Private Practice Optometry is Not Dying. You Just Don’t Know How to Run a Business
Let’s clear something up:
Private practice optometry is not dying.
What’s dying is the belief that great clinical care alone is enough to build a sustainable business.
The people saying “private practice is dead” are often the ones clinging to outdated systems, refusing to change, and ignoring the reality that healthcare is now a business, and that running one takes more than a license and a lane.
This isn’t a hit piece. It’s a reality check.
Because independent optometry isn’t collapsing.
It’s evolving. And if you’re not evolving with it, it might feel like it’s dying.
Why Private Practices Are Struggling
It’s easy to point fingers at outside threats:
Online retailers
VSP and Eyemed
Corporate chains
LensCrafters and Costco
Amazon’s push into healthcare
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Most struggling private practices are failing because of decisions made inside the building.
Here’s what we’re really dealing with:
A business education gap
Over-reliance on vision plans that pay less every year
Undercharging and over-delivering
No systems for retention, referrals, or upsells
Lack of recurring revenue
Burned out owners doing everything manually
Staff with no training in communication, conversion, or service
This isn’t a competition problem. It’s a business model problem.
Why Clinical Excellence Isn’t Enough Anymore
You can be the best diagnostician in the state.
You can detect subtle pathology before it’s visible on OCT.
You can have the latest equipment and be the friendliest doctor in town.
But if your pricing is unclear, your team is untrained, your office is disorganized, and your cash flow is built around slow-paying insurance claims, your practice will struggle.
In today’s landscape, patients expect more:
Clear pricing
Fast scheduling
Easy communication
Subscription-style options
Service that feels like retail, not red tape
The modern patient doesn’t care that you’ve been in practice 20 years. They care how your office makes them feel and how hard it is to do business with you.
The Illusion of “Busy” Is Killing Private Practice
Many ODs think they’re doing well because they’re booked out two weeks.
But busy isn’t the goal. Profitable and scalable is.
You might be:
Seeing 20 or more patients a day but still can’t afford to hire help
Selling multiple pairs of glasses and still losing money to labs
Participating in every plan to keep the schedule full while losing money on each visit
Giving up evenings, weekends, and energy for a practice that doesn’t pay you like an owner
That’s not private practice thriving. That’s private practice surviving.
Why Private Practice Isn’t Dying
Independent optometry is doing just fine for those who:
Understand marketing, pricing, and retention
Build systems that reduce dependence on the owner
Know how to create recurring revenue from loyal patients
Train their staff to convert and educate
Create an experience that patients remember, not tolerate
There are practices across the country generating:
30,000-150,00+ dollars or more in recurring annual revenue from in-office plans
600 dollars or more in average patient value through bundled services and education
60 percent or higher optical capture rates with no pressure selling
90 percent or higher retention rates through simplified patient journeys
These are not lucky practices. They are intentional practices run by optometrists who became entrepreneurs.
What’s Actually Killing Practices and How to Stop It
Insurance Dependency
Vision plans aren’t evil. But building your practice around them is a mistake.
Low reimbursements, delayed payments, and patient confusion are crushing your margins.
Solution: Offer your own in-office vision membership plan and keep revenue in-house.Weak Front Desk Conversion
If your staff can’t answer the phone, guide the call, and close the appointment, you’re losing patients every day.
Solution: Train your front desk like a revenue center. Use scripts, tracking, and objection handling.No Recurring Revenue
Most ODs earn only when they show up. If your income stops when you take a vacation, you don’t own a business. You own a job.
Solution: Create subscription-based offerings like membership plans, contact lens programs, or wellness bundles.Low Per-Patient Value
You might see 2,000+ patients a year. But if each one only brings in 100 dollars of profit, it’s not enough.
Solution: Package services, educate patients, and improve optical capture with better presentation.Lack of Leadership
If your team is disengaged, your systems are inconsistent, and your practice runs on chaos, you’re not leading.
Solution: Step into the CEO role. Stop being the only technician in the business.
Private Practice Is a Business. Start Treating It Like One.
If you want to stay independent, you need to think like an owner, not just a doctor.
That means:
Understanding your margins
Knowing your per-patient revenue
Investing in training, not just equipment
Offering modern payment options
Creating a brand that patients remember
Leading your team toward clear business goals
This isn’t about selling out or going corporate. It’s about owning your future instead of outsourcing it.
The Winners Are Already Making the Shift
Across the country, practices are breaking free from the old way of doing things:
They’re dropping low-paying plans
Launching vision membership plans that patients love
Streamlining the patient journey
Building scalable, systemized businesses
Working less but earning more
These aren’t unicorns. They’re private practices that stopped waiting for things to change and made the change themselves.
Want to Build a Private Practice That Actually Grows?
DirectOD helps independent optometrists create recurring revenue, streamline their business, and finally get paid for the care they deliver.
We are not just a software platform. We are your partner in transforming how your practice earns.
With DirectOD, you get:
A fully built, legally compliant in-office vision membership plan
Custom pricing, branding, and benefit structures
Automated patient billing and plan management
Marketing assets, front desk scripts, and training guides
Support from a team that has built practices just like yours
If you're tired of working harder and earning less, there’s a better way.
We’ll show you how to build a model that patients want and your practice needs.
DirectOD Vision Membership Plans are NOT insurance. Members pay a monthly or annual fee directly to participating eye care providers in exchange for access to discounted services, benefits, and product savings as outlined in the provider’s custom membership plan. Members are responsible for paying their provider directly for any services or products received beyond the plan’s benefits. Plan features, pricing, and savings may vary by provider and location — please refer to your provider’s specific plan terms for full details. Vision membership plans offered through DirectOD do not qualify as insurance under the Affordable Care Act and do not satisfy minimum essential coverage requirements. DirectOD is not an insurance company, and does not pay or reimburse providers for services rendered. DirectOD exclusively supports eye care and does not operate in any other medical field or acknowledge outside industry technologies attempting to operate in the eye care industry . For questions regarding your plan, please contact your participating provider or reach out to us at admin@directod.com.
Private Practice Optometry is Not Dying. You Just Don’t Know How to Run a Business
Let’s clear something up:
Private practice optometry is not dying.
What’s dying is the belief that great clinical care alone is enough to build a sustainable business.
The people saying “private practice is dead” are often the ones clinging to outdated systems, refusing to change, and ignoring the reality that healthcare is now a business, and that running one takes more than a license and a lane.
This isn’t a hit piece. It’s a reality check.
Because independent optometry isn’t collapsing.
It’s evolving. And if you’re not evolving with it, it might feel like it’s dying.
Why Private Practices Are Struggling
It’s easy to point fingers at outside threats:
Online retailers
VSP and Eyemed
Corporate chains
LensCrafters and Costco
Amazon’s push into healthcare
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Most struggling private practices are failing because of decisions made inside the building.
Here’s what we’re really dealing with:
A business education gap
Over-reliance on vision plans that pay less every year
Undercharging and over-delivering
No systems for retention, referrals, or upsells
Lack of recurring revenue
Burned out owners doing everything manually
Staff with no training in communication, conversion, or service
This isn’t a competition problem. It’s a business model problem.
Why Clinical Excellence Isn’t Enough Anymore
You can be the best diagnostician in the state.
You can detect subtle pathology before it’s visible on OCT.
You can have the latest equipment and be the friendliest doctor in town.
But if your pricing is unclear, your team is untrained, your office is disorganized, and your cash flow is built around slow-paying insurance claims, your practice will struggle.
In today’s landscape, patients expect more:
Clear pricing
Fast scheduling
Easy communication
Subscription-style options
Service that feels like retail, not red tape
The modern patient doesn’t care that you’ve been in practice 20 years. They care how your office makes them feel and how hard it is to do business with you.
The Illusion of “Busy” Is Killing Private Practice
Many ODs think they’re doing well because they’re booked out two weeks.
But busy isn’t the goal. Profitable and scalable is.
You might be:
Seeing 20 or more patients a day but still can’t afford to hire help
Selling multiple pairs of glasses and still losing money to labs
Participating in every plan to keep the schedule full while losing money on each visit
Giving up evenings, weekends, and energy for a practice that doesn’t pay you like an owner
That’s not private practice thriving. That’s private practice surviving.
Why Private Practice Isn’t Dying
Independent optometry is doing just fine for those who:
Understand marketing, pricing, and retention
Build systems that reduce dependence on the owner
Know how to create recurring revenue from loyal patients
Train their staff to convert and educate
Create an experience that patients remember, not tolerate
There are practices across the country generating:
30,000-150,00+ dollars or more in recurring annual revenue from in-office plans
600 dollars or more in average patient value through bundled services and education
60 percent or higher optical capture rates with no pressure selling
90 percent or higher retention rates through simplified patient journeys
These are not lucky practices. They are intentional practices run by optometrists who became entrepreneurs.
What’s Actually Killing Practices and How to Stop It
Insurance Dependency
Vision plans aren’t evil. But building your practice around them is a mistake.
Low reimbursements, delayed payments, and patient confusion are crushing your margins.
Solution: Offer your own in-office vision membership plan and keep revenue in-house.Weak Front Desk Conversion
If your staff can’t answer the phone, guide the call, and close the appointment, you’re losing patients every day.
Solution: Train your front desk like a revenue center. Use scripts, tracking, and objection handling.No Recurring Revenue
Most ODs earn only when they show up. If your income stops when you take a vacation, you don’t own a business. You own a job.
Solution: Create subscription-based offerings like membership plans, contact lens programs, or wellness bundles.Low Per-Patient Value
You might see 2,000+ patients a year. But if each one only brings in 100 dollars of profit, it’s not enough.
Solution: Package services, educate patients, and improve optical capture with better presentation.Lack of Leadership
If your team is disengaged, your systems are inconsistent, and your practice runs on chaos, you’re not leading.
Solution: Step into the CEO role. Stop being the only technician in the business.
Private Practice Is a Business. Start Treating It Like One.
If you want to stay independent, you need to think like an owner, not just a doctor.
That means:
Understanding your margins
Knowing your per-patient revenue
Investing in training, not just equipment
Offering modern payment options
Creating a brand that patients remember
Leading your team toward clear business goals
This isn’t about selling out or going corporate. It’s about owning your future instead of outsourcing it.
The Winners Are Already Making the Shift
Across the country, practices are breaking free from the old way of doing things:
They’re dropping low-paying plans
Launching vision membership plans that patients love
Streamlining the patient journey
Building scalable, systemized businesses
Working less but earning more
These aren’t unicorns. They’re private practices that stopped waiting for things to change and made the change themselves.
Want to Build a Private Practice That Actually Grows?
DirectOD helps independent optometrists create recurring revenue, streamline their business, and finally get paid for the care they deliver.
We are not just a software platform. We are your partner in transforming how your practice earns.
With DirectOD, you get:
A fully built, legally compliant in-office vision membership plan
Custom pricing, branding, and benefit structures
Automated patient billing and plan management
Marketing assets, front desk scripts, and training guides
Support from a team that has built practices just like yours
If you're tired of working harder and earning less, there’s a better way.
We’ll show you how to build a model that patients want and your practice needs.
Lexington, KY
40509 US
DirectOD Vision Membership Plans are NOT insurance. Members pay a monthly or annual fee directly to participating eye care providers in exchange for access to discounted services, benefits, and product savings as outlined in the provider’s custom membership plan. Members are responsible for paying their provider directly for any services or products received beyond the plan’s benefits. Plan features, pricing, and savings may vary by provider and location — please refer to your provider’s specific plan terms for full details. Vision membership plans offered through DirectOD do not qualify as insurance under the Affordable Care Act and do not satisfy minimum essential coverage requirements. DirectOD is not an insurance company, and does not pay or reimburse providers for services rendered. DirectOD exclusively supports eye care and does not operate in any other medical field or acknowledge outside industry technologies attempting to operate in the eye care industry . For questions regarding your plan, please contact your participating provider or reach out to us at admin@directod.com.