RETINA AND DIABETIC EYE CLINICS
Retina Clinic Owners: Scheduling, Imaging Costs and Recall Lists
The OCT machine is booked solid on Tuesdays and sits idle on Fridays. A patient due for a repeat visit has not been seen in a year, but nobody noticed because the record sits in a drawer. Consumables for injection days are bought in a rush. Costs and recall both depend on memory.
Our focus is how the clinic runs as a business: imaging and consulting room use, injection day planning, recall systems, consumable stock, pricing and insurer payments. We do not advise on diagnosis, treatment choices or any claim about what preserves vision. Those are for your retina specialist and the councils.
Discuss your priorities ↗COMMON CHALLENGES
The pressures
we often see.
- 01Imaging machines such as OCT and fundus cameras are expensive, and uneven booking leaves peak days jammed and quiet days idle.
- 02Patients on repeat visits are easy to lose between visits, and the clinic often has no list of who is overdue or why.
- 03Injection days need drugs, consumables and OT readiness to be aligned, and last-minute cancellations leave expensive stock unused or expired.
- 04Drug and consumable costs are high and prices change, so quotes given to patients age quickly, and the clinic ends up absorbing the difference.
- 05Insurers and corporate schemes cover some visits and not others, and the paperwork burden falls on the front desk, who also handle the queue.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Where the work
usually starts.
- 01Imaging room booking grid by hour and day, with utilisation of OCT and fundus camera.
- 02A recall register for repeat patients by due date, last seen, caller and result of call.
- 03Injection day plan: patients booked, drug and consumable ordered, stock returned or wasted.
- 04Drug and consumable price list with last purchase price, expiry and margin per item.
- 05Quote template for treatment series with a visible estimate range and a refresh date.
- 06Insurer and scheme claim tracker with pre-authorisation, submission and payment dates.
- 07Staff roles for the technician, counsellor and front desk, with a written handover on injection days.
- 08A monthly review of visits, injections, recall rate, wastage and outstanding bills.
START THIS WEEK
Things you can do
before you call anyone.
- Pick fifty patients who should have returned in the last three months and check how many did. Have the desk call those who did not. Write the main reasons given, and keep them for your recall plan.
- Check last month's injection-day orders against what was actually used. Note anything expired or returned. If wastage was above zero, find out who orders and on what basis.
- Hypothetical example: one unused vial costs ₹15,000. If two patients cancel on the same day, ₹30,000 of stock is at risk with no change in pricing.
A PRACTICAL ENGAGEMENT
Start with the priorities
that matter most.
We begin by understanding how your business runs today, find the gaps, and agree the scope in writing. Recommendations are shaped around your team, your resources and your goals.
- An imaging and consulting room schedule with a rule for same-day add-ons.
- A recall register template and a calling script.
- An injection day checklist covering stock, patient confirmation and cancellation backup.
- A claim tracking sheet for insurers and schemes with weekly follow-up owners.
Not the right fit when: A clinical complication, a consent dispute or a worry about drug quality should go to your specialist, the manufacturer, your insurer or a lawyer. Recall lists can wait.
Explore a business audit ↗LET’S MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
