Independents Day, a day early for UK ECPs

P P P P pick up good advice at Independents Day on charging appropriately

The popular Independents Day (iDay23) business symposium will focus on four Ps this year, Profitable Practice Post Pandemic and will take place at the National Conference Centre, next to the National Motorcycle Museum, in Birmingham on Monday 3 July.

The event will focus on professional fee strategies, making enhanced services profitable and whether going completely private is the answer, emphasising the market growth opportunities for independents post-pandemic.

The keynote speaker is Professor Nick Rumney, a third-generation optometrist who runs an award-winning practice in Hereford. He was part of the GOC team that developed the regulations underpinning Specialist Therapeutic registration and qualified as an independent prescriber in 2012.

At iDay23 he will share his perspective on industrialising optometric practice having blazed the trail for upweighting optometric clinical services and charging appropriately for them for most of his distinguished career.

The renowned speaker, Dr Martin Smith, an award-winning Doctor of Optometry and the founder of Martin Smith Optometrists, will discuss, Going Private: Is It the Answer?

An independent prescriber and glaucoma specialist, he is certified in laser and minor procedures and practises outside of the NHS as a private patient only practice. He will highlight how he has made this work and why he has a more honest relationship with his patients.

The other speakers include optometrist, researcher and inventor Dr Trusit Dave and Dr Samantha Hornberger OD, who owns a private practice in Indiana that she opened cold in 2013 and recently expanded.

Symposium organiser Nick Atkins, director of Proven Track Record, said: “The pandemic and the current economic situation will continue to have an impact on independents. This year I wanted to focus on strategies that make businesses more robust in challenging times and, for me, that comes down to charging appropriately for the professional services we provide and the adoption of subscription-based payment models.

“Also, with the events of recent years, many independent practice owners have likely mused over whether they’d be better off going private, so I’m delighted to have pulled together a number of practitioners who have made the move to share their experiences with this year’s delegates.”

The symposium will be supported by the iShow exhibition, enabling independents to meet up with suppliers face-to-face. The practice management software company XEYEX has agreed a three-year title sponsorship deal with Independents Day.

Nick added: “Every year the two main challenges I face in running Independents Day is coming up with a new and exciting theme and programme and then finding sponsors who will help put the event on a sound financial footing. I am grateful to all our sponsors and exhibitors and XEYEX’s commitment to support the event as Title Sponsor for the next three years goes a long way to securing the future of the event until 2025.”

Other sponsors are, Bausch + Lomb, Optos, Lumenis, Positive Impact, Hoya and the National Eyecare Group.

The day before iDay, on Sunday July 2, the Specialist Club will host a CPD meeting focused on myopia management. Delegates of iDay23 can attend for as little as an  additional £20, saving up to £59.

For more information on iDay23, visit www.independentsday.co.uk.