VIEW Optometry, a new doctor-founded alliance, has launched to offer support to private practice optometrists across the United States in strengthening and preserving independent operations.
Let’s start with the why behind this organization.
As VIEW co-founder and President Tommy Lucas, OD, noted in recent reporting, large corporations have spent the last two decades “defragmenting and consolidating the vision care industry in the name of profit, with dramatic consequences for our profession.”
- “We’ve seen retail optical expansion, buyouts of regional and national groups, private equity opportunism, and the slow starvation of doctors by vision plans,” he stated.
The solution: “VIEW Optometry is our profession’s alliance—built to resist these trends and put the optometrist and the patient back in control of eye care,” allowing clinicians to “own, operate, and grow their practices on their own terms.”
Next up: the basics of VIEW.
Its founders: The aforementioned Dr. Lucas and Dr. Lucas and Mary Kate Walters, OD, FAAO, both Texas-based optometrists.
Its purpose: To provide private optometric practices with “the right tools, support, and expertise” to compete against corporate-based care models.
And its vision: To bring together independent optometrists from across the country under a shared mission to:
- Protect clinical autonomy
- Enhance business sustainability
- Deliver exceptional, patient-centered care
So how is it doing this?
By inviting independent-operating optometrists to join its mission and partner via one of two practice models:
- VIEW Alliance: Ideal for practices looking to keep their individualized brand identity and improve profitability while gaining access to:
- Top-tier discounts via exclusive vendor partnerships
- Centralized consolidated vendor billing (with one monthly payment for all purchases)
- Succession planning via expert advice and consulting
- Growth and expansion support (specialty services and business optimization)
- VIEW Vision Support Organization (VSO): Ideal for practices looking for a strong retail brand with unified business operations and support. VSO includes the majority of VIEW Alliance benefits as well as:
- Streamlined clinical operations of practice management and technology solutions
- Exclusive operations under the VIEW Optometry brand
- Only one VIEW branded practice will operate in a specified city or market area
See here for a more detailed rundown and side-by-side comparison of the two options.
That’s quite the list of benefits.
Indeed it is. And if you’re wondering exactly how the organization is able to offer such services, it’s due, in part, to being powered by ABB Business Solutions.
- Quick refresh: This is a division of ABB Optical Group, which offers access to vendor partnerships and programs as well as consolidated billing, advanced technology solutions, and logistics solutions.
VIEW noted that this infrastructure is “intentionally designed to strengthen independent practices while keeping decision-making firmly in the hands of doctors.”
Are these practices members of national optometric organizations as well?
According to VIEW: “Every eye doctor in VIEW Optometry is a member of the AAO (American Academy of Optometry) and their state affiliate.”
So how many practices have joined so far?
Based on VIEW’s location finder, it appears to be four—all located in Texas.
See here for a look at them.
And if I’m an optometrist interested in joining VIEW … how do I get started?
Click here to reach out about joining VIEW Alliance or VIEW VSO
Or contact the organization for more information.