21 Optometry Business Apps Every Practice Should Consider

If you've been in business for a while, you know that running an optometry practice is quite the operation. Often, optometry practices don't spend enough time improving the business itself because they're so busy with patient care.

But managing your practice effectively is one way to ensure long-term success. Finding ways to help your staff save time and be more productive will improve your practice in many ways.

Technology makes it much easier to reach your business goals. With the help of optometry business apps like the ones mentioned below, you’ll manage your practice with confidence.

Optometry Business Apps Worth Considering

Before we explore these optometry business app recommendations, remember that any new technology you integrate into your practice must follow HIPAA compliance standards. If you are using an app to store, receive, or transmit patient protected health information (PHI), make sure the app is HIPAA-compliant.

We have a helpful HIPAA compliance guide here at First Insight that will help you make more informed decisions when selecting appropriate apps for your eye care practice. Without further ado, here are some great apps to consider.

Skype for Business & join.me

If you're looking for a great way to hold professional online meetings, Skype for Business is one of the best eye care business apps. Meeting setups are a breeze and you can add up to 350 people. With just one click, your employees join the meeting from anywhere, on any device, with a personalized meeting URL.

Join.me is another great option for online meetings that allows you to start or join a meeting quickly and easily.

LinkedIn Recruiter or Proven

Struggling to attract top talent? LinkedIn Recruiter helps companies and recruiters find the right people. Your staff will be able to connect with eligible candidates from a qualified pool. To use this tool, all you need is a personal LinkedIn account.

Proven is an alternative hiring tool and content hub for small businesses. Similar to LinkedIn, it provides tools that allow you to contact, categorize, assess, and onboard job applicants.

TripIt

When someone on your staff is traveling, TripIt provides a single view of trip information to help you keep things organized. TripIt for Teams has instant itineraries, a central travel dashboard, and team-wide spending reports so you stay on top of what's being spent and by whom.

Basecamp, Monday.com, or Trello

Looking for ways to stay connected and aligned with your company goals? Basecamp, a real-time project management and communication tool, eases the burden of resource planning and long-term scheduling.

Monday.com turns project management into a visual display that allows your staff to manage work, meet deadlines, and communicate effectively. Your staff easily organizes and prioritizes projects using Trello's colorful interface made up of lists, cards, and boards.

Slack or Strides

Slack is a team collaboration tool that helps your eye care staff collaborate across multiple offices or locations (or even within the same office). Strides is an alternative option, helping you track all of your habits and set SMART goals.

Evernote, Wunderlist, or Pocket

Whenever you need to take notes on the go, Evernote is a helpful note-taking app. The app allows you to create and manage task lists and archive tasks, syncing across multiple operating systems and devices.

Ever wanted to create your own to-do lists and keep them organized into sections? Wunderlist is here to help. This task management tool makes note-taking simple as well.

Pocket allows you to manage your reading list of articles and blogs, as well as personalize what you see based on interest levels. To stay on top of optometry best practices and trends, Pocket is one of the easiest ways to store fresh, relevant content in one place.

Google Translate, Instant Translator, iTranslate or Microsoft Translator

Can't afford an office translator? Cost is no longer an issue. With Google Translate™, translate up to 102 different languages and provide great service to patients who speak another language.

Instant Translator translates more than 90 languages, providing instant speech-to-speech translation. iTranslate is an alternative translation app that translates text, websites, or voice-to-voice conversations in more than 100 languages. An automatic translation service, Microsoft Translator provides text-to-text translation via the cloud.

Like this resource? You might also like 10 Ways to Motivate and Inspire Your Eye Care Staff

Spark

Beautify your inbox with Spark, an app that sorts your mail into sections like notifications, newsletters, and personal. Features like smart search, powerful integrations, follow-up reminders, quick replies, a built-in calendar, and the option to send an email later all make the app great for managing an optometry business.

Google Drive

Google Drive™ allows you to store a large number of files in the cloud for quick accessibility. If your computer suddenly crashes or your network fails, Google Drive keeps important files safe.

HIPAA Tip: Avoid using the free versions of Gmail™ and Google Drive to receive, store, or transmit electronic PHI (ePHI) because they are not a HIPAA compliant solution. Instead, consider upgrading to Google Workspace (formerly Google G Suite™). Google Workspace supports HIPAA compliance. The only catch is you have to sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with Google. Also, note that Google’s BAA doesn’t apply to emails sent or received in transit.

Dropbox

As one of the most popular document sharing apps around, Dropbox allows you to instantly share documents, videos, photos, and other files with your eye care staff.

HIPAA Tip: Before using Dropbox, ensure your plan includes HIPAA compliance and make sure you sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA). Only some versions of Dropbox are supported for HIPAA compliance.

DocuSign

Wish you could get digital signatures from patients and staff? DocuSign allows you to sign documents electronically and receive digital signatures, whether it's a sales contract, letter, legal waivers, or financial documents.

Make Progress By Optimizing Your Business Practices

To compete in today's tech-driven world, the right optometry business apps, added with full-service billing and revenue cycle management solutions makes all the difference.

Start collaborating smoothly, recruiting the best talent, keeping your staff organized, and streamlining communications and processes. Integrating these optometry business apps into your practice will increase productivity and improve efficiency long-term.

Now that you know the business apps your practice needs, the next step in optimizing your business practices is working with our Fast Pay Health billing consultants to improve the financial health of your practice. Request a free practice analysis now to progress your optometry billing process and maximize your cash flow.

This blog is meant as an educational resource and does NOT constitute legal HIPAA advice. Covered entities (eye care providers) are responsible for taking the necessary steps needed to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected health information (PHI) and complying with the HIPAA security and privacy rules.