a platform of his own, especially when he wasn't sure how the tech-
nology would pan out in his practice and for his patients. "Taking the
risk out of the decision-making process was a wonderful thing," he
says.
Dr. Starkey describes himself as the typical surgeon who decided to
adopt a new technology and was blown away by how many patients
know about it and are seeking out facilities that have it. He presents
the option the same way during every cataract evaluation in his clinic,
and says the rate of converting patients from manual procedures to
laser surgery is about 45%, much higher than he anticipated.
The outsourcing company charges Dr. Starkey about $850 an eye,
an amount that would decrease if he performed more cases (he
says he's still working to convince other surgeons in the physician-
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