EYE OWN A BUSINESS

In this episode, Dr. Steve Vargo sits down with Dr. Ansel Johnson, an independent optometrist outside Chicago, for a practical conversation about what it really means to care for the whole patient, not just a set of eyes, and why that shift may be one of the biggest opportunities in optometry right now. Steve and Ansel talk through how Ansel’s practice checks blood pressure, tracks BMI and A1C, and watches for subtle trends in OCT and OCT angiography data, even when every number is still in the green. They cover how to educate patients who still see their eye doctor as the glasses-and-contacts stop, how Ansel builds trust with physicians through steady reporting and hospital staff privileges, and which technologies and conditions make the easiest starting points for doctors who want to move further into medical eye care. They also unpack oculomics, the growing field that connects biomarkers in the eye to systemic health. This conversation goes beyond clinical scope. It’s about behavior change: why patients so often abandon the lifestyle changes we recommend, and how a “baby steps” approach, a little empathy, and some well-timed cheerleading can keep them on track. Ansel shares his own story as a patient, and the business case behind it all, from average revenue per patient to why there’s surprisingly little competition for medical eye care done at a high level, even in a crowded urban market.

In this episode, Dr. Steve Vargo marks the release of his new book, Human-Centered AI: How Doctors Can Use AI to Reclaim Time, Restore Connection, and Love This Work Again, and shares the personal story behind it. Steve opens with a look at how he's using AI to get back roughly 10 hours a week: an agent that sorts his inbox every morning, a team of 11 AI assistants led by an executive assistant named Jordan, deep research reports he turns into podcasts for his dog walks, a book landing page built in about 10 minutes, and a podcast post-production process that used to take hours. But the tools were never the point. The bigger question is what you do with the time you get back. From there, Steve shares the parking-lot moment that told him something had to change, why he wrote a leadership book instead of a technology book, and how to use AI as a strategic thought partner rather than a decision-maker. He walks through the four areas the book focuses on: leading your team, closing the hesitation gap in patient conversations, rethinking the patient experience, and building an AI-enabled team safely with a simple permission framework. And he makes the case that while competitors may win on technology, independent practices can win on the human touch. Human-Centered AI is available now on Amazon and at human-centeredaibook.com.

In this episode, Dr. Steve Vargo sits down with Shareef Mahdavi, author of Beyond Bedside Manner and a longtime patient experience strategist, for a conversation about the part of healthcare most practices still treat as optional: how patients feel. Steve and Shareef unpack why the so-called soft skills aren't soft at all. They talk about why your receptionist is really your director of first impressions, why doctors tend to interrupt patients within seconds, and what changes when the doctor stops playing the hero and starts acting as the patient's guide. They also dig into why price is rarely the real objection, why lowering fees can actually shrink demand, and Shareef's uncomfortable idea that a doctor's fee schedule often reflects their own sense of self-worth. This conversation goes beyond customer service clichés. Shareef shares what happened when he turned a Silicon Valley laser practice into a living laboratory for the ideas in his book, along with practical advice on recruiting from hospitality and retail, getting the whole team on board, and the one question every practice owner should be able to answer: What are you known for? To register for Vision Forward, visit idoc.net to reserve your spot. 

In this episode, Dr. Steve Vargo sits down with Dr. James Loughman, professor of optometry, founder of the Centre for Eye Research Ireland, and CEO of Ocumetra, and Dr. Ece Turhal, optometrist and director of product management at Topcon Healthcare, for a practical conversation about why so many ODs are still on the sidelines of myopia management. Steve, James, and Ece work through the three barriers that keep doctors out: clinical education, instrumentation, and the discomfort of anything that feels like selling. They explore why confidence, more than knowledge, sits underneath all three, why any amount of myopia should be treated as abnormal instead of waiting for a threshold, and why biometry is a destination rather than a requirement to get started. James shares the surprising research finding that led to Ocumetra, and Ece walks through Topcon’s measure, educate, and execute approach. This conversation goes beyond equipment and treatment options. It’s about simplifying the message so parents can see what’s at stake for their child, involving both decision-makers, delegating the cost conversation to a trained team member, and recognizing that offering the best care isn’t selling, it’s duty of care. Free resources mentioned in the episode are available at myopia123.com and ocumetra.com. To register for Vision Forward, visit idoc.net to reserve your spot. 

In this episode, Dr. Steve Vargo sits down with Dr. Zach Holland, owner of the Cornea and Contact Lens Institute of Minnesota, to unpack how a specialty practice grew its revenue per exam from roughly $562 to more than $1,500 — and why there was never a step-by-step playbook behind it. Steve and Zach talk through how Zach layered specialty pillars one at a time — scleral lenses, myopia control, dry eye, clinical trials, and in-office corneal cross-linking — using the profit from each to fund the next. They get into why he stopped referring cross-linking out, why he doesn't schedule separate consultations, and the one simple question that opens the myopia control conversation without a sales pitch. This conversation goes beyond adding services. It's about building a practice patients choose on purpose: pricing specialty care reasonably, protecting referral relationships by sending patients back to their primary doctor, and framing price and risk so patients feel informed rather than pressured. Zach shares why he's willing to accept a slightly lower capture rate today to build a practice that's full of patients who want to be there five to ten years from now. To register for Vision Forward, visit idoc.net to reserve your spot. 

In this episode, Dr. Steve Vargo sits down with Andrew Bruce, a licensed optician with master-level credentials in both ophthalmic optics and contact lenses, for a practical conversation about what actually keeps patients — and their eyewear purchases — inside the practice. Steve and Andrew start with a metric that’s quietly slipping in a lot of offices: capture rate. Andrew walks through what moved the needle during his 15 years running an optical in southwest Washington, from stocking the frames your patients are actually asking for to a doctor-optician handoff that transfers authority instead of just walking someone across the room. They dig into how doctors can recommend lenses and enhancements from the exam chair without feeling salesy, and why a prescription filled somewhere else can end up reflecting on the doctor who wrote it. This conversation goes beyond selling more frames. It’s about treating the eyewear purchase as the finish line of patient care, not an add-on. Andrew shares the strategies that set his optical apart, including choosing variety over depth on a limited frame board, asking patients to walk him through a day in their life, and pulling the price tags off his high-end frames so patients could experience them before judging them. To register for Vision Forward, visit idoc.net to reserve your spot. 

In this episode, Dr. Steve Vargo tackles the challenge that quietly separates good practices from great ones: getting people to actually act on what you recommend. Inspired by conversations at IDOC’s recent sales meetings in Pittsburgh, Steve shares three lessons from his audio course built on the principles in his book Prescribing Change. First, the power of curiosity: why the most persuasive conversation Steve ever had was with a financial advisor who never once pitched his services, and how a simple three-part sequence of questions (what, how, and what if) gets patients leaning in before you make a recommendation. Second, overcoming skepticism: what Shark Tank reveals about the quiet doubts running through patients’ heads, and why information alone rarely moves anyone while demos and patient stories do. Third, the power of commitment: how a restaurant dramatically reduced its no-show rate with one small change in wording, and a three-step approach for getting a real commitment from patients, and staff, instead of a polite nod. Whether you’re presenting a treatment plan, recommending eyewear, or setting expectations with your team, this episode is about closing the gap between educating people and getting results, because better outcomes mean better patient care and a healthier practice. Want the full Prescribing Change audio course? Email Steve at [email protected]. The book Prescribing Change is available on Amazon. To register for Vision Forward, visit idoc.net to reserve your spot. 

In this episode, Dr. Steve Vargo sits down with Amie Robinson, ABOC, optical manager at Spring Hill Eyecare, to reframe one of the most overlooked moments in a patient's visit: the handoff from exam room to optical. Amie makes the case that the handoff isn't a courtesy — it's the ignition switch for the entire optical revenue engine. She and Steve unpack why patient hesitation is so often mistaken for a price objection when it's really a confidence problem, and how a doctor's 30-second recommendation transfers clinical authority in a way an optician can't replicate alone. Amy shares a memorable restaurant analogy for what happens to a patient's confidence when that handoff doesn't happen, along with Steve's own story of decision fatigue as a patient trying to buy sunglasses incognito. The conversation moves into what actually breaks handoffs in practice, why the single biggest failure point is simply skipping the handoff altogether, and how Amy trains her team — including role play that nobody enjoys but that builds the muscle memory needed for consistency. It closes with a simple, quotable frame for doctors: capture rate starts in the exam room, not at the optical counter. To register for Vision Forward, visit idoc.net to reserve your spot. 

“You can make drama or you can make money, but you can’t make both. The thing that Zig (Ziglar) always said about building a team is that “together everyone achieves more”. I have found in my 25 plus years of consulting that this is the magic wand to creating a multi-million dollar practice. The team is everything.”  The above is directly off of Sharon Carter’s website. In this episode, we tackle the topic of team building and the impact this has on your practice. If you aspire to be a better leader and build a team that takes your practice to the next level, this episode will not disappoint! We cover how to get the right people on board, the importance of empowering people, becoming a more effective communicator, culture building, embracing failure, and much more! 

In this episode, Dr. Steve Vargo tackles a question that's easy to write off as an inventory problem but is actually a communication problem: why do most patients own five pairs of shoes and only one pair of glasses? Steve breaks down why the practices that sell more second pairs aren't better salespeople — they're better at staying curious about the patient in front of them, and that curiosity has to start in the exam chair, not the optical. He walks through what a real structured handoff between doctor and optician actually sounds like, why decision fatigue quietly kills more sales than price ever does, and how three ideas borrowed from behavioral economics — anchoring, bundling, and loss aversion — can reshape a second-pair conversation without it ever feeling like a pitch. This isn't an episode about selling to more patients. It's about serving the patients already in your chair a little more completely. If your multiple-pair percentage has been stuck, or your opticians hit a wall the moment insurance comes up, this episode closes with a practical 30-day plan to change that. To register for Vision Forward, visit idoc.net to reserve your spot.