Tag: eyecare professionals

Work–Life Balance Through the Enjoy, Evolve, Earn Philosophy

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Article Jade Bodzasy Work–Life Balance Through the Enjoy, Evolve, Earn Philosophy

For women professionals in eyecare, work–life balance often feels like a moving target. The demands are real: clients and colleagues need you, family depends on you, and your own ambitions keep pushing you forward. Yet in the pursuit of supporting everyone else, women frequently put their emotional well-being last.

But work–life balance isn’t about doing less. It’s about doing life, and work, with more emotional intelligence, clearer boundaries, and a stronger sense of self-leadership. This is where the Enjoy, Evolve, Earn (EEE) Philosophy becomes a powerful guide. When women apply the principles of Enjoy, Evolve, and Earn to their daily professional reality, balance becomes less about juggling tasks and more about designing a sustainable, fulfilling career.

Let’s look at just a few emotional-intelligence-driven strategies for women in practice who want to strengthen their work–life balance in 2026 and beyond.

1. ENJOY: Build a Career You Can Actually Breathe In

Enjoyment in the workplace is not a luxury, it is a strategic advantage. When you enjoy your work, you bring forward clearer thinking, better communication, and stronger problem-solving. But enjoyment doesn’t magically appear; it grows from intentional emotional awareness.

Tip: Build “micro-moments of enjoyment” into your workday.

You don’t need a vacation to enjoy your career; sometimes you just need a reset. Women in practice often wait until things are overwhelming before they pause.

Ask yourself: “What are the parts of my career I currently enjoy and how can I increase them or stager them throughout my day?”

These practices rebuild emotional energy throughout the day instead of waiting for the weekend to recharge.

2. EVOLVE: Strengthen the Skills That Support Balance

If Enjoy is about emotional awareness, Evolve is about emotional strategy, choosing behaviours that support your long-term well-being and leadership.

Tip: Evolve how you approach your Continuing Education.

Women frequently carry invisible emotional loads in the workplace, managing their own responsibilities while also supporting the emotional needs of colleagues, clients, or even leaders. This is often where imbalance begins.

One of the strongest EQ strategies is mastering your career education trajectory.

Ask yourself: “Am I finding Continuing Education that supports my ability to manage my client, colleague and collaborator interactions effectively?”

This small, intentional act of shaping your education around what you truly need, especially a more balanced relationship between work and life, creates a quiet form of protection. It helps prevent emotional outsourcing by making you aware of where others try to pull you into their stress. In that awareness, you remain grounded, steady in your own values, and aligned with goals that are genuinely yours.

3. EARN: Create Results Without Sacrificing Yourself

The third pillar of the EEE philosophy, Earn, is about professional impact. But for women, earning isn’t only about revenue; it’s about earning influence, earning trust, and earning longevity in your career.

Tip: Measure success through alignment, not exhaustion.

The women who rise are not the ones who grind the hardest, they are the ones who allocate their energy intelligently. Rest is not separate from productivity; it is a requirement for it. Recovery time strengthens emotional resilience, deepens creativity, and enhances your ability to show up at your best.

Ask yourself: “Is everything I do connected to impacting my career goals? Or am I filling my time with things that take my energy because I view exhaustion as success?”

Your career should grow alongside your well-being, not at its expense. When you Enjoy your work, Evolve your habits, and Earn through emotionally intelligent leadership, you create a career that supports, not drains, your life.

Conclusion

Work–life balance is not a destination; it’s a journey of intentional emotional intelligence. And women who adopt the EEE philosophy don’t just balance better—they lead better, feel stronger, and build careers that support long-term fulfillment.

If you’d like support bringing EEE and Emotional Intelligence training into your organization, or into your own practice, I’d be happy to help you build a path forward.

Jade Bodzasy

Jade Bodzasy

Jade Bodzasy, Founder of Emotional Intelligence Consulting Inc., is a dedicated Coach and Consultant for Optometric Practices. Her extensive background includes over 20,000 hours of expertise focused on customer relations, work structure refinement, training method development, and fostering improved work culture within Optometric practices.

Certified in Rational Emotive Behavior Techniques (REBT), Jade possesses a unique skillset that empowers individuals to gain profound insights into the origins of their behaviors, as well as those of others. Leveraging her certification, she equips optometry practices with invaluable resources and expert guidance to establish and sustain a positive, healthful, and productive work environment.

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Fraud Protection Needs a Slower Approach

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Roxanne April 2026 article on Fraud

Most optometrists are comfortable managing clinical risk and business uncertainty. What feels different today is how convincingly fraud now presents itself, often polished, familiar, and timed to moments when attention is stretched thin.

In a recent article from Investment Executive, Canadians lost over $704,000,000 to fraud in 2025, affecting individuals across age groups and professions. The takeaway isn’t that fraud is rare or fringe. It has become routine and increasingly sophisticated.

Why scams feel harder to spot

Fraud has evolved alongside technology. Advances in artificial intelligence now allow scammers to create messages that closely resemble legitimate communications. Emails that match branding. Texts that sound conversational. Even phone calls that replicate a familiar voice.

Unfortunately, that makes traditional warning signs such as poor grammar, awkward phrasing, obvious inconsistencies no longer reliable filters. Many scams now succeed because they look reasonable and arrive at moments when quick decisions feel efficient.

Urgency is still the pressure point

Despite the technology, the underlying tactic hasn’t changed. Fraud works best when it introduces urgency: a payment that must be made immediately, an account that needs instant verification, or a problem that can’t wait.

The key to protecting you from loss is something deceptively simple: slowing down. Taking even a brief pause often creates enough distance to recognize when a request doesn’t feel quite right.

For many professionals, this mirrors clinical judgment. When something is out of pattern, it’s worth taking a second look rather than assuming the most convenient explanation.

Five habits that reduce risk without adding complexity

1) Pause before you act
If a message pressures you to act immediately, take a breath. Legitimate organizations rarely demand instant action without allowing verification.

2) Verify independently
Never rely on contact details provided in an unexpected email, text, or voicemail. If your bank, investment firm, or service provider contacts you, use a phone number or website you already know (or one you locate independently) to confirm before responding.

3) Don’t let “perfect-looking” messages reassure you
AI has made scam emails and texts look polished and professional. Reviewing the full sender name and domain still helps. When in doubt, treat unsolicited messages as suspicious.

4) Protect personal and financial information like cash
No legitimate organization will ask for passwords, one‑time codes, or full account details via email, text, or unsolicited phone call. Once that information is gone, it can be difficult to recover.

5) Talk about scams
Fraud thrives in silence. Sharing information about new scam patterns with family, friends, and colleagues reduces stigma and can prevent others from being pulled in.

Why optometrists are often targeted

Optometrists and their clinics tend to be visible professionals, with easy to access online presence. You and your team are busy and it’s easy to “click” in the moment trying to be efficient in our day. This can create predictable opportunities for impersonation or timing‑based scams.

This doesn’t suggest vulnerability. It simply highlights why routine verification processes matter, particularly for payment requests or changes to financial instructions.

Instinct is part of risk management

A recurring theme in fraud cases is hindsight clarity. Many people report that something “felt off” but seemed easier to proceed than to question it. That instinct is worth respecting.

Fraudsters rely on people being busy, distracted, or hesitant to ask questions. There is little downside to double‑checking, especially when the cost of acting too quickly can be significant.

How strong systems reduce risk

Effective fraud prevention is less about dramatic controls and more about disciplined process. Limiting access to sensitive information, using secure platforms and trusted partners, and slowing down when requests fall outside normal patterns all reduce exposure.

Ongoing staff training and regular testing further reinforce this culture of caution. Fraud prevention works best when it’s treated as an operational norm rather than an occasional reminder.

Slow Down

As scams become more convincing, the most reliable defenses remain human: pausing, verifying, and being willing to ask one more question. Those small moments of restraint often make the difference between a routine day and a costly mistake.

 

Roxanne Arnal is a Certified Financial Planner®, Chartered Life Underwriter®, Certified Health Insurance Specialist, former Optometrist, Professional Corporation President, and practice owner. She is dedicated to empowering individuals and their wealth by helping them make smart financial decisions that bring more joy to their lives.

This article is for information purposes only and is not a replacement for personalized financial planning. Errors and Omissions exempt.

ROXANNE ARNAL,

Optometrist and Certified Financial Planner

Roxanne Arnal graduated from UW School of Optometry in 1995 and is a past-president of the Alberta Association of Optometrists (AAO) and the Canadian Association of Optometry Students (CAOS). She subsequently built a thriving optometric practice in rural Alberta.

Roxanne took the decision in 2012 to leave optometry and become a financial planning professional. She now focuses on providing services to Optometrists with a plan to parlay her unique expertise to help optometric practices and their families across the country meet their goals through astute financial planning and decision making.

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Beyond the Exam Room: Dr. Mishee Goyal on Optometry After Graduation

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Beyond the Exam Room: Dr. Mishee Goyal on Optometry After Graduation OSI sponsored post April 2026 two women in a clinic

When Dr. Mishee Goyal began her optometry career, she booked one patient an hour. Not because she moved slow in the exam room, but because of everything else around her. OHIP questions. Referral workflows. File completion. The operational rhythm of running an actual clinic. “Surprisingly, it wasn’t the exam itself or the clinical testing that proved challenging,” she says. “It was everything outside of that.”

Optometry school teaches you how to examine eyes. It does not teach you how to carry the weight of a functioning clinic all at once. That integration is what defines the first real year out of school.

Now practising in Ontario since 2015, Dr. Goyal runs Blink Better Optometry in Burlington, a cold-start clinic she is building from scratch. What she learned in those early months forms a clearer picture of what the profession actually demands beyond the exam lane—and what new graduate optometrists would be wise to understand early.

What to Expect After Optometry School

Before graduating, billing is one subject. Patient communication is another. Clinical technique is its own stream. And that’s the difference between optometry school and real practice—the latter isn’t so compartmentalized.

The one-patient-per-hour approach gave her time to see these connections forming instead of being buried by them. But a second decision changed how her clinic actually operated. She asked her staff to stop silently fixing recurring workflow breakdowns and start flagging them instead. Problems began getting solved at the root rather than patched over every afternoon.

The clinical knowledge holds. The operational knowledge must be built deliberately. Graduates who build it fastest are the ones who treat it as a discipline in its own right, rather than something to figure out on the fly.

What Patients Actually Need from You

But while the operational side can be systematised, the human side of patient care is less predictable. It’s something Dr. Goyal took a deliberate effort to develop.

Early on, it was tempting to stay facing the computer and type while talking to patients. She made a conscious decision to stop, now turning her body fully toward the patient when speaking. She asks non-clinical questions before and during the exam, about work, family, what’s happening in their life outside the chair. She learned to pause and let silence sit rather than rushing to fill it.

“Even something as simple as saying, ‘That sounds really stressful,'” she says. “Those moments matter so much.”

Every patient brings their own story into the exam room: grief, illness, stress, and life transitions. Learning how to connect and show empathy can play a big part in making the correct diagnosis.

How to Manage Administration in Optometry

These human connections are what turn first-time visits into long-term patient relationships. It requires presence, but presence that isn’t always so easy to find in your first year.

Files, referrals, reports—the volume starts on day one and doesn’t ease up. Many new graduates find themselves working past their last appointment just to stay current, often while learning a new EMR platform at the same time.

“You have to learn to adapt quickly,” Dr. Goyal says. “Those breakdowns can be stressful, especially early in your career.”

Her solution was to stop trying to complete every chart perfectly during the appointment. She separated clinical time from documentation time, dedicating a block at the end of the day to finishing files. She also invested time in learning basic equipment troubleshooting—changing a slit lamp bulb, recalibrating minor issues, managing small tech disruptions without calling for service. All of it reduced the daily friction that makes managing an optometry clinic demanding in those first few years.

Having the right technology helps, too. Dr. Goyal uses Optosys, OSI’s optometry practice management software, which consolidates her EMR, billing, and workflow systems into one platform, reducing the scattered administrative work that once stretched into her evenings. When systems don’t speak to each other, you become the bridge between them—and that invisible labour is what often burns new graduates out fastest.

Building Your Optometry Support Network Early

Of course, streamlining workflow and choosing the right tools requires judgment most new graduates are still developing. And judgment is difficult to build in isolation.

“You can’t do this job alone,” Dr. Goyal says.

Early in her career, before she had a formal advisory structure around her, she was deliberate about ensuring she didn’t operate alone. She maintained group chats with a small circle of optometrist friends she trusted—a mix of clinical questions, operational questions, and the kind of honest conversations that are hard to have with people who don’t understand the work.

She was also fortunate to practise in a multi-doctor setting where she could walk down the hall and ask a quick question when something came up. Even company representatives became a resource. They interact with dozens of clinics and can offer perspective that isn’t visible from inside a single practice.

But the biggest shift, she says, was internal.

“Isolation often comes from the belief that you’re supposed to have all the answers. Once I accepted that growth involves uncertainty, asking for help became easier.”

What Structured Optometry Business Support Looks Like

When Dr. Goyal began planning her cold-start clinic, there were many unknowns.

“Clinically, we may feel confident,” she says. “But on the business side of optometry practice, it’s a completely different world.”

With that uncertainty in front of her, she reached out to the OSI Group and was paired with Practice Advisor Jas Ryat, a dedicated coach who works one-on-one with independent optometrists during key transition points like ownership and expansion.

What followed wasn’t a one-off consultation, but rather an ongoing working relationship. She found guidance on business formation, a sequenced approach to operational decisions, and support in evaluating technology with long-term implications.

Jas was someone who had seen the process before—her expertise turned what could have been months of guesswork into informed choices. And behind that advisory relationship sat the OSI Group itself, functioning as a single access point for the all the big questions: choosing an EMR, evaluating business structures, or how to start a cold-start optometry clinic. They also help find the right specialist when a specific issue requires deeper expertise.

“If they don’t have the answer immediately, they guide you to someone who does,” she says.

What She’d Tell You Now

If she could go back to her first year, Dr. Goyal wouldn’t change her decisions. She’d change how she carried them. “I felt like I needed to know everything. Every billing rule, every referral pathway, every clinical nuance. When I didn’t, I doubted myself.” What she knows now is that no one arrives with all the answers, and no one is expected to. The graduates who thrive are the ones who give themselves permission to grow into the role rather than expecting mastery on day one.

Part of that growth, she says, is seeing how other people do it. “Work in at least two different practices early in your career.” Not for the CV line, but because seeing how different clinics handle operations and patient flow gives you a foundation for knowing what you’d build yourself. “Enjoy the ride,” she adds. “Optometry keeps evolving, the scope keeps expanding, and you’ll never be bored.”

Support For New Optometry Graduates Starts Here

The transition from school to practice doesn’t require you to choose between excellent patient care and sound operations. With the right optometry business support, you can build both from the beginning.

Clinical skill gets you started. Support, systems, and guidance help you sustain momentum.

Ready to turn inspiration into action?

Connect with a Practice Advisor to explore your next step—whether that’s starting an optometry practice, evaluating opportunities, or asking the right questions early.

Reach out to Jas Ryat at jryat@opto.com and begin shaping what’s next.

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Managing Multiple Practices

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Managing Multiple Practices Dr Diana Monea

Developing, growing, and sustaining three optometric practices, one in Regina, Saskatchewan and two in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was not easy. As a wife, mother, and early woman entrepreneur, I faced the demands of raising a family, which significantly complicated practice management. Life–work balance is an ever-changing dynamic. It requires a clear vision of what you want, with great personal sacrifice. Even with that, the daily roles of motherhood and business constantly overlapped and changed with the pressures of staff issues, finances, regulatory changes, technical updates, and family demands. Creeping doubts of loneliness and insecurity made it challenging to exist and thrive while straddling the balancing act of work and life.

Mentorship with Practices 

Assisting colleagues across provinces presented unique challenges due to regional differences and practice dynamics. The consistent goal was to maintain high-quality patient care and customer service, ensuring that patients were satisfied, returned for follow-up care, and referred others. The objective was to build sustainable practices rooted in patient retention. To support this effort, the approach relied on proactive, well-defined communication, clear objectives, and ongoing mentorship. Achieving this required strong relationships built on trust and close collaboration with key leaders at each practice location.

Financial and Operational Issues

Continual surveillance of finances and operational challenges for each practice involved ongoing review and decision-making, with the most urgent issues receiving priority. Ways to incorporate new revenue streams are imperative and ever-changing as the scope of optometry expands. Equipment repairs, compliance issues, cybersecurity, insurance changes, and privacy issues all trump daily operations with heightened concern. Technological transformations are constantly in flux. New accounting and EMR systems, with updates, require significant capital outlay with careful planning. New practice modalities to generate alternative income are necessary as the scope of practice constantly evolves, requiring ongoing review with new capital outlay. Facing these day-to-day challenges requires experience and even trial and error when making decisions amid the stress of balancing costs with exceptional patient care.

Decision Regarding Provincial Jurisdictions

Jurisdictions vary between Alberta and Saskatchewan with respect to licensure, billing, and scope-of-practice requirements. Continually monitoring, updated education requirements, and communication with regulatory bodies are crucial for protecting patients, staff, and practice quality.

Addressing Family Needs

Work-life balance is constantly in flux. Sick children and unexpected life tragedies can catastrophically erode and destroy even the best-developed plans. Unpredictability is every entrepreneur’s worst nightmare, but a reality that must be carefully considered. Managing multiple practices can create chaos, especially during emergencies. These situations require flexibility, support networks, and delegation within a closely webbed network.

Dealing with Imposter Syndrome

When referring to all forms of social media, from Instagram to LinkedIn, it is easy to be overwhelmed with feelings of inadequacy. Entrepreneurs may question their ability by comparing themselves to others. It is imperative to remember that confidence grows through reflection, discussion with mentors, and taking time to celebrate progress and all achievements.

Methods for Surviving Challenges

It is critical to have a solid structure with trusted people whom you can delegate to. Prioritization is a vital tool for weighing the urgency of what needs to be done versus what can be delayed, depending on circumstances. Urgent tasks trump day-to-day routine. It is only by building strong, supportive teams and fostering genuine care among dedicated, long-term staff that a manageable work-life balance can be facilitated. Entrepreneurs must acknowledge feelings of needing assistance without seeing it as a weakness. This help is often readily available from mentors, colleagues, or family. Vulnerability and the acceptance of its limitations are necessary survival skills. Even more important is setting aside intentional time for reflection, exercise, or simply embracing family moments to create everlasting memories, experiences that really matter. Long-term well-being is essential, and it matters most when managing a business during these current unsettled times.

Takeaway of What Really Matters

The key takeaways: Success is measured by practice culture, dedicated staff, loyal patients, and individual fulfillment. Challenges will always be there; running any business requires careful balancing of a well-thought-out perspective and cautious preparation. Perseverance, in difficult times, involves “one foot in front of the other” with strategizing and reformatting, and a clear conscience to “never give up”! Entrepreneurs must remember that perfection does not exist. Life throws unexpected, disruptive curveballs. Only resilience, coupled with adaptability, will build a legacy in a career rooted in strong family values and traditions.

Finally, building one or multiple practices involves giving your best effort with a firm commitment to self-awareness, while asking for support on a journey to create a dynamic practice that stands the “test” of time.

 

Dr. Diana Mae Monea, OD, FAAO, MHRM

Dr. Diana M. Monea, OD

Dr. Diana M. Monea is an award-winning optometrist, author, and keynote speaker with more than four decades of leadership in clinical practice, business ownership, and professional education. Founder and former CEO of Eye Health Centres, she now focuses on consulting, mentorship, patient care, and public speaking.

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Decoding Generational Preferences in Contact Lens Wear – What do Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X Really Want from Eye Care Practices

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Decoding Generational Preferences in Contact Lens Wear CLI project Dr. Jennifer Liao

By any measure, contact lenses remain a cornerstone of modern vision correction. Yet despite ongoing innovation and a steadily expanding global market, the overall number of contact lens wearers has not grown at the same pace as the technology. One emerging explanation lies not in the lenses, but in the people wearing them.

A recent study commissioned by the Contact Lens Institute (CLI) sheds new light on how generational differences shape attitudes toward contact lenses and eye care. Surveying more than 1,300 vision-corrected individuals across the United States and Canada, the research reveals that each cohort approaches contact lenses with notably different priorities, values, and expectations.

For eye care professionals, these findings offer timely insight into how patient communication, prescribing strategies, and practice workflows can be better aligned with what today’s patients actually want.

A Snapshot of Today’s Contact Lens Wearers

The study surveyed 1,308 respondents between July and August 2025, divided into three cohorts: Gen Z (ages 15–28), Millennials (29–44), and Gen X (45–60). Participants were asked about their vision correction preferences, reasons for wearing contact lenses, attitudes toward new lens technologies, and the values that influence purchasing and care decisions.

One headline finding stands out: Millennials remain the most engaged contact lens wearers, with 43% reporting regular use. Gen Z follows at 35%, while Gen X lags significantly behind at just 22%.

More striking is the comparison between younger generations. Despite growing up in a digital-first, innovation-driven environment, Gen Z is 8% less likely to wear contact lenses than Millennials. Among dual wearers, Gen Z also reports using glasses more frequently than contact lenses, signaling a shift in how younger patients perceive eyewear as part of identity and lifestyle rather than a compromise.

Why Patients Choose Contact Lenses

The reasons patients give for wearing contact lenses vary sharply by generation, and those differences carry meaningful implications for practice conversations.

For Gen Z and Millennials, personal appearance ranks as the top motivator. More than half of Gen Z respondents cite appearance as their primary reason for wearing contact lenses, followed closely by freedom from glasses and the absence of visual obstruction. In contrast, Gen X places far greater emphasis on functional benefits such as comfort, convenience, and visual clarity, with appearance ranking much lower.

This distinction challenges a long-standing clinical assumption: that optimal vision is the primary driver of contact lens adoption. In fact, the study shows that across all cohorts, vision quality ranks only mid-range among reasons for choosing contact lenses. Lifestyle, identity, and practicality often matter more.

For practices, this underscores the importance of reframing conversations. Positioning contact lenses solely as a refractive solution will certainly miss the emotional and lifestyle motivations that truly influence patient decisions.

Technology: A Stronger Pull for Younger Patients

Advancements in contact lens technology resonate most strongly with Gen Z and Millennials. Features such as UV protection, reusable lens options, toric designs, and lenses optimized for extended wear use all score significantly higher with younger cohorts than with Gen X.

Interestingly, even multifocal lenses for presbyopia, arguably most relevant to Gen X, receive lower enthusiasm from that group than from Millennials. This suggests that older patients may not necessarily associate newer lens technologies with personal benefit, highlighting a potential gap in patient education rather than product relevance.

For younger patients, innovation itself carries symbolic value. Technology signals progress, personalization, and alignment with modern lifestyles. Practices that actively introduce and explain new lens options may find greater engagement among Gen Z and Millennial patients who are already predisposed to value innovation.

Values Drive Purchasing Decisions

Across all generations, three practical considerations dominate purchasing decisions: affordability, convenience, and speed of access. Nearly 90% of respondents cite value for money as their top driver, followed closely by ease of purchase and rapid product availability.

Beyond these universal priorities, generational differences emerge. Brand authenticity, individual expression, and social responsibility matter significantly more to Gen Z and Millennials than to Gen X. Younger patients want to feel that their choices reflect who they are and what they stand for, while older patients prioritize trust, clarity, and tangible value.

Interestingly, when it comes to interactions with eye care professionals and staff, Gen X places the highest importance on authenticity. This suggests that while brand messaging may resonate more with younger cohorts, personal, straightforward communication remains critical for older patients.

What This Means for Practice Strategy

The study’s findings reinforce a simple but powerful idea: one-size-fits-all communication no longer works.

For Gen Z, contact lens discussions should focus on self-expression, lifestyle fit, and innovation. Emphasizing how lenses support individuality, integrate with digital habits, and align with broader social values can help bridge the current gap in contact lens adoption.

Millennials, already the most engaged wearers, benefit from conversations that address comfort, ease of use, and evolving needs. As this cohort approaches presbyopia, proactive education about multifocal and specialty lens options becomes increasingly important.

For Gen X, success lies in authenticity and practicality. Clear explanations, functional benefits, and transparent value propositions are more likely to resonate than technology-driven messaging.

Across all age groups, the study highlights the importance of extending contact lens conversations beyond the exam room. Efficient ordering systems, fast turnaround times, and well-trained staff all play a role in reinforcing perceived value and convenience.

Looking Ahead

Roughly one in six individuals in North America currently wear contact lenses. While that number has remained relatively stable, this research suggests that growth opportunities still exist—particularly among younger patients whose values and motivations differ from those of older generations.

Understanding generational preferences allows eye care professionals to move beyond clinical assumptions and engage patients on a more personal level. By aligning recommendations with lifestyle goals, social values, and practical concerns, practices can strengthen patient relationships, improve satisfaction, and support long-term contact lens retention.

In an increasingly competitive and patient-driven market, listening closely to what different generations value may be just as important as the next technological breakthrough.

 

Dr. Jennifer Liao, OD, FAAO, FSLS

Jennifer Liao, OD, FAAO, FSLS is an associate professor of optometry, attending optometrist, and residency director of the Cornea and Contact Lenses Residency program at the New England College of Optometry. She is the lead instructor of the main contact lenses course and directs cornea and contact lens–focused clinical training with expertise in advanced contact lenses, dry eye management, and myopia control.

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Thinking of Switching EMRs? A Step-by-Step Guide for Optometry Clinics – Part 2

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Maryam article part 2 on her EMR series

In part 1 of explored why data portability matters and the legal and technical challenges that can arise when switching EMRs in optometry clinics.

Now that the “why” is clear, it’s time to understand the “how.” In this article, we’ll look at how to make the data transition smooth, secure and ensure that it all safely arrives in the appropriate patient fields.

Migrating from one EMR to another is one of the most significant digital transformations a clinic can undertake. When done well, it can modernize workflows, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen patient care. Without proper preparation, however, it can lead to disruption, data loss, and frustration.

This guide outlines the essential steps for preparing your clinic for a smooth, secure, and compliant EMR migration.

Optometry-Specific Data Considerations

Optometry data presents unique challenges beyond those in general medicine. It combines clinical information, diagnostic imaging, and retail operations.  Knowing exactly what data your current EMR holds—and how it’s structured—is the foundation of a successful migration.

Optometric data categories can include:

  • Diagnostic Imaging: OCT scans, fundus photographs, and corneal topographies often exist in large, specialized file formats (like DICOM). Without proper planning, images may be reduced to static PDFs, losing their interactive diagnostic value. It is important to ensure the new EMR can import them, or integrate with image viewers that can.
  • Refractive Prescription Data: Accurate migration of eyeglass and contact lens prescriptions is critical. If stored in proprietary or semi-structured fields, these values (sphere, base curve, diameter) must be carefully mapped to ensure accuracy in the new system.
  • Dispensing and Inventory Records: Practices that use their EMR for optical sales, lens ordering, or frame inventory must decide whether to migrate this data or archive it separately.
  • Device Integration: Diagnostic devices such as autorefractors, tonometers, and lensometers generate logs and measurements that must remain retrievable. Ensure that these files can either be migrated or securely archived, and verify that the new EMR supports existing device integrations.
  • Patient Consent and Signatures: Electronic signatures and digital consent forms are legally binding and must remain properly linked to patient files after migration.
  • Recalls, Reminders, and Visit History: Recall schedules, reminders, and visit histories form the backbone of ongoing patient management. When migrating EMRs, it is important to ensure that patient histories, previous diagnoses (e.g., glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy), and recall intervals transfer completely. This preserves continuity of care and supports proactive follow-up with patients.

💡 Quick Tip: Create a data inventory spreadsheet listing each data type, where it resides, and whether it needs to be migrated, archived, or can be left behind.

Key Considerations Before You Switch

Long before signing a contract with a new EMR vendor, it’s important to ask the right questions. The clarity that is established at an earlier stage will define the success of the migration later on.

  1. Export Formats: Ask the current vendor how data will be exported. Will it be delivered as structured data (e.g., HL7 or FHIR standards) or unstructured PDFs? Structured data allows for better integration and ongoing use.
  2. Costs and Timelines: Data extraction and migration often involve fees. Obtain written estimates outlining costs, timelines, and the level of support included.
  3. Security Measures: Ensure all data will be encrypted during transfer, and that storage and hosting comply with Canadian and provincial data requirements.
  4. Validation Testing: Conduct a pilot migration using a small dataset. Compare records between systems to confirm accuracy before proceeding with a full migration.
  5. Access to Legacy Records: Even with a successful migration, some data may remain easier to view in the old system. Ensure maintenance of read-only access to legacy records for reference.

🔒 Did You Know?
Under Canadian privacy law, optometrists remain the custodians of patient data even after switching vendors. This means the optometrist is responsible for its integrity and accessibility during and after migration—not the EMR provider.

Preparing for an EMR Migration

A structured plan is the strongest indicator of success. Clinics that invest time in preparation, communication, and testing, experience far fewer disruptions once the new EMR goes live.

  • Inventory Your Data: Catalogue the types of information stored in the current EMR—demographics, clinical notes, prescriptions, imaging, billing, and administrative data.
  • Engage Both Vendors: The smoothest migrations occur when the outgoing and incoming vendors communicate directly. Define clear migration deliverables, timelines, responsibilities, and success criteria in the new vendor’s contract.
  • Plan for Staff Training: Staff should be trained not only on the new system but also on how to access legacy data and verify migrated records.
  • Schedule Wisely: Choose a transition window that minimizes patient disruption—ideally outside peak exam seasons.
  • Budget Realistically: Factor in not only vendor fees but also staff time, temporary productivity dips, and any dual-system access costs.

🧭 Quick Tip: Migrate in stages. Start with a small batch of patient records, validate accuracy, and then expand. Incremental testing builds confidence and minimizes risk.

 Validation and Testing

Once a pilot migration is complete, validate the data thoroughly. Compare patient records across systems to ensure accuracy of key fields such as diagnoses, prescriptions, and imaging files. Pay close attention to dates, authorship, and attachments—these are often the first areas where discrepancies arise.

Involve staff from various roles in the validation process; clinicians and administrative users often notice different types of errors. Once the pilot data is confirmed accurate and functional, proceed with the full migration confidently.

 The Bottom Line for Clinics

Migrating to a new EMR is a significant undertaking, but it doesn’t have to be disruptive. By planning strategically—mapping data carefully, ensuring vendor collaboration, testing thoroughly, ensuring legal compliance, and training staff—years of valuable patient information can be protected while setting your clinic up for long-term success.

Ultimately, a well-executed migration is not just about transferring data—it’s about preserving clinical integrity, enhancing workflow, and empowering your team to deliver exceptional patient care within a more advanced, efficient system.

 

Maryam Moharib

Maryam Moharib, BOptom, BHSc, CSPO, CAPM

Maryam holds degrees in Health Sciences from the University of Ottawa and in Optometry from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England. She has dedicated many years to working alongside ophthalmologists in refractive surgical clinics, where she gained significant experience in clinical training and in EMR implementation for various software platforms.

Maryam has also worked as a certified product owner with an EMR software company where she played a key role in effectively bridging the gap between clinical needs and technology. Additionally, her certification in project management from the Project Management Institute has equipped her with the skills to lead implementation and transformative clinic projects successfully.

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