Mary Hollis Stuck
Mary Hollis has been in the optical field since 2005. She has filled many roles within optometric practices and is a billing guru. She is passionate about providing excellent customer service for patients, which she helps to achieve while finding ways to increase practice productivity. Currently, Mary Hollis manages the billing department at Eye Associates of Cayce, a multi-doctor private practice in Cayce, South Carolina.
February 25 8 min read
Everything you do in your practice affects your bottom line. As a business, it is important to focus on profit margins, to ensure you’re keeping costs down and being as profitable as possible. Tracking these benchmarks is a vital part of practice management. However, there is a point where, as they say, you have to spend money to make money. That is what it will take to create patient loyalty. When considering the important margins to trac (...) Read more
February 24 8 min read
With the number of Medicare Advantage plans on the rise, the optometry industry is in a uniquely complicated position. Being an industry that provides both medical care and material goods, we have the unfortunate responsibility of having to properly file not one, but two insurances, in most cases. This may act as a guide to help simplify the options your patients have. According to data collected by KFF.org¹, the number of Medicare patien (...) Read more
February 25 8 min read
In this day and age, with everything technology based, most practices are focusing on becoming as streamlined as possible. Patients check in using iPads, pretesting is done with machines that sync to EHR, lenses are probably digitized. In order to keep up with this fast paced practice environment, it is becoming more and more important to also streamline you billing policies. Following this short guide can help you set policies in your practice, (...) Read more
March 18 8 min read
In this day and age, the staff numbers for an optometric practice will vary greatly. If a practice does mostly routine exams, but has a booming optical, they will be heavy on optical staff. Likewise, if the practice focuses more on medical visits, they may implement a greater number of technicians and front desk staff to assist in the doctors’ schedules. However, every office has one area in common: billing. Some offices have trained certai (...) Read more
March 30 8 min read
2020 was supposed to be “our year” in optometry. The number itself was made for us. Now, here I am in the middle of the work-day, writing articles from my home office. Grocery store shelves are bare. Bars are shut down. Sports have been completely cancelled. This is truly a situation like many of us haven’t experienced before. COVID-19 is real, and it is affecting all of us. My practice closed its doors yesterday afternoo (...) Read more
April 07 8 min read
On March 25, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed, including a $349 billion loan program for small businesses, through the Small Business Association. This stimulus package introduced a lot of complex information in a very short amount of time. While every buying group, lab, or practice management company you’ve ever given your email address to is likely sending daily updates, it’s become inf (...) Read more
May 01 8 min read
While COVID-19 is still terrorizing our nation, and the world, the CDC guidelines and state guidelines are changing. Postponement of routine eyecare is no longer necessary, and many practices that have been closed for weeks are creating a plan to reopen. With that relief comes a great number of concerns. The threat of this virus is still very real, and when opening your doors up to the public, it must be taken seriously. Here are a few things to (...) Read more
August 12 8 min read
Months after the government began requiring shut downs of many businesses, optometry practices across the nation have re-opened. This means implementing safety precautions to fight COVID-19, practicing social distancing, and searching for PPE for both staff and patients. Our day to day business has been altered, possibly forever. While business owners and staff alike are focused on protecting themselves and the patients in the practice, business (...) Read more
September 04 8 min read
With the virus COVID-19 still surging through the country, it is inevitable that you or someone you know has or will end up catching it. You are taking the necessary precautions, both on a personal and a professional level, but some things just can’t be avoided. While you may have an excellent in-office plan for keeping things as safe as possible, one of your employees could very well fall ill with coronavirus. It’s important to have (...) Read more
September 28 8 min read
Social media has been slowly taking over globally for some time now. In the year 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, people have begun to spend even more time glued to their phones or computers. Less time is being spent outside in the “real world,” and more time spent working from home, lounging on the couch, or endlessly scrolling the internet. While sales may have been affected during office closures, quarantines, or eve (...) Read more