WRITERS Associate Professor Tony Phillips with James Mann

Good patient communication is one of the most important attributes of a successful practice and a new website aims to help smooth that process with an extensive image library.

After a long career in both general practice and in a university environment, I have observed a definite disconnect between the advice given by an eye care professional, and the patient’s understanding.

Having gone through a series of tests, most patients are somewhat befuddled and would little understand or remember what had been done and why. What therefore becomes important is that last minute or two, when you summarise what you have done, hopefully reassure them, and give them a reason why they should return to see you.

This is where the new website, The Optometrist’s Companion, is invaluable.

Broadly speaking, people learn in three distinct groups, which sometimes overlap.

• Audio learners, who learn largely by listening,

• Visual learners, who learn largely by looking and seeing, and

• Kinaesthetic learners, who learn largely by touching and feeling.

Audio learners comprise approximately 30% of the population, visual learners approximately 65%, and kinaesthetic learners approximately 5%.

Most clinicians are audio learners; they have been to university and have learnt by listening to lectures. However, two-thirds of the patients they see are visual learners. Thus, you have the situation of an audio learning optometrist explaining a clinical condition to a visual learning patient, who also probably has little or no understanding of the human eye or its anatomy and physiology.

The result is most patients may have little or no idea of what you have said or advised. If they are confused or frightened, the chances are that you will not see them again.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MANUAL

To overcome this, I initially developed The Optometrist’s Practitioner-Patient Manual in book form. The concept of the manual was a series of simple diagrams and pictures of every condition or question that could be asked and then shown to patients while at the same time giving a verbal explanation.

But print runs of books expire, so with the help of colleague James Mann, the Manual has been updated, enlarged, and reproduced as a website. This now contains over 250 pictures and simple diagrams covering:

• The eye (in general),

• Spectacle lenses,

• Abnormal conditions (anterior and posterior),

• Contact lenses, and

• Binocular vision.

THE OPTOMETRIST’S COMPANION WEBSITE

 While the site may not be necessary in routine clinical examination, where it should be used is if you wish to demonstrate something you have observed and want to explain to the patient. You then ‘talk’ to the picture displayed depending on the time available, the patient’s interest and intellect, and at a level that will not be frightening.

This should take no more time than the normal verbal explanation. The huge advantage is that it will now be understood by the visual learners and will also assist the audio learner.

Some conditions are also difficult to explain verbally. How does one answer a mother’s question as to what her son with a colour vision deficiency sees, or how it will be inherited? How does one answer a child’s question as to why they see better if they screw up their eyes?

The website is a subscription service – available for the cost of less than a cup of coffee a month – but a small selection of images is available as a ‘taster’. The main thing is to get into the habit of using it where relevant. On a personal basis, I found it to be a terrific practice builder and generator of new referrals.

Visit: theoptometristscompanion.com.

Tony Phillips is an Associate Professor at Flinders University. He has also been in both private practice and was formerly Principal Optometrist at Flinders Medical Centre and The Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

James Mann is a website and app developer.