procedure room, he can do that while other surgeries are going on."
The more accurate lens positioning enabled by lasers can be a big
differentiator for your center, says Dana Ondrias, OD, the CEO of the
Mann Eye Institute. "The really sophisticated cataract patients have
become more demanding of the [refractive] outcome. It's no longer
enough for them to go from not being able to see anything to 'I can
see something, so I'm happier.'"
Dr. DeStafeno says a smart eye surgery center should have eyes wide
open about potential financial pitfalls. "The first thing you have to fig-
ure out is, do you believe it's beneficial and a good value for your
patients?" he says. "Then look at the business model. Can you bring
this technology to your center to benefit patients, but also make it a
win financially? It can really hurt a surgery center if you don't figure
that out."
Used properly, centers say, lasers can make your facility more
efficient. When Dr. Ondrias was evaluating laser technology, she
focused on the finer points of pricing, training, implementation and
surgeon buy-in, and then on using lasers efficiently. "It's become
quite profitable for us," she says. "And that's not why we got it. It
wasn't profitable at first. But as we started to use it more and
understood how to put it into the flow, and create the outcomes
we're looking for, and be able to do a higher volume, it's performed
well. It's not a huge upcharge for the facility itself, but it's enough to
cover the cost [of the technology]."
Future promise
Dr. DeStafeno is excited about the possibility of using lasers to shape
an implanted lens after cataract surgery. "It's almost like fixing eye-
glass prescriptions by using a laser to reshape the lens," he says. "We
wouldn't need to rely on older technologies to try to approximate how
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