The Power Hour

More revenue per patient.

It’s one of the most talked-about goals in private practice right now.

But in this episode of Power Hour, Dr. Patricia Poma makes something very clear:

You do not get there by chasing every new machine, trend, or specialty that shows up on the market.

You get there by building intentionally.

That is exactly why the shift toward a specialty-driven practice is starting to get serious attention.

Dr. Patricia Poma has built a model that achieves over $1,000 in revenue per patient.

By building one specialty at a time until it becomes a "beautiful beast," she has created a practice that is sustainable on its own.

Not a boardroom theory.

Not just a retail idea. 

A solution built over two decades in a real private practice.

In this week's Power Hour, Dr. Patricia Poma-Nowinski, Owner of Birmingham Vision Care and KOL for Johnson & Johnson Health and Wellness Solutions Inc., breaks down how she built a high-profitability model focused on non-doctor-driven revenue and medical-heavy specialties.

 

Direct download: PH_S14_EP20.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 10:07am EDT

Membership plans are starting to move from an interesting idea to something practices genuinely need to understand.

In this episode of Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Cody Tomasik, Founder and CEO of DirectOD, a platform built within real optometry practices to solve the frustrations of vision plans, low reimbursements, and cash-pay patient retention.

What makes this conversation critical is the shift it represents: moving away from third-party entities that dictate your revenue flow toward a direct, one-to-one relationship with your patients through customizable benefits.

And as Cody explains, when you cut out the middleman, the math becomes incredibly compelling for any practice owner.

 

Direct download: PH_S14_EP19.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 9:39am EDT

364 days of silence, then one automated appointment text.

A patient who walks in completely unprepared to purchase.

This is the current state of most optometric practices, and according to consumer expert Jeff Fromm, it's a massive missed opportunity.

In this week’s Power Hour, Eugene Shatsman is joined by Philip Alexander, AI Technologist and CEO of AnswerMyQ, and Jeff Fromm, a 5x author who has written for Forbes since 2014. They dive deep into why the patient journey needs to move from "informed" to "fully customized."

But here’s the core challenge they present:

If you started with a blank sheet of paper, would you really design the experience you have today?

Probably not.

Direct download: PH_S14_EP18.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 5:16pm EDT

187,000,000 views.

1.3 million subscribers.

+- 500 long-form videos.

And right now, thousands of people are watching his content live.

Not a media company.

Not a full-time influencer.

A doctor.

In this week’s Power Hour, Dr. Joseph Allen, Founder of Doctor Eye Health, breaks down how he built one of the largest eye care education platforms on YouTube, from zero experience in 2018 to a global audience today with over 1.3 million subscribers.

But here’s what makes this episode worth your time:

It’s not about going viral.

It’s about understanding how content actually works.

Direct download: PH_S14_EP17.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 9:53am EDT

In this episode of Power Hour, host Eugene sits down with Dr. Jason Lake, General Manager of PERC & Opti-Port for another Metric of the Quarter, and this one hits differently.

Some episodes give you ideas. This one gives you numbers you can’t ignore.

Direct download: PH_S14_EP16_Audio_File.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 12:24pm EDT

AI is everywhere right now. And the real challenge right now isn’t access, but knowing what to trust.

Every vendor has a solution. Every platform claims to be “intelligent.” Every conversation seems to come back to what AI is going to do next.

But when you step into your practice, the question becomes much simpler:

What actually works for me?

In this episode of Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Dr. Abdullah “Abed” Sarhan, CEO and Co-Founder of RetinaLogik, who has been working in deep learning and AI long before it became widely used. 

And what makes this conversation different is that it’s not theoretical, but practical.

They break down what AI is actually capable of in eye care practices today, where it can genuinely improve workflow and patient experience, and just as importantly, where ODs should be far more skeptical.

Direct download: PH_S14_EP141.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 7:30am EDT

There’s a point in every growing practice where things start to feel different. Not because the business isn’t working, but rather it’s working only because of you, and the moment you try to expand, that dependency gets exposed.

You start to realize that growth isn’t as simple as opening another location. It’s about building something that can operate without you being everywhere at once, and that’s exactly where this conversation begins.

In this episode of Power Hour, Eugene sits down with Dr. Tommy Lucas (President, VIEW Optometry) and Dr. Mary Kate Walters (CEO, VIEW Optometry), a husband-and-wife team who have built a four-location practice in Central Texas, including three cold starts that didn’t just survive, but ramped quickly.

And while the growth itself is impressive, it’s only part of what makes this conversation worth paying attention to.

Just as important is how they think about building a business.

Because underneath the numbers, you start to hear something deeper: a philosophy around people, systems, incentives, and what it actually takes to create something that can function beyond the owners being everywhere at once.

And then, it shifts from building a practice, to something much bigger - VIEW Optometry Alliance.

 

Direct download: PH_S14_EP14.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 8:22am EDT

Most practice owners think growth is about doing more.

More patients, more staff, more lanes, and more locations.

But the truth is, scaling a practice is about building the right structure underneath it.

In this week's episode of Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Dr. David Moore, President of Moore Eye Center, and Dr. Julia Zyrina, Founder of Pine Vision Care, two doctors who are both building exceptional practices, but in fundamentally different ways. 

They meet for the first time on the show, and what unfolds is a fascinating look at how two high-performing doctors can pursue growth through completely different philosophies.

They both prioritize patient experience. They both use technology to advance patient care. They’re both focused on building something bigger than themselves.

But the way they think about execution – exam flow, pace, trust-building, team consistency, hiring, and scale – is where the real contrast appears.

 

Direct download: PH_S14_EP13_Audio.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 10:34am EDT

Every year at Vision Expo, companies make massive promises about the "future of optometry."

But as a practice owner, you don’t need more hype; you need solutions that are real, scalable, and useful.

In this special Innovators Edition of the Power Hour recorded live at Vision Expo, Eugene Shatsman sits down with three executives attacking the future of the profession from three completely different angles: surgical business models, patient-centric retail, and all-in-one operational technology.

If you’ve ever wondered how to monetize your surgical referrals, give patients a reason to visit you between exams, or finally consolidate those 14 open tabs on your staff’s computer into an all-in-one operational technology, this episode is for you.

Direct download: The_Power_Hour_-_Episode_12_Final_Audio.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 12:08pm EDT

What would you do if you discovered someone inside your business had been stealing from you?

Not hundreds. Not thousands.

Millions.

In this week’s episode of Power Hour, Eugene Shatsman sits down with Mick Hall, President of Bard Optical (one of the most respected multi-location practices in the country) to hear a story that every practice owner needs to listen to. 

It started with something small…

A financial number that didn’t look quite right.

That single moment of curiosity uncovered an embezzlement scheme that eventually totaled $4.8 million.

But this episode isn’t about scandal.

It’s about leadership, vigilance, and protecting the business you’ve worked so hard to build.

Direct download: PH_S14_EP11_Audio.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 9:54am EDT

Burnout is more common than many leaders are willing to admit.

It’s rarely a sign that the practice itself is broken.

More often, it’s a signal that the systems supporting the business need to evolve.

In this week’s Power Hour, Eugene sits down with Allison Kraemer & Dr. Brian Spittle from The Power Practice to talk about something many practice owners experience but rarely discuss openly:

Burnout in private practice.

Direct download: PH_S14_EP10.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 9:19am EDT

How many times have you said, “We had such a great interview,” only to be thinking 60 days later, “How did we get this so wrong?”

Staffing is still the #1 issue in practices, but what if the sustainable fix isn’t another job post?
What if it’s understanding who you’re hiring (before you hire them) and knowing how to develop them once they’re on your team?

In this episode of Power Hour, Eugene Shatsman sits down with Kati Lechner, Senior Director of Learning at Wonderlic, who has spent 20 years in the science of selecting and developing great talent derived from evidence-based hiring.

And by the way, PowerPractice has established a partnership with Wonderlic to provide eye care practices with direct access to these assessment tools. If you’re interested in exploring how Wonderlic Select or Develop could support your hiring or team development strategy, you can reach out to PowerPractice and reference this episode to learn more about available options and next steps at https://powerpractice.com/hire-smarter/ 

Direct download: PH_S14_EP9-1.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 11:59am EDT

How do you transform your practice from something that depends on you for everything, into something that grows with clarity and control on its own?

You’ve invested in equipment, hired good people, and are working hard; and yet, growth feels heavier than it should.

In this episode of Power Hour, Eugene Shatsman sits down with Jamie Rosin to talk about a systematic approach to practice growth. 

The Eyecare BOSS System (Business, Optimization and Scalability System) is a structured operating framework built specifically for independent optometry practices that want to grow without chaos. Instead of relying on scattered ideas, reactive decisions, or owner-dependent execution, it organizes your entire practice around five integrated pillars:

Accountability, Revenue, People, Experience, and Data.

Jamie and Eugene take you through a strategic walkthrough of the system, revealing how your practice can eliminate bottlenecks, prioritize the highest-impact growth levers, develop leaders instead of managing personalities, improve patient satisfaction in measurable ways, and build a data-driven culture that predicts results before problems show up.

Direct download: PH_S14_EP8.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 4:04pm EDT

As the economics of practice ownership evolve, technology accelerates, and legislative conversations become more complex, who is shaping the future of optometry behind the scenes?

And what decisions are being made right now that could impact your practice next year? 

In this episode of Power Hour, recorded live from the AOA Leaders Summit in St. Louis, Eugene Shatsman sits down with three of the American Optometric Association’s elected leaders: Dr. Jacqueline M. Bowen (President)Dr. Teri K. Geist (President-Elect), and Dr. Terri A. Gossard (Vice President). 

Together, they offer a firsthand look into what these leaders believe are the profession’s biggest pressure points, and what they say the AOA is doing to protect, expand, and advance optometry heading into 2026.

Direct download: EP7_Audio.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 11:03am EDT

People, Technology, and Strategy. 

Three pillars that shaped how Dr. Solomon Gould built a scalable medical model, developed high-performing teams, and grew without sacrificing patient experience.  

In this week’s episode of Power Hour, Eugene sits down with Dr. Solomon Gould, Sr. Director of Eye Care at EssilorLuxottica, and a leader whose career spans nearly every side of optometry: private practice ownership, consulting, corporate environments, and large-scale operational growth.

He shares how to scale your practice without becoming the bottleneck, burning out the team, or losing what made your practice successful in the first place. 

Direct download: PH_S14_EP6_Full_Episode.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 9:45am EDT

What if the biggest story in vision care right now isn’t a new product, but a shift in patient behavior that could reshape 2026? 

Today’s episode is a little different (in the best way) because we’re recording live from The Vision Council’s Executive Summit. This is a conference filled with CEOs, founders, and eye care industry leaders who are here to network, but more importantly, to answer one big question: 

What is actually happening in our industry right now, and what do we do next? 

Joining Eugene on the show are Ashley Mills (CEO) and Alysse Henkel (VP of Research & Insights) from The Vision Council, and they’re bringing something every practice owner should pay attention to: the data behind 2025.  

Together, they break down what the data is revealing about patient spending, category performance, and the trade-offs consumers are making, and connect it to what practice owners should be thinking about for 2026. You’ll also get a preview as to what’s changing at Vision Expo Orlando 2026, and why the show is being designed to deliver more than excitement, it’s being designed to deliver results. 

Direct download: EP5.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 12:17pm EDT

2025 wasn’t business as usual in optometry M&A. 

Fewer buyers, more deal scrutiny, softer multiples, and a growing number of practice owners asking the same question: “Is my practice worth what I think it’s worth?”  

That’s why this episode is perfectly timed for the start of 2026. 

Eugene is joined by Anne Kavanagh (Founder & Managing Director) and Jason Preator (Managing Partner) from Kavanagh Consultingtwo people who have seen more optometry practice transactions than almost anyone in the industry over the last decade. Their perspective is based on real deals, real outcomes, and patterns that repeat year after year. 

Anne and Jason explain how the buyer landscape has evolved, who is actively acquiring practices right now, and how buyers are evaluating risk, structure, and long-term profitability.  

Direct download: PH_S14_EP4.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 7:54am EDT

Going from one location to two sounds exciting… until it’s not. 

The truth is, scaling a practice brings on a completely different level of complexity than just more patients or an increase in revenue; it’s new operational pressure points, and a whole new set of problems that don’t show up until you’re already in motion. 

In this listener-requested episode of Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman speaks with two highly qualified professionals (Dr. Susan Lake, Optometrist at Eyecare Specialties, and Kevin Whaley-Stefany, Business Consultant at Autograph Eye LLC) who actually built and scaled multiple practices, and what it takes to succeed and scale in today's market.

 
Direct download: PH_S14_EP3.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 8:19am EDT

If your optical felt different in 2025, you weren’t imagining it. 

Across the country, practices saw capture rates slipexam-onlys rise, and patients walk out the door with a fresh refractionbuying absolutely nothing. We know this isn’t temporary, so the Power Hour is not waiting it outwe’re getting proactive. 

This week, Eugeneand Kayla Ashlee, CEO of Spexycollaborate againbecause she is obsessed (in all the best wayswith the real levers that move optical revenue. Unlike most conversations about capture rate, she helps her clients go far beyond pricing and “consumer sensitivity.” Leveraging the data points from real practices she works with, Kayla breaks down human influenceretail sciencemerchandising psychology, and the subtle behaviors inside your practice that are pushing patients away instead of drawing them in. 

Direct download: PH_S14_EP2-2.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 11:34am EDT

In this episode of Power Hour, Eugene Shatsman sits down with Gary Gerber to explore why growth stalls when practices run on autopilot — and how revisiting the basics can unlock revenue, efficiency, and sustainability without adding complexity.

Direct download: PH-SE14E01-01_1.mp3
Category:Optometry -- posted at: 8:52am EDT

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