New Computers at Optimeyes
Technology seems to be rapidly growing every day and without the proper technology, some businesses may fall by the wayside. Currently, at Henry Ford Optimeyes we have computers that date back to the year 2004, which means we are using technology from 10 years ago! There is never a better time than the present to upgrade our computers systems so that we will have the tools we need to not only help patients faster, but also have the basic tools we need to do our jobs in general.
There are so many reasons to upgrade our computers but the most important reason is to be up-to-date with the most current technology. “Despite how often you buy new gadgets, remember that satisfaction from a purchase comes with getting an appropriate amount of mileage from your gear. You can do that by working out a new gadget’s true cost over the number of hours you are likely to use it. In my experience, this has made frequent, high-dollar purchases of gadgets I use all the time seem relatively logical and even practical.” (NY Times, 2014) This article is a good example of how to reason with such a big purchase. If you think about it, we have had a solid 10 years of service out of these computers, so we have definitely gotten all the use we can out of them.
On the negative side, there is the actual cost of updating over 10 computers. Typically, when businesses buy computers from a company they do get some type of discount. If we guesstimate that each computer is around 1,000, and we buy at least 10 computers, that rounds to be $10,000 for just our office. “Though computers still get much better every couple of years, they are built on mature technologies. A standard computer is good enough for most people and has been for quite some time.” (NY Times, 2014) This is a small price to pay in order to keep up with today’s technological advances.
Other than the fact that having the best technology is never a bad thing to have when it comes to running a business, we also need computers to help our patients with their glasses. We use the computer to price out their glasses, check their insurance, and put the orders through so that the glasses get made properly. “Americans spend $28.7 billion annually on vision products and services, according to the Vision Council of America. Eyeglass frames and lenses make up the largest portion, about $16 billion.” (Chicago Tribune, 2014) Henry Ford Optimeyes is know for its wide variety and selection of frames, but what good are frames if we don’t have the technology we need to accurately price them out? Currently our computers tend to lag a lot when trying to add up totals, price out insurance, or even print a receipt. This tends to make the patients have to wait longer and also get somewhat frustrated when we can’t even print a simple receipt out.
The negative aspect of this is that the eyewear consultants do tend to rely heavily on the computers to price out any glasses order. Situations may arise where the Internet is down and there is no way to price anything out unless it is on paper. The eyewear consultants should know how to manually price out glasses and not just heavily rely on the computer to have all of the answers.
Since Obama became President, he has decided to elect that all business must now use Electronic Medical Records versus paper charts. EMR’s are basically charts that are stored on a program on a computer. This is a very good example of how important functioning computers are to Optimeyes. “A paper record is a passive, historical document. An electronic health record can be a vibrant tool that reminds and advises doctors. It can
