EyeOn Patients - Illinois College of Optometry

Eye On Patients
Mary Meaders greets guests
at the Illinois Eye Institute.
patients at IEI are on some type of government medical program,”
Messner says.
IEI attends to so many low income patients because, “We
don’t turn anyone away,” Messner says. “We are the single
largest provider of primary eyecare services in the state. The
clinic has always been a place that welcomes everyone, including
people who can’t get care elsewhere.” That position not
only serves the underserved, it serves the students. The Illinois
College of Optometry is renowned for its clinical training of
students. With a wide-open patient base of a high percentage
of people who see no other doctors (see sidebar on VOHHA),
IEI exposes students to a huge range of clinical situations.
The Challenges
The problem is footing the bill. “The biggest change in the
past five years has been becoming a modern health care facility
that provides patient care and education while being consistent
with the business tensions of today,” says Michael
Chaglasian, OD, Chief of Staff at IEI.
Those tensions, Chaglasian says, include the need to be on
the cutting-edge of technology and the difficulty of paying for
it. With today’s equipment, and broader legislative permission,
optometrists have entered a new age of diagnostics. They
9 ICO Matters / Spring 2005
Optician Temetrice Rhea is busy
in the Fait Family Eyewear Center.
can now effectively identify and treat ever-more eye conditions
… as long as they have the hardware. “Two to three years
ago, we were one of the few to have the newest technology,”
Chaglasian says. “In many ways, that’s an academic institution’s
role. But it’s still expensive; some individual instruments
cost more than $50,000.”
For Chaglasian, there’s a fine line between meeting all
those needs and going overboard. While the Eye Institute is
proud to be the place patients can be referred for advanced
care, it’s just as interested in providing high quality primary
eye care.
“Non-invasive testing on the cutting-edge of care is where
we are and where we want to stay,” Chaglasian says. “The
technology we have is important – we can’t teach students, or
care for patients under an old model. But we have to balance
our bread and butter – basic eye care – with specialized services.
We can’t forget where we came from, nor be cavalier
about expenses. Our high tech instruments have to make good
sense, both in terms of business and practice. We’re balancing
patient care, education and reality.”
And the reality is IEI needs to break even. In addition to
eyecare equipment, the clinic is considering a state-of-the-art
Electronic Medical Records system. It costs a fortune, and it