Our Head of Marketing sat down recently with a distinguished eyecare professional, Jenna St Pierre, to explore the evolving landscape of optometry and ophthalmology.
Together, they discussed the innovations shaping the future of the field and the challenges and opportunities faced by eyecare professionals – both now, and in the future.
Interview between epipole Marketing (eM) and Jenna St.Pierre (JS):
eM: Hey, hello Jenna! Great to have you with us, thank you so much for taking the time to talk!
JS: Hello to you too, and thanks for having me – this should be fun!
eM: Absolutely! OK, so, to kick things off, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
JS: Of course! OK, so my name is Jenna St. Pierre. I have a background in ophthalmology, and I’m both a certified ophthalmic scribe and a certified ophthalmic assistant. My experience spans across various specialties within ophthalmology, including retina, glaucoma, and cataracts. I’ve also had the opportunity to work closely with optometrists in high street practices across the USA.
eM: OK great, sounds like you are absolutely the right sort of person to be asking questions about eyecare and the future of optometry/ophthalmology!
JS: (laughs) Well, I will certainly try my best!
Day to Day
eM: So, let’s start off setting the scene then for what your day to day looks like for you. What does a typical day in your role at the eyecare practice look like?
JS: Well, the nature of my day varies depending on whether I’m working in optometry or ophthalmology. In optometry, I assist with general tasks like conducting vision tests, acuity assessments, and providing information for cataract surgery, with the various optometrists seeing typically 20 to 30 patients a day. On the other hand, working in a retina clinic is much more fast-paced, with each doctor seeing 50 to 70 patients daily. This involves handling cases like diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and occasional ocular trauma.
eM: Wow, that sounds like a busy day! So, tell me, what sort of challenges do you often face when interacting with patients?
JS: One of the biggest challenges in retina care is managing patients who have lost vision or are at risk of losing it, especially those who don’t consistently follow up with their treatment. Another challenge is obtaining accurate images, as some patients have difficulty accommodating different scans, either visually or physically. This can significantly slow down the process, especially when larger scans like OCT or fundus imaging are involved.
Future Focused
eM: I imagine it varies from location to location, but in general, how do you keep up with the latest advancements in eyecare and technology?
JS: Staying up to date on what is happening and the new technologies that are becoming available is crucial, and a lot of our retina specialists rely on articles, industry representatives, and conferences to stay informed. However, there can be a disconnect between the adoption of new technology and those who are more ‘traditional’ in their approach. The technicians are often at the forefront actually, largely because they are the ones using and testing the new diagnostic tools.
While some doctors are open-minded and embrace new technologies, others stick to outdated equipment, which can slow down the clinic’s efficiency and affect patient care – some of the older machines can take upwards of ten minutes just to image one patient, and that’s when they are working properly (!!) so you can imagine the bottleneck that creates in practices, especially when things get busy!
Happy H-eye-Light
eM: Could you share a memorable experience that highlights the impact of your work on a patient’s life?
JS: Certainly. There was one that always jumps to mind: it was a young gentleman with type 1 diabetes who had lost most of his vision in one eye and was at risk of losing it in the other. His retina was severely damaged by the disease, and he was absolutely devastated, because he thought that his quality of life was over, and he would soon be blind. After intervention by our retinal surgeon, we were able to restore his vision to 20/40. He returned to work, started a family, and his recovery journey was truly life-changing, not just for him but for everyone involved in his care. I’ll never forget the look on his face when he realised how well he could see after he was treated.
eM: Oh wow, that sounds amazing – what an incredible thing to be a part of!
JS: It really was!
eM: In terms of patient care overall, obviously you care very much, and the patients are extremely well taken care of, would you say that there are key or standardised factors that your practice(s) take to ensure such high-quality patient care?
JS: It does vary slightly from place to place, but overall, we follow a consistent process for patient workups, including medical history, diagnosis, and medication review. Human interaction is key too – understanding who the patients are, how to communicate effectively with them, and showing empathy are crucial. Many older patients, in particular, may struggle with understanding their condition, so advocating for them, educating them, and ensuring they have the support for follow-up care are all essential.
Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork…
eM: Considering how many patients you are potentially seeing in any given day, and the potential complexities of the various medical histories involved, the admin burden must be huge! How do you handle the administrative aspects of your job, such as patient records and scheduling?
JS: Well, you are not wrong – the administrative load is significant. Typically, there are three technicians per doctor, and we might image 100 patients in a day. The key is to have a good support system in place, and good processes to handle the constant flow of patient information – the main practice has around five to ten front desk staff, for example, all set up to help manage the constant flow of patient charts. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated some challenges, such as a lack of seating, which has slowed down our workflow overall, and bottlenecks still impact our daily operations, especially when things break down or don’t work as well as they should.
Hand-Held Heroics
eM: What role does mobile optometry play in your practice, and how has it changed patient care?
JS: Mobile optometry and ophthalmology are not something I’ve encountered much personally. Occasionally, we might do home visits, but it’s usually more practical to arrange transportation for patients to the clinic. However, this can be a logistical challenge, especially for patients with mobility issues. Without regular imaging, it’s difficult to monitor disease progression, which is vital, especially for conditions like diabetic retinopathy and AMD.
eM: Have handheld retinal imaging devices been used in your practice, and if so, can you speak to their benefits?
JS: Unfortunately, none of the practices I’ve worked at have had handheld imaging devices. However, I see tremendous value in them. From the examples I’ve seen, they have the potential to revolutionize patient flow and imaging speed, especially in situations where patient mobility, or compliance, is an issue. Thinking about some of the places I’ve worked, being able to have the techs image in the waiting rooms, or in-lane, and then send the images directly to the doctors, would be a huge time saver.
eM: What do you imagine are the biggest challenges and benefits of using handheld retinal imaging devices in a clinical setting?
JS: Handheld devices would likely be simpler to use compared to stationary ones, and potentially a lot faster too. I’ve seen the video functionality (on the epiCam) and think that could be an absolute game-changer, especially in things like pediatric care. For instance, trying to get a six-week-old baby into a desktop machine is nearly impossible, so handheld imaging would provide a more accurate and efficient alternative to the current methods of trying to go in manually with an indirect ophthalmoscope, and then the doctor having to draw things out by hand from memory! Having an actually captured video of an examination, rather than an artistic interpretation would ben hugely useful. They would need to be simple to use, and pretty robust too – life in practice isn’t always gentle on the technology we use!
Looking ahead:
eM: So, from everything you’ve seen in your day to day, and from what you know, what trends do you see shaping the future of eyecare?
JS: Without doubt the future of eyecare is being shaped by advancements in technology, particularly in imaging and treatment methods. As technology improves, it enables faster and more accurate diagnoses, leading to better patient outcomes – and faster and better is key.
There’s also a shift in the medical field towards embracing new technologies, as more doctors recognize the value of efficiency and improved patient care. This openness to change is especially prevalent among newer generations of doctors. It’s also an extremely competitive industry, so if there is a way that a doctor can offer their patients faster, easier, more reliable appointment times, that increases patient satisfaction and increases the chances they’ll refer their friends too – it’s a business at the end of the day, so practices are definitely interested in finding ways to stand out from their competitors.
Thank you and Good Night!
eM: Jenna, thank you so much for joining us today! You have been absolutely wonderful, and I’ve really enjoyed talking with you – thank you!
JS: Aww you are more than welcome – It’s been my absolute pleasure! Watching the progression of epipole I am so excited to see what comes next, and I really do see the value in how [the epiCam] can improve every practice from one end to the other.
I’m a big supporter of the underprivileged too, and helping those without access to medical care to the communities, especially those that don’t have the access to the medical care they need, because of health, education, mobility etc,. and seeing the work you are doing with people like Optical Academy really makes me smile, so anything I can do to help see more of that in the world, you just let me know!
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For more information on the epiCam, and how handheld retinal imaging can benefit you and your eyecare practice today, drop us a line via [Contact Us]