OUR BLOG HAS MOVED!

We have moved our blog. It is now incorporated inside our website

www.southwestvision.com

Select from the top menus on the website to access our blog.

Check out their new specs!!

Alex Mitchell is wearing his brand new Kliik frames, made in Denmark. See our patient Mason Petty in his "before & after" pics and our lovely patient Leslie McFarland in her gorgeous new polarized Fendi sunglasses. Don't they look great? We think so!

Twilight DVD Giftset Giveaway!

We are giving away the Twilight DVD Ultimate Collector's Giftset. Click on the image below for the details. Our staff has had so much fun with Twilight, we thought we would share some of the excitement with you.

CHANGING FACES!

We are changing faces at Southwest vision. Here's a look at some of favorite new faces in their gorgeous new glasses. Stop in today and see Suzanne or Splendor our Master eyewear consultants and they will give you a whole new look! It's what they love to do! Pictured above are Phyllis Cheney (former fashion model) in her new Fabulous Fendi's, Lora Tebbs in her Super Silhouette's and Richard Vanausdal in his Awesome Oga's.

NEWS: Discount Plans are not Insurance

Here is a story from the AP Wire today. Idaho is warning consumers that discount plans are not the same as insurance. We have labored to educate our own patients that Vision Plans are not true insurance, and in fact, drive the true cost of eye exams up. This fact is usually hidden from plain view by sophisticated marketing scemes and mandated discounts that lower the quality of the end product to the consumer.

If you think about it...a vision plan is a third entity (another middle-man of sorts) that seeks to profit from our routine transaction. True insurance on the other hand, profits from spreading risk and taking the very calculated risk that the premiums you pay will exceed the collective costs of your care.

See this earlier post about the difference.

Why buy Quality?

Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.
William A. Foster

I have always felt that it makes sense to buy quality. Perhaps I inherited this ethic from my parents, who very carefully purchased the best of things that they could find. Being the oldest of ten children, I grew up beneath the governments established poverty level guidelines. We didn't know we were poor, but I understood early in my life that when we bought things, we were buying the best quality available because we couldn't afford to buy them twice. For example, Maytag's reputation for long lasting dependability (which it no longer deserves) sold my Mom on her washer/dryer combo which lasted for eons of time. Back when the Troy Built name was synonymous with quality (which it no longer deserves either) my Dad bought the garden tiller that he still uses nearly 30 years later.

I'll never forget the day in my youth when my Dad told me, "Son, we are becoming a throw away world. You'll see the day when everything is disposable." Appreciating quality isn't just an ethic or nostalgic rejection of today's marketplace full of cheaply manufactured junk...finding and appreciating quality is my passion.

I think in times like these, buying quality makes more sense than ever. As much as we hope you will buy a new pair of glasses to match every outfit every year, we have always provided eyewear that is made to last as long as you wish it to last. Well made European or Japanese frames can last a lifetime, and there is no time limit to the scratch warranty on our lenses. Some of our patients realize very low cost for their eyewear when you compare its lasting quality over time to the frequently replaced lower quality glasses that are built to planned-obsolescence standards. Durability is its own reason for buying good craftsmanship--the benefits of the advanced technology found in premium quality lenses is the subject for another complete post.

The higher initial cost of quality may sting, but the sting shortly becomes satisfaction when the technology performs its lasting duty. Poor craftsmanship causes lingering disappointment--usually intensified by the realization that the product was dressed up to look like quality, but really was not. It reminds me of the rural wisdom found in this mock add for hay I saw in a diner once: "Hay, $200 a ton, or $5 a ton. Price depends on which end of the horse you buy it from."

--Dr. Gooch

Fabulous Readers!

Here is our lovely new patient Toni Johnston in her new gorgeous green readers! Frames by Kliik, made in Denmark.

NEWS: Restasis. Expensive Medicine, or Cost Effective Treatment?

Restasis (cyclosporin ophthalmic drops) is a highly effective theraputic treatment for dry eyes. Presumably, it stimulates tear production by controlling inflamation of the tear producing glands. We have dry eye patients who report dramatic relief from its use. The big complaint however, is "why does it cost so much?"

Here the report of a study that factors in the "cost of dry eye to society," that claims Restasis is cost effective. Click here.


Here is the link to the manufacture's website for additional information. Click here.

NEWS: We Finally Got Paid!

Barri, our Accounts Manager and Billing Specialist, just informed me that we finally got paid on an insurance claim after Two and One Half years of concerted effort by us and the patient to get reimbursed. It was about a $350 claim. Never mind that it cost us more than we received to collect it. I can tell you its a one way street. If the insurance company thinks they overpaid, you will reimburse them YESTERDAY, with interest! But it doesn't really matter when they finally pay you for services rendered... and they don't pay interest when they are late.

I just found this interesting article in today's news and thought, "how apropos."