The term "outcomes analysis" has been floating around the medical community for some 15 years. For the most part, ophthalmologists have ignored the concept because they see it as driven by the insurance industry, not by doctors, and as too time-consuming.

Some ophthalmologists, however, have found it in their best interest to embrace outcomes analysis. Dr. Terry W. Talley of Evansville, Ind., describes it as "a technology with the potential to become one of the physician�s basic management and practice-building tools." It�s not that these practitioners are letting outsiders tell them how to do things or what they need to achieve surgically to be considered successful. Rather, they�ve seen that they can employ their own outcomes analysis to provide better patient care and move the practice in the direction of their choosing.

In a nutshell, outcomes analysis is a statistical measurement of the effectiveness of anything you choose to analyze, such as the medications you prescribe, the surgical techniques you favor or the quality control procedures in your optical. You can use one of several common spreadsheet applications to interpret your data, or go with more sophisticated software, specifically designed for you. Larger practices might hire a consulting company. Paid Internet-based services are also available. Data.site, for example, analyzes your surgical data and compares your results to a global database.

Here are some of the ways outcomes analysis might be useful to you in your practice:

• Nomogram development.
Isolating the variables that come into play during surgery allows you to increase surgical efficiency, fine-tune your techniques and create new ones. You can determine which factors are the most important to a positive outcome. In the past, surgeons gauged their success in the operating room by how comfortable they felt performing a procedure. That type of gut-feeling results measurement has become less acceptable. Managed care companies and even patients now demand proof of what you can achieve.
• Patient satisfaction.
Obviously, the better your surgical techniques are, the more your patients benefit. But patients are more savvy than ever. They tend to shop around for medical care and they have high expectations of what they�ll get. If you can�t tell them what to expect, they�ll find someone who can.
• Marketing.
You can better communicate your favorable results to potential patients with solid evidence of your success.
• Group management
. Outcomes analysis can help a group practice decide which partners should be focusing on which procedures. For example, Dr. John Marlow, managing director of the consulting firm M.D. Directions, L.L.C., points out that it�s not cost-efficient to have a highly skilled cataract surgeon spending his time working with other types of cases.
• Extra income.
Practices set up to analyze outcomes can be paid for participating in studies with the National Institutes of Health or a pharmaceutical firm, for example.
• Product use.
Proper analysis can show you whether you�re stocking a medication or other product that isn�t producing the results you expected.
• Referral networks.
Dr. Talley says that sharing his surgical results with optometrists helps him to maintain a viable referral network. He provides O.D.s with his statistics and then directs them to data.site�s OnTarget Network (www.datasite1.com), where they can compare his results to results from around the world. This gives them confidence in their referrals.

Consultant William B. Rabourn Jr., president of Medical Consulting Group, encourages all of his clients to use outcomes analysis, and about 50% of them do. However, he estimates that only 5% to 10% of ophthalmologists do, overall.

Dr. Marlow believes that will change. He said that as ophthalmologists continue to react to a changing market, "outcomes analysis will be embraced by those who want to practice good medicine."