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Dr. Lorraine M. Provencher is a board-certified ophthalmologist, cataract surgeon, and glaucoma specialist at Vance Thompson Vision in Omaha, Nebraska. “I love taking care of glaucoma patients,” Dr. Provencher shares. “Vision is incredibly precious to people, and we get to make a major impact on somebody’s quality of life by restoring or preserving their vision.”
Every clinic is unique, but the challenges faced are universal. The complex web of staff, space, equipment, and other resources must shift — often at a moment’s notice — to accommodate patients and provide the best care possible. Doctors may get most of the glory, but every successful doctor knows that excellent Technicians are mission-critical. Vance Thompson Vision Technicians Hattie and Megan are indispensable to Dr. Provencher’s practice. Close communication between doctor and technicians allows the team to adapt efficiently to changing circumstances and achieve the highest quality care.
“From a flow standpoint, you are a bit bottlenecked by the ability to move patients into a field, take a test, move out of the field, and then you have to wait and move the next patient in,” Dr. Provencher explains.
“For patients, there’s a lot of discomfort with visual field tests,” the doctor continues. “They have to lean forward into a bowl for several minutes. And that can be uncomfortable, especially for our elderly population that often has glaucoma, they might have ergonomic or back issues or arthritis.”
Patient discomfort is not a trivial matter. “It can affect the visual field test results,” Dr. Provencher notes. “If they’e getting uncomfortable and losing engagement with the test, your results will be less reliable. When making a surgical decision, you need a reliable visual field test.”
The desire to deliver the best possible patient results led Dr. Provencher to seek a new solution to these challenges.
Radius is a portable, wearable vision diagnostic system with data-driven intelligence that delivers top-notch glaucoma testing via a versatile six-ounce headset — the lightest VRP available. It is backed by a customized software platform with fully integrated cloud technology to securely manage patient and clinic data. Radius is continually advancing the headset software, empowering clinical teams to consistently provide state-of-the-art care.
“Just turn on the tablet; you’re able to get the test rolling quickly and fill out the chart while the patient is completing the test,” says Hattie. “It’s just seamless, and using it is very, very easy.”
“Patients respond to the Radius system really well,” Hattie observes. “Patients that have a hard time, you know, back issues, neck issues — it’s very comfortable for them to just put on a headset. Being able to test them pretty much anywhere is great.”
“Patients actually enjoy doing it,” Dr. Provencher explains. “You might think that the elderly patients might not want to put a virtual reality headset on, but the response is actually the opposite. Usually they like it and are more willing to take that test than to go and sit in a bowl perimeter machine.”
“Glaucoma patients spend a lot of their time at the eye doctor — every three to four months for the rest of their life,” the doctor explains. “If we can make that visit a little more pleasant, they won’t be as averse to coming to their appointments and doing their testing.”
Megan wholeheartedly agrees: “Yesterday, a patient said, ‘this is really comfortable, I’m really happy with this, this is a lot better.’ Because of the efficiency and the patient happiness, the Radius is a winner.”
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