Patient Education Concepts, LLC Agrees to Sell Certain Assets to Advice Media, LLC

by | Feb 1, 2017 | News, Press Release

Patient Education Concepts, LLC Agrees to Sell Certain Assets to Advice Media, LLC

PRESS RELEASE:

For Immediate Release:

Houston, Texas February 1, 2017

Patient Education Concepts (PEC), a leading supplier of ophthalmic patient education and marketing products to physicians and device companies has sold its Website, Sight Selector and Social Advantage (social media management) product lines to Advice Media, LLC. Advice Media is the industry leader in digital marketing for healthcare professionals servicing over 1500 clients out of their Park City, UT and Melville, NY offices. PEC will continue its Houston operations, offering the finest premium patient education brochures, custom and consent video programs, posters and interactive educational software to its customer base of over 8000 ophthalmologists.

“It is no longer enough to just offer clients a pretty website with high quality animated videos,” said Robert Watson, PEC’s founder and president since 1982. “In today’s market for premium ophthalmic services, ophthalmologists need a multi-channel marketing approach that includes a wide array of both print and digital marketing strategies to be competitive. Now, our website customers will have access to the best and most innovative forms of digital marketing to drive consumers into their practices.

In addition to providing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services, Advice Media’s highly specialized team of dedicated website and digital marketing experts offer services such as pay-per-click, retargeting, display ads, email marketing, portal listings and social media management. With over 250 ophthalmic website customers, the addition of PEC’s Sight Selector family of products (Sight Selector Practice Edition, Sight Selector Online Edition and Sight Selector iPad Edition) to Advice Media’s product line will enhance their customer’s websites, computers and iPads with over 135 animated videos designed to educate and convert patients to premium ophthalmic services.

“PEC’s Sight Selector, Website and Social Media businesses are a wonderful strategic fit for Advice Media. Ophthalmology was already one of our largest medical specialty areas. The acquisition of these PEC product lines reinforces Advice Media’s position as the leading digital marketing agency serving Ophthalmologists and other medical professionals such as Plastic Surgeons, Dentists, Dermatologists and Orthopedic Surgeons,” explained Advice Media CEO Shawn Miele. “We are extremely excited to welcome PEC’s customers to the Advice Media family.”

About Patient Education Concepts

Since 1982, Robert Watson has provided ophthalmic practices and device companies with patient education, marketing and risk management products. Its line of premium and deluxe brochures for laser cataract surgery and refractive surgical procedures are highly effective conversion tools that can dramatically increase a practices premium surgical procedures. To learn more about PEC visit www.PatientEducationConcepts.com or call PEC at (800) 436-9126. For information about Advice Media, visit AdviceMedia.com or call (435) 575-7477.

 

Tribute to Guy E. Knolle, Jr., M.D., F.R.I.E.N.D.

by | Sep 29, 2016 | News

Tribute to Guy E. Knolle, Jr., M.D., F.R.I.E.N.D.

guy-knolleMany of you may know Dr. Knolle as a past President of the ASCRS. Others may know him as the ophthalmologist that taught them phacoemulsification. But there are hundreds of us that know him as a dear and wonderful FRIEND. We lost that friend August 30, 2016 at the very young age of 80 to an unfortunate stumble and fall while he was out for a brisk morning walk.

Guy practiced in Houston for many years following his father’s footsteps into ophthalmology. He then met his soulmate, Sue Ellen Young, M.D. who practiced ophthalmology in Austin, where they married and practiced together for 11 years.

Guy, Sue Ellen, my wife Barbara, and I, became very close friends. Guy was a pilot and lived off the Lakeway Airport runway where he could pull his plane into his hangar/garage when he landed. We went on a lot of fun trips together. We fished for speckled trout off the Mississippi River delta and for Redfish in Intercostal Canal around Port Isabel and for White Bass off the pier at our lake house, and Black Bass in the ponds at their ranch. We also shared a fabulous voyage around the Hawaiian Islands to celebrate Sue’s and my November birthday.

Guy was one of the happiest men I ever knew. I don’t think he ever got mad at anyone or anything. Late in his 70s he decided to learn to play golf so we could all play together. Now those of you that play golf know it is probably the most frustrating sport there is and it takes a lot time and lessons just to break 100. As maddening as it can be to swing and miss the ball completely or knock a drive only 5 feet off the tee box, the worst thing I ever heard Guy say on the golf course was, “Oh Brother” and he said that quite often.

He was also the Quintessential Southern gentleman…always standing up when one of the ladies would get up from the table and pushing them back up to the table when they sat back down. If he ever disagreed with Sue Ellen, he would simply smile and say with a little giggle, “Now Sue Ellen….”

And Guy always made the time to call his friends. At least twice a month I would here the phone ring at my office and after about 5 minutes my receptionist would say, “Dr. Knolle on line 1”. No telling what he talked to the receptionist about for 5 minutes, but I tell you, they loved him calling in.

Guy had an incredible memory and even when we had not spoken for a month or more, he picked up the conversation exactly where it left off. He wanted to know everything that had happened to me, Barbara, my kids, my work and I always told him because I always felt like I was talking to my father, my psychologist, my ophthalmologist, my life coach, as well as my best friend.

Yes, we are all going to miss that Guy but how blessed we were to have him in our lives!

Robert Watson

Robert Watson

President & CEO

Patient Education Concepts (PEC) has been a leading provider of ophthalmic patient education, risk management and marketing products since its founder, Robert (Bob) Watson had Radial Keratotomy surgery in 1982. Over 30 years later, PEC offers over 100 videos, 10 different product lines and services, 3 software applications and print brochures on dozens of topics. Our products have been used in over 10,000 practices and just about every country in the world. Most of our products can be seen on this website, however our digital marketing products are also featured on www.pecinteractive.com.

Co-Marketing with ODs – Done Right!

by | Aug 16, 2016 | Marketing, Print

Co-Marketing with ODs - Done Right!

Recently, I was shooting a custom video for an ophthalmologist and I asked his post-operative patient, “What made you decide to have cataract surgery with my surgeon client?” She picked up two brochures. One was a tri-fold brochure from a device manufacturer with the surgeon’s name and address stamped on it. The other brochure was an impressive, 16-page, glossy, very customized brochure that had a heavy weight and textured cover. There was an insert in the pocket that was all about the OD and discussed his role in co-managing. As she held them out for me to peruse she said, (with a no-brainer smile on her face) “Which one of these surgeons would you go to?”

“We toss the device companies brochures in the trash. If we hand those out, we are just like every other practice. We want our patients to know why they should choose us.”

Co-Marketing with Co-Managing doctors can have a prolific affect on increasing referrals when it is done right! In 2000, we surveyed 100 ODs and asked them, “If you were given marketing materials to distribute by a device company or surgeon, how likely would you distribute them to your patients?” 78% responded that they would likely distribute them if they believed in the product or surgeon. Next, we asked them, “If the marketing materials were customized with your contact information on them, how likely would you distribute them?”

The number of positive responses jumped to 98%.

One ophthalmologist I spoke to about this survey last week said, “We toss the device companies brochures in the trash. If we hand those out, we are just like every other practice. We want our patients to know why they should choose us.”

Referring optometrists are no different. They want their patients to know who they are, what they contribute to their patients’ care and have their contact information included on anything they give to a patient. Any premium marketing materials that an ophthalmologist would give to convert their most qualified patients to their premium cataract or laser vision correction services would have the same positive impact when handed to a qualified patient who is being referred by their co-managing OD.

The old saying is absolutely true: It’s never too early to make a good first impression!

Robert Watson

Robert Watson

President & CEO

Patient Education Concepts (PEC), located in Houston, Texas, is a marketing products and services subsidiary of Surgery Partners, the industry’s leader in managing, developing and acquiring single and multi-specialty ambulatory surgical centers. PEC’s president and founder, Robert Watson, has produced and marketed patient education materials for the ophthalmic industry since 1982. PEC has provided their products to over 12,000 eye care professionals in the United States and in over 30 countries.

Why You Should Stop Advertising “Surgery!”

by | Jul 28, 2016 | Cataract, Laser Cataract & Refractive Marketing, Laser Cataract Surgery, Marketing

Why You Should Stop Advertising “Surgery!”

shutterstock_139749922Why should you stop advertising “surgery”?  Because patients think surgery is scary. This fact is never going to change. So, how do you attract more LASIK and cataract patients without advertising ”Surgery”?  I’ll tell you, but first, let’s review some typical ad headlines and why they aren’t working.

It is very common to see ads with headlines such as, “Now Offering Bladeless Laser Cataract Surgery” or “ALL LASER LASIK IS MAKING LASIK SAFER”. These types of ads may differentiate you from your competitors, but they do little to make the public feel more at ease about having surgery.

Continuous advancements in cataract and laser vision correction technology have forced many practices to spend their advertising dollars educating patients about how their technology improves surgical outcomes. But patients already expect you to have the latest technology so there is no motivation for them to respond to technology oriented ads.

Instead, patients who are considering LASIK are more interested in finding out if they are a good candidate for LASIK and what their vision might be like if they decide to have it. And patients who are experiencing diminishing vision due to lenticular changes simply want to know why their vision keeps getting worse.

So what type of advertising DOES work?

Advertising that communicates AFFORDABILITY and offers information that will help patients better understand their vision issues, such as, “Advanced Vision Analysis…. $99.” How do we know this works?  For years, hospitals have been offering inexpensive “Diagnostic Screening Packages” with a great deal of success. They don’t make much money on the screenings but they see a huge return on their marketing dollars, generated from the therapeutic and surgical solutions presented to the patients after analysis of their diagnostic testing.

How can you use this technique in YOUR practice?

Many cataract and refractive surgeons are using the Visiometrics® HD Analyzer on every patient that walks through the door. This simple, two-minute test provides an objective tear film assessment and assigns an Ocular Scatter Index (OSI) rating that measures how much light is being scattered on the retina by the lens. This allows doctors to better understand their patients’ “quality of vision” and each patient’s optical limitations they should consider in presenting the best therapeutic or premium corneal and lenticular surgical solutions.

It will be hard for anyone to say “NO” to a $99 Advanced Vision Analysis that will let them know for sure if they are a good candidate for any type of eye surgery and every patient that responds to your ad could easily become your patient for life.

Patient Education Concepts Announces the Immediate Availability of a KAMRA® Inlay Consent Video

by | Jul 1, 2016 | Informed Consent Programs, New Products, News, Press Release

Patient Education Concepts Announces the Immediate Availability of a KAMRA® Inlay Consent Video

PRESS RELEASE:

For Immediate Release:

June 30, 2016 – Houston, TX…. A 12 – minute video, “Understanding Your Procedure: KAMRA® Inlay,” is now available from Houston-based Patient Education Concepts (PEC). The video presents how the KAMRA inlay works; explains how the procedure is performed and covers post-operative instructions, side-effects and potential risks and complications.

“We were honored to have AcuFocus elect PEC to produce this video,” said Robert Watson, President of PEC. “This program will save their customers a lot of chair time explaining this exciting and unique method for the treatment of presbyopia.”

It is well documented that an effective informed consent process helps maintain good communication between physicians and patients. Since 1982, Patient Education Concepts has provided video assisted informed consent programs to assist with the requirement that ophthalmologists must disclose risks and complications and verify their patients understand those risks.

“Our goal in working with PEC to produce a consent video on the KAMRA inlay is to assure each and every patient considering this device be well informed prior to giving their consent for surgery,” said Wellentina Greer, AcuFocus’ Director of Global Strategic Marketing. “We firmly believe that better patient education leads to improved compliance and better outcomes. Having our surgeons utilizing this program will certainly enhance the communication process, increase patient satisfaction and generate even more interest in the KAMRA inlay.”

“Because informed consent delivery methods vary from practice to practice, PEC is offering the KAMRA consent video in a variety of formats so practices can choose where and how they want to educate their patients,” added Mr. Watson. “It is available via DVDs or MP4 format.”

TO ORDER OR PREVIEW:

Understanding Your Procedure: KAMRA Inlay is available for preview at www.patientedconcepts.com/KAMRA. To order a DVD or MP4 copy, call (800) 436-9126 or email: [email protected].