PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

Help Desk

In-Office Communications

■ Eye Central News (ECN) is a new offering in the in-office patient education and marketing field. Produced by VisionScience Software, ECN urges physicians to �Reduce or eliminate your outdated modes of advertising and enter the digital information delivery system.� The program allows physicians to educate patients about eye health and procedures offered at the practice, and also to promote products offered, including everything from contact lenses and low-vision devices to refractive procedures. Additionally, ECN keeps patients current on news and weather.

Content is remotely delivered via the Internet. The central server location feeds each office with material, requiring no assistance from practice staff.

�The intent is to customize content so that patients know exactly what the practice can do for them and what products are available,� says Eye Central News Representative Laura Bursack. Physicians can include distinct healthcare or product information deemed important to their patient base. When a practice wishes to change content, a phone call or e-mail to the company will make this change, allowing outdated material to be eliminated. This can also help you run a �greener� practice, Bursack points out. �We are an eco-friendly company in the sense that we are trying to minimize the amount of paper advertising material that you send out from your practice. News and weather updates come via live feeds from UPI news service and AccuWeather,� says Bursack. Practices have the option of either, or all of UPI news feeds including headlines, sports, entertainment and business news — whatever they think their patients would be most interested in.

The information is delivered via broadband access in a high-definition format. Front-desk staff will appreciate that ECN is silent, relying on attractive, compelling visuals to get patients' attention. Audio capabilities are available, however. Further, ECN integrates with other patient education systems, such as Ocutouch (Stephen Gordon, Inc).

Eye Central News is available in a variety of packages, depending on a practice's software and hardware needs. The service is available for a yearly fee, or for greater savings, an extended 3-year plan. For information, go to www.eyecentralnews.com. OM