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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...

Yes, you read that correctly. Optometry Simplified is now weekly. Same depth and value, but a little shorter and delivered to you every Wednesday. - Kyle

Links I Liked

3 newly FDA-approved presbyopia drops, 1 in the works

Most of us have been watching the development of pharmacologic treatments for presbyopia with curiosity and maybe a little skepticism. Kaleb Abbot, OD, FAAO does a great job summarizing where things stand with the current and future options. Modern Optometry

Get familiar with the new geographic atrophy classifications

Are you familiar with cRORA, iRORA, cORA, and iORA? Well you will be now. Understanding new classifications and biomarkers for geographic atrophy help identify and predict for better patient outcomes. Optometric Management

Research I'm Reading

What are the most commonly missed ocular surface diagnoses?​
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According to a new paper reporting on referrals made to an academic cornea and external disease practice, ocular neuropathic pain and nocturnal lagophthalmos are the most commonly missed. American Journal of Ophthalmology

Deep Thoughts

I’ve been revisiting Steven Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People lately and can’t help but see its relevance to our profession. The best optometrists I know share a mindset that goes far beyond clinical skills. The most effective optometrists possess a sense of responsibility to build practices and teams that endure. If Covey were an optometrist, I think his seven habits might look something like this.

Take Responsibility for Total Eye Health

Be proactive means owning the full scope of your care. In Covey’s terms, being “response able” means accepting the privilege and responsibility of managing the entirety of a patient’s visual system. Too often our profession swings between the subspecialist who treats narrowly and the generalist who detects and refers everything away. The effective optometrist lives in the middle—confidently diagnosing, managing, and following chronic disease as part of comprehensive primary care. When we practice this way, we become true stewards of our patients’ eye health, creating both healthier outcomes and more profitable, trusted practices.

Begin with the End (and Beyond) in Mind

We’re not just building successful practices. We are building enduring ones. When we begin with the end in mind, we design a practice that outlives us, one that keeps playing the infinite game of serving patients well long after we’re gone. The goal isn’t to win, it’s to stay in the game by creating a culture, a reputation, and a standard of care that lasts.

Prioritize What Matters Most

It’s easy to fill a week reacting to patients and their problems, optical questions, insurance fires, and staffing issues. But the best ODs carve out time for developing protocols, training staff, and improving systems. These investments build margin. Margin gives you time. And time gives you mastery.

Celebrate Wins—Even When They’re Not Yours

Highly effective optometrists lead with abundance, not comparison. When others in our profession succeed, we all win because it means more patients are being served at a higher level and the reputation of optometry is strengthened. Celebrate innovation, applaud your peers, and learn from every success you see.

Seek First to Understand—Clinically and Commercially

Empathy isn’t just good bedside manner. It’s good business. Listen to your patients’ stories, but also to their frustrations as customers navigating healthcare. Make your processes, pricing, and communication as simple and approachable as possible. When people feel seen and understood, trust grows. Trust is the currency of modern care.

Build Teams That Multiply Your Impact

No optometrist succeeds alone. Unity, clarity, and trust create leverage that no amount of personal effort can match. The effective OD doesn’t just delegate; they develop. They get the right people in the right roles, clarify why their work matters, and foster accountability that fuels pride and purpose.

Sharpen the Saw with a Growth Mindset

The best optometrists never stop improving clinically, culturally, or personally. They learn, reflect, and evolve. They model curiosity and invite their teams to do the same. Progress, not perfection, is the goal. Because when you build a culture that learns, you build a practice that lasts.

The takeaway: Great optometry isn’t about seeing more patients but about seeing further ahead. The habits that make us clinically effective are the same ones that make our practices resilient, our teams engaged, and our profession stronger for the long game.

Practice Performance Partners Pick

Is your practice protected? Cybersecurity protected?

Watch Aaron Werner, OD, learn from compliance expert Joe DeLoach, OD, and cybersecurity specialist Dave MacKinnon on what's coming next for practice owners:

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

1515 S 152 Avenue Circle, Omaha, Nebraska 68144
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