My early view on world progress was governed by what I was told at the dinner table most nights – “finish your dinner; kids in China and Africa are starving.” This common parental refrain was from an earlier perspective that there were two types of countries: industrialized and developing.
Having spent several decades advising ophthalmologists on how to be better and smarter in growing their practices, it came as no surprise that many doctors were both amazed and confused as private equity firms (PE) began buying ophthalmic practices and paying large sums in the process, far outstripping any valuation offered upon retirement by a younger associate or another practice in the community.
Despite more than a decade of commercial availability, premium IOLs have not attracted their target audience, the patient-consumer who wants to see without glasses for most to all activities following surgery. According to Market Scope, market penetration has not gone beyond 10%…
Over the years, the value of an ophthalmic practice has been measured by its ability to grow, evaluating current performance against prior periods of services, revenue, active patients, locations and employees…
Of the many positives that came out of the private equity article I wrote last September is that ophthalmologists are beginning to understand the impact that even small changes in net income can have on the value of their practices…