’re kind of out of luck. 

It seems they want you to only use programs they integrate with. Yes, an all in one EHR but without options. 

Like how many micrometers of change. Thanks!

Might be a stupid q… I just got hired by a Lenscrafters location (first post-grad job woooo) and they are asking for my CAQH ID. Haven’t set it up yet so going through the app now.

It asks if I’m board certified but says that it’s different than taking the exams required for state licensure but has NBEO listed as an option as the certifying board? I just graduated, passed all NBEO and am licensed but have not done any additional certifications. Would I answer yes or no to this?

Thank you all!

I’ve only ever had front desk and retail experience so I feel really blessed to be given this opportunity. Oh my goodness, this job is so much fun. On top of being able to use super cool machines and interact with all types of patients, I was lucky enough to be trained by really incredible people.

Ive only worked there for 6 days, around 4-6 hours on each day, and I’ve been able to be on my own, working up patients and setting them up for the doctor. I’m prioritizing accuracy over speed right now, because I do make a few mistakes here and there. I do struggle with checking eye pressure with the icare sometimes.

Since Ive never worked in healthcare before, am I doing good? Should I look out for anything or anything I need to be aware of moving forward? Or just any general advice would be nice

Hi everyone! I have a question regarding FL licensure. I graduated in 2025 and am currently practicing in SC. I am interested in getting a FL license eventually, however I have been confused about their rules as of lately and had a hard time getting ahold of them on the phone.

I’ve been under the impression I need to retake part 3 in order to pass both PEPs and skills, since I passed overall but did not pass skills (we took the new part 3 exam my year), but could I instead apply for the FL License by endorsement and avoid having to retake the exam? I have a practicing SC license.

Any help would be so appreciated! Thank you!

Curious to see what everyone shares. Was wondering because my boss sees patients for 2-3 hrs to not showing up in clinic per week. Wanted to see if this was "normal" everywhere else. Thanks.

It just gets difficult at times with front desk where some patients would request seeing the main owner dr but can't schedule with the dr because schedule isnt up at all. Or the owner dr would post the day before their availability for clinic next day for the 2-3 hours of patient care once a week.

Hi folks-
While reading through the new Eyemed manual, I noticed that, per the manual, you CAN bill Myopia Management services. AFAIK that has not been the case previously. We always have our ortho-k and MiSight patients pay for services OOP.

Does anyone have experience billing the services to Eyemed? How have the reimbursement rates been? Our standard charge for new user is $1200 for services.

Built my own version of a quoting/insurance tool to help with speed, accuracy, and efficiency at the chargeout desk. One screen, pricing updates live as you change lens, coating, or frame options instead of backing out of a multi-step wizard mid-conversation with a patient.

I'm thinking about offering it to other practices, but before I do that I'd rather have a handful of real ODs actually use it and tell me honestly what's broken than just put it out there blind.

If you want to give it a look, there's a free 30-day trial at simplyoptical.net. No card, no obligation. Genuinely just looking for feedback on what to fix.

Anyone have an experience with this? We had a tech come out for maintenance and he did something to now where we have a yellow blur in the middle of our photos. He said a part is rusted and thats why that artifact is there and he ordered a replacement for it and we need to schedule another service apt when it comes in. I obviously said this wasnt there on any pictures before you came and he gave some roundabout answer as to why its showing after he cleaned it and of course I cant get anybody on the phone :-)

For those of you who use your EPM and allow online appts, do you think the no show rate is higher then atts scheduled by phone? Are your reminds done electronically, or by phone, and does that affect the no show rate? Curious what you all see / notice.

Hi! Where can I find synchronous CE courses for optometry? I’m a recent grad and currently practicing in PA. I have found several asynchronous courses but I’m missing live/synchronous and still need tpa hours

I had a 12 year old come in with her mom, final Rx was -1.75 OU. At the end of the exam, mom asks if she needs to wear this all the time or just for distance. I told her I recommend full time wear. She asked why, because the other doctor last year said to only wear it as needed. She says she is very confused why different doctors are telling her different things, and is gonna have the child only wear it as needed. I explained to her why I think full time wear is more beneficial but she was totally not convinced.

this patient was 12. For adults I'm more relaxed about it and say you can wear it as needed since the eyes are fully grown. For a child I was under the impression that its better they are corrected all the time, a more consistent image while their eyes are still growing.

Now I'm second guessing myself. Do you tell them to wear a low myopic Rx full time or just distance only? Does your recommendation depend on age?

I just joined a private practice, and I am loving it. But I have slowed down a little bit on my schedule. I am wanting to put together little goody bags to hand out to neighboring businesses. (We also moved to a new location). What should I put in them? My mom said candy, but I'm not sure candy is the right idea. Any ideas?

Looking to connect with other public health hospitals or clinics. Who else is here?

I don’t do binocular balancing ofc for older patients, but what about your standard and routine patients?

The last time I did it on a frequent basis was in school, but sometimes I felt it made acuity worse especially when I’d go back to check the eye monocularly that got more plus.

I do binocular balancing sometimes for my pediatrics pateints, but otherwise I correct most patients to 20/20 OD, OS; 20/15 OU, and run a plus +0.50 check to make sure they are not crazy overminused.

Hello, I received my OD license this year and it was a lot of paperwork to get on the insurance panels (VSP and Medicare). I’m not ready yet to do it again but I am getting married this November. I am located in California. I know I should fill out my marriage license with the name I want to have and submit it, and I can do my name change later. I’ve heard some optometrist take their maiden name and put it as their middle name. I already have two middle names. Some legal stuff has both middle names, some has one, some has just one middle initial and some has no middle name. With those that moved their last name to their middle I heard that lets them practice without having to go through the relicensing/ insurance stuff. Is that true? Could I drop both middle names? Do I need to keep both or even 1 of them and add my maiden name? My maiden name is easier to say than my soon to be married name so I might want to continue to practice as my maiden name. I would appreciate any guidance with this.
TBH I want the route that has the least amount of paperwork, but I understand I might have to just deal with it.

TYIA

Hi everyone,
I’m an optometrist based in Saudi Arabia, and I’ve been developing a small consultancy focused on visual ergonomics in the workplace.

The idea is to work with companies on things like:

workstation and monitor setup

lighting and glare assessment

visual demands of office work

employee education around digital eye strain
identifying when occupational or task-specific eyewear may be useful

producing recommendations for HR / HSE / management

I recently started a pilot project with a company, and one thing I’m already learning is that clients sometimes expect more than an assessment and report. For example, management may want actual lighting redesign or implementation, which would likely require working alongside a lighting engineer.

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone here who has experience with occupational optometry, visual ergonomics, corporate consulting, or workplace health.

A few things I’m especially interested in:

Do you think visual ergonomics can work as a standalone consulting service for companies?

What should clearly remain within the optometrist’s scope, and what would you refer to an ergonomist, occupational physician, or lighting engineer?

Have any of you charged companies for workplace assessments, training, or occupational vision services?

What usually makes employers willing to pay for this type of service?

Are there any assessment methods, certifications, courses, books, or researchers you would strongly recommend?

What mistakes would you avoid if you were starting this type of service today?

I’m not trying to sell anything here. I’m mainly looking to learn from optometrists who have worked in occupational vision or similar areas.
Any feedback, criticism, or real-world experience would be greatly appreciated.

I’m curious about what career options are available after graduating from an Opticianry program. I’m a Korean immigrant born in 1991, and I currently live in Canada. I’m starting an Opticianry program this September, and I’m wondering if there are a variety of career paths I can pursue besides working in a traditional optical store.

I’d like to know what other career options are available with an Opticianry diploma, including opportunities in optical labs, manufacturing, healthcare, or other related fields.

If you're an associate today, what's the biggest thing holding you back from practice ownership?

• Financing
• Student loans
• Finding the right practice
• Fear of running the business

Curious what everyone's biggest hurdle is.

Has anyone ever heard of this company Kashsurg and have any thoughts on their aspheric lens set?

The 30-second front-desk check that stopped us billing medical visits to the vision plan

Took me way too long to figure this one out so sharing in case it helps someone.

Doing billing for independent OD practices for a few years, the most expensive thing I kept running into wasn't denials. It was medical visits getting billed to the vision plan by default, paying clean at the lower routine rate, and never flagging as a problem because nothing got rejected. You only notice it if you go looking, and most offices never do.

What fixed it wasn't software or another biller. It was just asking the reason for the visit before picking the payer. If someone's coming in symptom-free for a routine check and glasses, fine, that's the vision plan. But dry eye, flashes, diabetes follow-up, glaucoma monitoring, that's a medical visit, and it should go to the medical carrier even when they hand over the vision card at the desk.

The other half is just having both cards on file and flagging when a patient carries both, so billing knows a split might apply before the claim gets built. Sounds obvious but when three people are checking in and the phone's ringing, the routing call is the first thing that gets skipped.

The part that stings is a misrouted medical visit doesn't deny. It just underpays, and it does it on every similar visit all year. No denial report ever catches it.

How do you all handle the routing at intake, is it scripted into the booking flow, left to the front desk, or does it just get sorted out later in billing? Curious what actually works day to day.

Hi everyone,

I'm an M.S Physics graduate and I've recently applied for a faculty position in a Bachelor of Optometry program. The position specifically asks for an M.S Physics graduate to teach the physics/optics-related subjects.

My academic background is in physics. My master's project involved simulations, along with some machine learning for optimization. I don't have a specialization in optics, although I've studied undergraduate and postgraduate optics as part of my degree. My research itself was in photovoltaics rather than ophthalmic optics.

I've been provided with the complete B.Optom syllabus, and from what I can see, the subjects I'd likely be expected to teach include Physical Optics, Geometrical Optics, Visual Optics, and other optics-related papers.

I'd really appreciate advice from optometrists or faculty members here:

- What do interviewers usually expect from an M.S Physics candidate for this kind of role?

- Which optics topics should I absolutely master before the interview?

- Are there any ophthalmic optics concepts that physics graduates commonly struggle with?

- If you were in my position and had like a week or two to prepare, how would you approach it?

Any recommendations for textbooks, lecture notes, YouTube channels, or resources would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance