On only the second day of opening Optometrist Warehouse on Glenferrie Road in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern, a new patient was diagnosed with proliferative diabetic retinopathy. They lived across the road and simply wanted their eyes checked yet didn’t live in a recognised diabetes hot spot and weren’t referred by a GP or medical specialist.
According to Optometrist Warehouse managing director Mr Peter Larsen, the case highlights the flaws in the current healthcare system, including optometry, that will become a major focus of Australian optometry’s newest venture, backed by pharmacy retailer Chemist Warehouse.
By identifying at-risk patients in the pharmacy setting, it’s believed a conjoined optometry practice could have a major impact on community health.
“There are 600,000 estimated Australians who have diabetes who are not getting their eyes checked, but hardly anyone is doing anything about it,” Larsen said.
“An optometrist sends a recall letter, but the patient doesn’t turn up. Whose responsibility is that? The patient goes to the GP and they say you should get your eyes tested, but who checks if they do? A pharmacist hands over medication and may or may not have a conversation about eye health. The person with diabetes is told it’s their responsibility. I’m a bit unusual because I want to take responsibility.”
So, when Chemist Warehouse approached Larsen to lead the company’s eyecare venture – vowing to “disrupt” the industry – he didn’t hesitate.
“This approach is creating a patient-centric business and looking at all the outcomes that should happen in primary eyecare and then creating a model that is able to deliver that,” he said.
It’s fair to say Optometrist Warehouse’s entrance into the national optical landscape has turned heads. In Larsen, it has a well-credentialed optometrist and business operator who is best known for bringing Specsavers to Australia and New Zealand in 2007 before departing the company 13 years later.
‘A business has got to solve problems’
The initial expansion plans include a handful of pilot stores in 2023, followed by a mass network rollout, but Larsen warns it is early days and will depend to some extent on the outcomes of the Malvern and other pilot stores.
“A business has got to solve problems – and the problems that we have in Australia are linked to the disconnection of health workers and stakeholders,” he said.
“What’s underpinning this is the plan to systematically link pharmacy with optometry to solve problems in the community. We then want to connect to other stakeholders in terms of GPs and specialists, to service the population that comes to us, to not only resolve refractive problems but vision-related diabetes health problems and systemic health problems, which, as research shows, are increasingly linked to the eyes.”
It’s not yet clear how the expansion will take shape, whether through greenfield stores, acquiring existing practices, or acquiring retail property neighbouring existing Chemist Warehouse stores. It’s also too early to say how practice ownership will be structured, whether that’s corporately-owned or through franchise agreements.
Larsen believes any healthcare service must be accessible and embrace research to ensure it is delivering the right outcomes.
He said the scale of Chemist Warehouse’s footprint means, if successful, this new approach of serving the population who are seeking pharmaceutical care could have a significant impact on their eyecare, like the walk-in patient at Optometrist Warehouse on the second day it opened.
“We want to ensure we see people when they need to be seen,” he said, adding that Optometrist Warehouse intends to join the KeepSight program that is shifting the dial on diabetes-related vision loss.
“KeepSight is at least pointing to a strategy to deliver what needs to happen in this country. We’re connecting the dots through ophthalmic e-referral platform Oculo and practice management software to ensure that happens with people with diabetes, but we’ll also be working on an internal process to ensure that we’re delivering quality service, not just transacting.”
But it’s not just people in the community with diabetes who may be picking up a medical script that need their vision tested. Rates of undiagnosed glaucoma and macular degeneration may also improve if patients in at-risk groups are detected in a pharmacy setting.
With two optometrists employed in the first pilot store, Larsen said the team is still bedding down their IT, systems and processes.
Open seven days a week, the company said it would provide a state-of-the-art advanced eyecare service, employing hospital-grade clinical technology designed to assist with the early detection of eye conditions, partnered with discounted prices on all optical products.
“It’s tremendously exciting. We have ZEISS, who have the gold standard in visual fields, an iCare EIDON Ultra-Widefield, and the leading technology partner, Topcon, with their image management software, OCT and Myah device for axial length and corneal topography,” Larsen said.
“We want to evolve standardised clinical journeys to solve problems and work collaboratively with technology partners, medicine and with pharmacy. Right from the outset, we are committed to doing research and to sharing data inclusively to industry to enable health service improvements for everybody.”
Optometrist Warehouse is also stocking household brand names for various budgets, including Levi’s, Tommy Hilfiger, Kendall & Kylie, Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, Jimmy Choo and Rag & Bone.
In addition, an exclusive in-house brand San Paolo will be available combining fashion with affordability and practicality.
“All eyecare services – including clinical technology – are bulk-billed, meaning patients have no out-of-pocket expenses whatsoever. The focus is on a professional and high-quality service offering that is accessible and affordable for all,” Larsen said.
More reading
Chemist Warehouse and Peter Larsen join forces to ‘disrupt’ optometry industry
Breaking the mould: understanding Peter Larsen
