Welcome to Optometry Simplified.
In this weekly newsletter, I've curated the best resources to help you grow personally and professionally.
My mission is to find what's best for my patients and my practice.
Here's what I've found...
Links I Liked
I found this statistic fascinating.
In this year’s Contact Lens Spectrum international prescribing report, the average age of a first-time contact lens fit is still 28, and that number has remained remarkably unchanged over time. If we are serious about making real progress in myopia management, this number cannot stay where it is. Contact Lens Spectrum
This is one of the most practical resources I’ve bookmarked in a long time.
A single, living index of clinical guidelines that cuts through the noise and puts standards of care at your fingertips. If you want faster, more confident decision-making without hunting through journals or PDFs, this is an excellent go-to reference. Review of Optometry
Research I'm Reading
GLP-1 agonists are everywhere.
The authors in this paper walk through a real-world case of NAION that initially mimicked an intracranial lesion. It highlights why medication history and systemic risk factors matter when evaluating optic disc edema. The takeaway is not to jump to conclusions, but to recognize patterns early, ask better questions, and know when urgent referral or co-management is needed. Survey of Ophthalmology
Deep Thoughts
One of the most helpful shifts I’ve made in building clinical pathways came from an unexpected place: the science of habit.
Both The Power of Habit and Atomic Habits emphasize a deceptively simple principle: lasting change does not start with motivation. It starts with a clear cue.
In clinical practice, we often try to improve disease management by adding more education, reminders, or good intentions. But without a clearly defined cue or what I call a trigger, even the best protocols remain optional.
A trigger removes discretion. It is the moment when the system says, “Action is required.”
When triggers are explicit and shared by the entire team, care becomes habitual. A good trigger is essentially you saying, “If I see this, I can’t NOT act.”
And once your team knows it, you’ve created built-in accountability because someone will say, “Doc, what happened?” when you ignore your triggers.
At our recent 1-day workshop for PPP Pro members, we spent nearly an hour helping doctors build clinical pathways for several disease pillars.
A disease pillar is an intentional approach to managing conditions such as dry eye, diabetes, glaucoma, myopia, and peripheral retinal disease.
So let's unpack some examples for three common clinical pathways in every primary care optometry practice.
Dry Eye / Ocular Surface Disease
Dry eye often fails at the implementation level, not the knowledge level. The missing piece is usually ambiguity.
A strong trigger is objective and observable. For example, low meibomian gland yielding liquid secretion (MGYLS) or clinically meaningful corneal staining.
When that finding is present, the pathway activates automatically: patient education, treatment discussion, and defined follow-up.
The trigger eliminates the internal debate of “Is this bad enough?” and replaces it with consistency. The team knows that when the sign is present, action follows. Over time, dry eye care becomes a system rather than a judgment call.
Diabetes
Diabetes is one of the clearest examples of how triggers are often set too late.
The trigger should not be retinopathy. The trigger is the diagnosis itself.
Any patient with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes automatically enters a defined protocol. That includes history refinement, appropriate imaging, documentation standards, and follow-up intervals.
When diabetes itself is the cue, the practice stops reacting to disease and starts proactively managing risk.
Even more importantly, the practice stops letting insurance coverage dictate care and instead sets management and follow-up intervals based on the standards of the disease itself.
This shift alone improves consistency, documentation quality, and long-term outcomes.
Myopia Management
Myopia management commonly stalls because triggers are emotional or subjective. A better approach is to define a clear, measurable cue.
A strong trigger is progression. For example, any pediatric patient demonstrating greater than a -0.25 diopter change per year, or an axial length increase of 0.20 mm or more.
When that threshold is met, the system activates.
Education, treatment options, and follow-up planning are no longer optional or dependent on how busy the day is. The conversation happens because the trigger demands it.
Parents experience clarity. Teams experience alignment. Care becomes consistent.
Across all three examples, the principle is the same. The trigger is what turns intention into habit. It shifts care from individual discretion to shared systems.
Strong practices are not built on heroic effort or perfect memory. They are built on clear cues that make the right action unavoidable.
The most important reflection question is simple: Where in your practice are you still relying on memory or motivation, when a well-defined trigger could do the work for you?
Practice Performance Partners Pick
Struggling to motivate someone on your team? The problem is often not effort or attitude, but misaligned work.
Behold, another podcast on the Working Genius.
Even if you've listened to these two talk about the Working Genius before, you'll still want to hear how Sophie helped Aaron do a deep dive into the personalities at his practice.
Can you do me a favor? If you found any of these resources helpful, share this newsletter with one of our colleagues!
See you next week!
--Kyle Klute, OD, FAAO