The most popular word in the American vocabulary today is “change.” You can’t watch TV, listen to the radio or log on to the Internet without seeing the word or the sensing the concept of change.

At OfficeMate Software Solutions, change is not just a six-letter word bandied about by presidential candidates…It means improving our products and services to better serve you.

In 2007, nearly 1,500 new ECPs selected OfficeMate and ExamWRITER as their eyecare solution. Our OfficeMate family has grown to nearly 10,000 offices, and as we grow, we have noticed a shift in the role OfficeMate plays in your practices. There’s a clear recognition among our clients acknowledging their software company is no longer a just a vendor but is now a partner. Virtually every aspect of an eyecare practice today is anchored around the practice management and EMR software.

So, What’s the Change at OfficeMate?
It’s a change throughout our organization to embrace our position as your partner. We are focusing heavily on client education, implementation, training, client services, and support. You'll see new technologies incorporated into our client services, enhanced support services, more regional educational opportunities, and an overall enhanced visibility with OfficeMate and more access to our team. In other words, we are here to help you run your practice more smoothly.

It’s a change in our software product design and development strategies. Steering committees composed of ECPs using our software have always been an important part of guiding our new feature design, and we will be expanding these steering committees in 2008. The committees’ keen focus on detail and functionality will take the shape of very noticeable enhancements to our suite of software products.

It’s a change in our strategic thinking. We see the trends affecting the eyecare industry: the tightening of profit margins, the looming EMR mandate, the growing complexities of billing and coding, and the increasing integration of technology into your work. And we see that OfficeMate and ExamWRITER sit clearly in the nerve center of your business. We acknowledge the importance of OfficeMate and ExamWRITER to your daily business.

It’s a change in so many other areas, too. We’re going to bring you more national, regional, and local eyecare events to meet you face-to-face. We’re going to expand our technology partnerships with major industry vendors to offer you more flexibility in equipment integrations.

It may seem that all this talk about change is rather vague, but we don’t want to tip our hand to the competitors. Stay tuned for exciting announcements to come!

We’re looking forward to the start of the 2008 convention season, and to launch it, OfficeMate is sponsoring the Cyber Café at SECO in February in Atlanta! Be sure to visit us there!

If you have any comments you wish to share with me, please feel free to reach out. I want to hear from you. Happy New Year!

C. Edward Buffington
President & COO

Your opinion and 10 minutes could win you a hip, new Apple iPod Touch! Simply complete the third annual OfficeMate Software Solutions Report Card Survey, and you will be entered to win an 8 GB Apple iPod Touch!

Take a few moments to tell us how we are doing in the areas of our software products, support, sales, training, and documentation; what we are doing well; and what we need to improve. Your input is valuable to us, and we take our survey results seriously. You can help us improve how we serve you, and you could win a cool iPod Touch for yourself.

Click here to take the Report Card Survey.

Rules and Conditions
Survey entries must be received no later than 11:59 pm (PST), February 15, 2008. Limit: one entry per licensed office. OfficeMate Software Solutions reserves the right to substitute the prize for a prize of equal or greater value if the announced prize becomes unavailable.

Are you looking to improve your software skills, network with your peers, and do it all in beautiful, sunny Southern California? Then come be a part of our second annual Users' Group Meeting June 11-14, 2008, at the scenic Hyatt in Newport Beach. Last year’s event featured spectacular weather and drew 165 attendees from around the country who participated in general education sessions as well as OfficeMate and ExamWRITER breakout training courses. Last year’s meeting received such rave reviews from the participants that we decided to do it again!

This year’s meeting will be even larger and will feature guest presenters as well as the opportunity to participate in an expanded curriculum of beginning and advanced OfficeMate and ExamWRITER seminars. Participants will be able to select and preregister from over 18 available courses that will provide doctors and staff with over 10 hours of education and training throughout the meeting. Other highlights include an evening cocktail reception, breakfasts, lunches, and a Friday night hosted dinner. You might even be able to squeeze in some time to take in the sights and attractions in Newport Beach or play a round of golf with a few of your colleagues.

Whether you are a new or seasoned OfficeMate or ExamWRITER user, this meeting will have something for you and your staff!

For additional information, check our Web site for updates or e-mail us at ugm2008@officemate.net .

Have you considered how well prepared your practice is for a disaster? Be it a natural disaster or terrorist attack, you may be faced with events that could jeopardize your ability to continue to function. How quickly would you be able to resume business in the event of an incident? What would you do if you were unable to access your building or store? What are the long-term implications of an interruption in business and what are the effects on you, your staff, and your financial well being?

Emergency planning starts with a commitment to prepare for and identify realistic risk factors. This can be a simple plan containing basic information for crisis management staff contact information, vendor contact information, offsite data backup and storage location, insurance information, and any other materials necessary for company survival. Business continuity planning can extend to more thorough, complex plans or manuals preparing, in detail, plans for processes before, during, and after a disaster.

The beginning of the year is a good time to review the successes of the past and prepare for the challenges and opportunities of the future. If you have an emergency or business continuity plan, remember to review your plan annually and make any necessary changes needed to remain prepared. If you do not currently have a plan, visit the following Web sites for information on getting a plan started:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_continuity_planning
• http://www.ready.gov/business/plan/planning.html

Outside of your qualified and dedicated staff, your patient information is your most vital asset. If a fire or flood wipes out your office, can you afford to reenter all your data into OfficeMate and ExamWRITER? Have you resisted backing up your data regularly because it takes too much time, you’re worried that the backup will become corrupted, lost, or stolen, or because you trust the fate of your practice completely in the reliability of your computer hardware? A reliable, recent, and off-site backup of your data is imperative to your business continuity plan.  Read more about automated data backup online: http://www.officemate.net/officemate_va_DataHEALTH.aspx .

Emergency planning done today can determine how quickly your practice could get back to business.

Last fall I reminded you to review the newly updated System Specifications document (which can be found online at http://www.officemate.net/PDFs/System Specifications.pdf ) before purchasing the latest and greatest computers for your office. This quarter, I’d like to shine the spotlight on two documents that are available on our Web site and Knowledge Base that will help you set up your new computers in a networked environment.

In order to have a great start with your new computers in 2008, you need to ensure that the new computers on which you plan to install the OfficeMate Suite are properly networked so that you can view your practice management and electronic medical record information on all of the computers in your office.

Although OfficeMate Software Solutions does not support hardware and network issues, we have prepared two documents that will help you map your network drives and share your data folders so that you can view OfficeMate, ExamWRITER, and ReportWRITER data on multiple computer workstations. You can view these two documents anytime on our Web site at http://www.officemate.net/support_om_resources.aspx and on our Knowledge Base at http://www.officemate.net/omkb/article.aspx?id=10008 . We advise you to contact your network technician for additional networking and hardware help.

January is a time for new resolutions, goals, and outlooks. Make one of your resolutions this year to properly set up and maintain your computer networks so that technology helps, not hinders, your work and profits this year. Happy New Year!

Carrie Damschroder
Director of Documentation

We have been working hard to improve our support to all of our clients. With Rebecca Johnson as our new director of education and with the input of the Client Services team, we have taken our iTrain and iCoach classes and our online Knowledge Base to the next level. I encourage you to use these tools and send us your feedback.

Supporting nearly 10,000 offices with our many products (OfficeMate, ExamWRITER, ReportWRITER, and iPoint VTO) and legacy products (RLISYS, Delta ADD-POWER, and COS) presents a number of challenges, and we are aware that some of you may have experienced lengthy wait times when calling for telephone support. I want to assure you that our team cares about our clients, and we have a number of representatives standing by to answer your call in a timely manner.

There are, however, peak times, usually during the middle of the day, where we have more users calling than representatives standing by. Many of you with high-traffic practices may understand the challenges of helping your clients during peak periods.

Let’s say you have four patients who walk in to pick up their frames and ophthalmic lenses within the span of a few minutes. Obviously, you don’t have the staff on hand to handle all four patients at one time, so someone has to sit in the waiting room. You estimate that no patient will need to wait more than a couple of minutes, so you see them in the order in which they arrived. Unfortunately for the patients sitting the waiting room, the estimated wait time extends from a couple of minutes to 10 to 15 minutes, because the frames need unanticipated adjustments or the lab filled the wrong prescription. What are you to do? You can’t brush off the patient you are currently seeing because the visit is taking longer than you expected, so the patients in the waiting room will need to wait a few short minutes longer than expected—you get the idea.

Suffice to say, our Client Services representatives are here to help you between 6 am and 5 pm, PST. Every one of our clients deserves the utmost and undivided attention, no matter how many other clients are waiting for help. Just as you are sometimes challenged to see your patients in a timely manner, so are we.

Thank you for your continued partnership and I look forward to any comments or suggestions you may have. Feel free to contact me directly at jims@officemate.net or 800.269.3666, ext 1058.

Jim Sotiropoulos
Vice President of Client Services

New Classes
OSSU has completed the revision of all of the recorded online tutorials, or iTrains. We now have over 10 hours of new iTrain instruction listed by job categories and divided into specific functions! Whether you are new to OfficeMate or ExamWRITER or if you have been using the software for years, you will want to check out the new iTrains! These recorded 24/7 tutorials are a great tool for new employees and those who need a refresher course.

• OfficeMate iTrains are posted at: http://www.officemate.net/training_om_online.aspx .
• ExamWRITER iTrains are posted at: http://www.officemate.net/training_ex_online.aspx .

Education Conferences
Join OSSU in Atlanta on February 26 for the OfficeMate and ExamWRITER Education Conference where we will be presenting such topics as: “Inventory-Making Your Numbers Count,” “Managing Your Office,” and “ExamWRITER”. In addition to this conference, we will be holding OfficeMate and ExamWRITER Education Conferences in conjunction with ASCRS, Vision Expo East and West, AOA Optometry’s Meeting, Florida Optometry Association Meeting, Pioneers in Optometry, and the American Academy of Optometry.

You can view the course descriptions and dates on our Web site at http://www.officemate.net/ossu_extension.aspx .

To register, call 800.942.5353, select option 3 for OSSU and then option 2 for Educational Conference and Webinar registrations.

The following table lists upcoming educational conferences, but you can view the full list on our Web site at http://www.officemate.net/ossu_extension.aspx
.

Webinars
As an exclusive benefit to our clients, OSSU is offering several Webinars in 2008.

On February 12, 13, and 14, “Communicating with the Ophthalmic Patient” will be hosted by Valerie Manso, BA, ABOC, FNAO, and Rebecca L. Johnson, CPOT, COT, COE. Valerie and Rebecca have over 25 years in the ophthalmic industry and have presented at SECO, Vision Expo, and AOA. They will be presenting both basic and enhanced communication techniques for patients who have purchased services, contact lenses or spectacles. This course has been submitted to ABO, NCLE, and AOA CPC for continuing education credits. For more information, see our Web site at http://www.officemate.net/ossu_webinars.aspx .

“CEO Reports” will be presented on March 12, 13, 14 by Steven Sunder, AS, BS, ABOC, LDO, FNAO. Professionally, Mr. Sunder has held various positions over the past 31 years, from Licensed Dispensing Optician, Vice President of Operations, President of an eyecare acquisition and management company with multiple clinics, to his current position as Vice President Ophthalmology, Western Region with OfficeMate Software Solutions. In his position as project consultant with CIGNA HealthCare, Steve conducted budgeting for nineteen healthcare centers and financial analysis.  Steve will be discussing how clinic management can be maximized with the help of the OfficeMate report module to ascertain clinic revenues and adjustments, accounts receivable, staff productivity, and clinic patient demographics. In this session, we'll discover which reports are vital to you as the CEO, interpretation of those reports, and application of the information. For more information, see our Web site at http://www.officemate.net/ossu_webinars.aspx .

Rebecca L. Johnson, COT, CPOT, COE
Director of Education

Staff management is a major challenge in the ophthalmic industry. The goal of this column is to provide you with practical advice to assist in hiring, training, and retaining staff. This article is part four of an eight-part series. Visit our newsletter archive to read the previous article at http://www.officemate.net/newsletters_Fall2007.aspx#Staffing .

Step 4: Evaluating the Candidates
A few years ago, I consulted with a group of doctors who had a very large turnover rate. When we discussed hiring methods, the office manager confessed that, due to such a low number of applicants, she was forced to hire the “best of the worst,” and if this did not work out, she would look for someone else. This hiring philosophy can be very costly in many ways:

• Hiring costs—The cost of hiring a new employee can include advertisement, employment agency fees, and preemployment testing like drug screens, background checks, and verifications of employment and education. Let’s not overlook the numerous hours spent screening and interviewing potential candidates.
• Training costs—Bringing a new employee on board diminishes the productivity of the whole team until the new employee is properly trained. This is especially evident in practices with only a few employees. A doctor who has two staff members loses fifty percent of his or her staff when there is a vacancy because fifty percent of the staff has to train the new employee.
• Decrease in employee morale—High employee turnover breeds low employee morale. As staff watch people come and go, their own importance and job security feels threatened. How do you determine which of the applicants will be the best person for the position and your company culture? This process can be compared to evaluating the Presidential candidates. First, you must determine which applicants best suit the job requirements. From this group, look at the background of each applicant to determine their ethics and commitment level. Background checks are becoming more common in all job fields, and it certainly makes sense to do a background check on an employee that will have access to patient records, medications, and financial receipts.

When trying to determine commitment level of the applicant, you should consider the amount of time the employee has stayed at other job positions, and how many times career fields have changed. While an argument might be made for a person who has held jobs in several different fields being versatile, I tend to be more impressed with a candidate who commits to a specific career field. If you have a candidate who has never worked in eyecare, it may be worth your while to ask them to spend a few hours in the office prior to hiring to make sure that they understand the scope of the job.

Last, but certainly not least, pay close attention to the attitudes of the applicants. It has been my experience that teaching someone job skills is much easier and more successful than teaching someone how to have a good attitude. My hiring motto has always been: “Hire for Attitude, Train for Success”.

Rebecca L. Johnson, COT, CPOT, COE
Director of Education

As our company moves forward in this technology-driven era, our resolution to you is to keep you up to date with the latest information regarding our software programs.

And as you start 2008, you may consider making two resolutions regarding your OfficeMate Software Solutions programs:

• Resolve to go to our Web site, www.officemate.net , at least once a month and check out the latest OfficeMate software news and to see if we have any upgrades for you to download. Our Web site provides you with the latest updates for your software, and our Knowledge Base answers over 1,000 questions asked by users just like you.
• Resolve to make sure we have a current e-mail address on file for your office so that you receive our quarterly newsletter and any important updates regarding your software programs. If you are not certain if we have a current e-mail address on file, please send your e-mail address and office phone number to changeemail@officemate.net .

Have a happy and prosperous 2008!

Karen Kingsbury
Director of Business Renewals

Maybe you've been using OfficeMate for years. Perhaps you're just starting to use ExamWRITER, or you're a long-time veteran. You have several pieces of diagnostic equipment that you use every day.

…But how is all this technology supposed to work together?

If you haven't already done so, now is the time to make your practice a Technology Integrated Practice. A Technology Integrated Practice, or TIP, is a practice that maximizes its return on investment in technology. By leveraging OfficeMate, ExamWRITER, and your other technologies to their fullest, you can streamline your practice, see more patients more efficiently, and increase your profitability.

To learn how to turn your practice into a Technology Integrated Practice, watch the 15-minute video on our Web site.