Think Again with Scott Jens: Recent Episodes
Scott Jens, OD
Dr. Scott Jens talks to ODs and eye care industry pros about common challenges and misconceptions that practitioners often face in private practice - and how to overcome them. His guests cover a variety of perspectives and speak from a number of different places along their professional journeys.
In this insightful conversation, Dr. Larry Golson shares a refreshingly authentic approach to revenue optimization in optometric practices. Rather than relying on traditional sales tactics, Dr. Golson emphasizes patient education, trust-building, and consistent communication as the foundation for growth. He discusses how recording provider-patient dialogues, empowering staff through radical candor, and tracking performance metrics can all contribute to better outcomes—for patients and the business. If you're ready to rethink how your practice grows, this episode is packed with takeaways you can start using today.
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Sunwear sales are often an afterthought in optical retail—but according to Renato Cappuccitti, that’s a costly mistake. With decades of experience in product development, manufacturing, and distribution—including roles at Maui Jim and now as part of Bajío Sunglasses—Renato joins Dr. Scott Jens to Think Again about how practices treat sunwear.
In this episode, Renato challenges the passive mindset many practices hold toward sunwear and makes a compelling case for treating it as a strategic category—not just an accessory. From pricing strategy and inventory commitment to staff training and the power of storytelling, he outlines the specific changes practices can make to unlock serious growth in a high-margin category.
This conversation offers data-informed, field-tested advice for optometric practices looking to diversify revenue, improve second pair sales, and elevate their brand presence. If you’ve ever treated sunwear as a seasonal add-on, it’s time to Think Again.
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How do you drive more revenue from your optical department—without pressuring patients or alienating staff? In this episode, Mike Della Pesca, President of Quantum Optical, joins us to talk about the mindset, process, and people behind successful second pair sales. We dig into staff training strategies, how to turn lifestyle conversations into revenue, and why the white coat’s words matter more than the sales pitch. This is a must-listen for any practice looking to grow optical performance the right way.
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Technology is more than just a tool—it’s a business asset. In this episode, EyePegasus co-founders Tadeu and Karoline Souza join Dr. Scott Jens to explore how practice management software, AI, and well-structured data entry can elevate clinical care and business profitability. From predictive insights to real-time alerts, they share how AI can help you make better decisions faster—and how to prepare your team to use it effectively. If you're ready to move beyond reports and toward real intelligence, this episode will show you how.
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In this episode of Think Again, host Dr. Scott Jens is joined by Dr. Dave Kading—practicing OD, podcast host, and myopia management leader—for a practical conversation on how to fully commit to building a myopia-focused clinic. Dr. Kading shares key mindset shifts, equipment strategies, and workflow tips to help optometrists treat myopia not just as a refractive error, but as a progressive disease with lifelong consequences. Whether you’re just exploring myopia control or ready to go all-in, this episode will give you the insight and motivation to move forward.
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In this episode of the Think Again Podcast, ABO speaker and optical industry veteran Mark Clark joins Dr. Scott Jens for a refreshingly honest conversation about how practices can shift from autopilot to intentionality. Drawing from his experience as an optician, practice owner, and industry advisor, Mark shares how clarity, structure, and data-informed management can transform everyday decision-making into sustainable growth.
Whether you're overwhelmed by the business side of patient care or just ready to do things differently, Mark’s insights offer practical takeaways for managing your schedule, inventory, team—and profitability—with purpose.
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In this inspiring episode of the Think Again Podcast, Dr. Michael Berenhaus shares how a commitment to mentorship, community engagement, and patient-centered care helped him build a standout optometry practice. From starting with just one patient to growing a thriving business and ultimately partnering with Keplr Vision, Dr. Berenhaus offers practical advice for ODs at every stage.
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In this episode of Think Again, Scott chats with Mark Hinton, CEO of EyeFacilitate, about how to turn optical data and conversations into real business outcomes. Mark shares his proven approach to using practical metrics and empathetic communication to boost multiple pair sales, reduce no-shows, and engage the entire team in goal-setting. If you’re struggling with optical performance or staff alignment, this conversation is packed with actionable strategies to bring clarity, focus, and growth to your practice.
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In this powerful episode, Dr. Millie Knight shares hard-won insights from her remarkable journey—spanning private practice, leadership at industry giants, and now, advocacy and consulting. She offers an unflinching look at how disruption is coming fast to eye care—and why the profession must act now to protect its future. From industry influence to interprofessional collaboration and the urgent need to educate legislators, Dr. Knight makes a compelling call to optometrists: take control, or risk being left behind.
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When reporting becomes more than a numbers task, it can transform your entire team. In this episode, Katie Lauver shares how access to the right metrics helped her team gain clarity, take ownership, and step confidently into leadership. From building better conversations to driving performance without micromanagement, this episode is full of practical wins for growing practices.
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In this episode of the Think Again Podcast, Dr. Larry Golson shares how he transformed his practice by using key business metrics to drive profitability, enhance team accountability, and streamline decision-making. Learn his approach to structuring effective staff meetings, setting meaningful goals, and creating a data-driven culture that fuels long-term success. Whether you’re just starting with metrics or looking to refine your strategy, this conversation is packed with actionable insights.
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Thinking about adding a specialty to your practice? Before making a big investment, you need more than just enthusiasm—you need data. Dr. Jennifer Stewart shares how ODs can assess their patient base, evaluate costs, and create a strategy for long-term success. From avoiding costly mistakes to ensuring real profitability, this episode is packed with insights on making smart, sustainable decisions.
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Staffing challenges are a top concern for optometry practices—but are you setting your opticians up for success? Mike Della Pesca, President of Quantum Optical, shares how better training, cross-training, and sales techniques can turn your optical staff into a revenue-driving asset while improving patient care.
🔊 Listen now to learn how smart training leads to real growth!
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In this episode, a leading optometry and practice management expert shares simple strategies to enhance practice performance through data-driven decisions and operational efficiency—including how AI technology can streamline everyday tasks.
You’ll learn about the key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive revenue growth, how to set measurable goals, and practical tips to improve patient experience and team performance.
If you’re ready to make smarter decisions and harness the power of AI to grow your practice in 2025, this episode is for you!
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In this episode, Renato Cappuccitti, VP of Operations at BAJÍO Sunglasses, shares how he helped over 100 locations surpass 20% sunwear sales by shifting the focus from selling products to offering patients effective solutions.
Renato explores the key factors that drive real growth in optical sales and how practices can create a winning strategy by making smarter, data-driven decisions.
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Mark Hinton, optical sales specialist and founder of the EyeFacilitate coaching service delivers a master class in the art of patient communication. Listen as he shares expert tips on effective prescribing, multiple pair sales, and getting the buy-in from eyewear consumers, all while delivering premium products and building unshakeable patient loyalty.
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Dr. Mike Cymbor of Nittany Eye - a multi-location practice in Pennsylvania - shares how the "new climate" of staff management has impacted his business, and how he and his management team have responded to those challenges.
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Dr. Ceclia Koetting continues the conversation in developing an optometric clinical specialty as primary care retina. Referring a patient out too early with a medical modality is a business decision that could be costing you patients and additional revenue. Dr. Koetting discusses what additional resources you need in your practice to do primary care retina, and how to know when it's time to refer.
Co-managing patients successfully allows ODs to participate in a broader continuum of coordinated care. Patients are more savvy than ever in terms of preparing for surgery, and ODs have a unique opportunity to facilitate that process. Dr. Theriot discusses techniques to drive practice business through smart referral relationships and protocols.
Dede Reyes, Head of Education for ABB Specialty Contact Lenses and Fellow of the CLSA, returns for a second visit with Dr. Jens. Education is one of her great passions, and she shares some of the best industry resources for staff and patient education. Great communication produces better results and fosters longevity in the relationship between health care provider and patient. Teach your staff to teach your patients so they can enjoy the best possible outcomes with their visual solutions.
Most owners intuitively know what their business needs - more staff, more space, more patients. Using data can remove some of the uncertainty that may be inhibiting your decision-making and practice growth. CEPA Nathan Hayes of IDOC shares some surprising results drawn from a newly released report on financial benchmarks that can help you understand where your practice might be missing the mark.
Standards for cost of goods are changing, inflation is impacting practice revenue, and much of our historic understanding of healthy financial ratios is in need of a rethink. Digging into financial benchmarks can help you clarify your understanding of your practice performance and formulate a plan for your business's future.
Download the Report Here
Ignoring the OSD portion of the eye exam means you're potentially missing a huge portion of patient care, which can lead to glasses remakes, throwing off your refraction, and less satisfactory patient outcomes. Dr. Cecelia Koetting shares her perspective on working with dry eye patients, including asking the right questions, investigating the "whole" patient, relating OSD to systemic health issues, maximizing the use of diagnostic tools, and leveraging staff to help balance the time requirements for effective care with a busy optometric schedule.
Ophthalmologists and retina specialists are in high demand, which creates a unique opportunity for ODs to develop primary care retina as a specialty. Leveraging technology and education supports decisions about what to monitor and what to refer. Dr. Julie Rodman advocates for optometrists to add medical retina care to their practice. She outlines the path to becoming more comfortable making confident decisions to keep appropriate patients in-house for retinal treatment.
Dede Reyes, consultant for ABB Specialty Lenses and president of the Contact Lens Society of America shares insights gained from three decades of specialty lens fitting. Learn what you need to have in your practice and how to truly differentiate your business in this high-demand field.
Dr. Mark Colip, President of the Illinois College of Optometry and President of ASCO, shares a thousand-foot view of the current state of optometric education. In this very thoughtful conversation, Dr. Colip delves into the changing landscape of optometry practice, including evolving technology, diversity of demographics, practice management, insurance penetration, and broadening scope of practice. He also offers insights into how today's students and new practitioners differ from previous generations.
Dr. Pam Theriot shares her insights on how patient education can drastically alter the outcome for dry eye treatments. Not everyone specializes in the same area of vision care, but every practitioner can improve patient results through communication and education. Creating extra materials - or leveraging ready-made resources - can augment the patient encounter, build relationships between patients and providers and help to ensure success.
Dr. Julie Rodman, professor of Optometry at NOVA, discusses how specialized patient imaging is evolving in optometry. Understanding and maximizing the capabilities of technology helps ensure the best ROI and utilization of the highly specialized equipment that many practitioners are embracing. She shares resources to help ODs integrate these technologies and maximize their investment in their practice and patient care.
Podcast host and marketing specialist Carissa Dunphy shares her take on improving efficiency in eye care practices. Minutes count in a busy optometric schedule. Being intentional about finding opportunities for efficiency can change the landscape of your business. Learn about common areas where you can eliminate redundancies, leverage benefits that already exist in your practice toolkit, and recover time wasted by inefficiency.
Sole proprietor Samantha Hornberger, OD of Bright Family Eyecare in Harrison, IN, shares her philosophy on creating growth inside a "small schedule." Since opening her practice as a cold start in 2013, Dr. Hornberger has doubled down on her decision to build a business that supports her personal priorities, helping her reap great rewards in her business ownership as well has her personal life and professional career.
David Friedfeld, president of ClearVision Optical shares his insights into profitable frame management. From turn rate to demographics, learn how to categorize your frames systematically, when to drop-ship, and how to design your frame board to support your practice goals.
Dr. Ryan Gustus, founder of LensQuote.com, explores the challenges faced by practitioners being challenged by online contact lens sales, annual supply sales, and CL patient retention.
Founder of Optician Now, Carissa Dunphy discusses how business owners and managers can "bridge the gap" between medical and retail and engage in effective marketing. She discusses how each practice is unique, and needs to focus on their own specialties to draw new patients into the business.
Leading industry consultant and professional coach Holly Rush shares a proven roadmap for achieving success.
Get off the merry-go-round and position your staff so they are generating revenue, building your business, and helping you run a profitable practice. Jay Binkowitz shares proven concepts to turn your year-end planning into CEO-worthy strategies and make 2024 a growth year.
Dr. Mike Cymbor shares the staff management concepts they've been implementing at Nittany Eye Care that are creating a vital staff that contributes to their profitability.
Industry veteran Dr. Tim Nichols shares his views on the partners in eye care practice that matter most, and how to build meaningful, healthy relationships that build the business.
Dr. Lorie Lippiatt, successful optometric practice owner for 32 years, is now serving as president of the Optical Women's Association. Her determination to succeed lead her to become involved in the industry and engage in meaningful relationships with peers and mentors. She shares her insights into growing - and learning - in leadership over the past 3 decades.
Leadership expert Lynn Lawrence shares his insights into team dynamics and how your own leadership skills can change the game in your practice.
Dr. Mick Kling sits down to chat with Dr. Scott Jens about how he successfully positioned one of the largest practices in the San Diego market. He shares the product, merchandising, and marketing choices that worked to make his practice stand out from the rest.
Katie Barela, marketing coordinator for the Foxfire Group, discusses the role of professional coaching for optometrists in practical terms. She shares insights gained from growing up in the field as well as her current position in a company that provides support services for the industry.
Dr. Mike Neal shares the insights he gained while struggling to staff his practice with a limited talent pool, and a challenging economy. The solutions he uncovered led him to create an independent company to help other optometric practices hire smart and build outstanding teams.
Practice manager Frank Tuffy discusses how he manages his team successfully. His corporate background lends him a different perspective on evaluating business productivity, communication tactics for employees, incentivizing engagement, and helping ODs separate patient care from administrative functions.
Dr. Jennifer Stewart visits with Dr. Jens to discuss how stress and burnout is impacting ODs and healthcare workers in general. She shares strategies she uses to avoid burnout while juggling a busy career, keeping up with her family, building a professional consulting business, and staying healthy.
Dr. Scott Jens sits down with optical industry marketing expert Bill Gerber, of OMG Marketing to discuss how practitioners are (or are not) approaching in-office marketing, and what opportunities exist inside the dispensary to improve sales as well as patient experience.
Eye care industry veteran Ed Buffington, found of OfficeMate and current CEO of GPN Technologies shares his view of the future of optometry. Join Dr. Jens for this lively conversation that covers the shifts that Ed has observed over his career, and the impact of bringing the correct focus to your practice. Find out why he thinks that many practices are missing out on over $100k in their bottom line revenue.
Dr. Jens visits with Marge Axelrad, an industry media veteran to get her perspective on the changing landscape of eye care. From radical new delivery methods for patient care, to patient loyalty and communication, to practice specialization, Marge speculates on how the vision industry can - and should - advocate for itself in the healthcare space.
Evan Kestenbaum, COO & Co-Founder of GPN Technologies joins Scott for an eye-opening conversation about what data points are most critical for practices, and how data can help take the emotion out of important business decisions.
Staff challenges are one of the biggest hurdles practices face right now, and Lynn Lawrence shares his insight into building leadership from within your practice.
Dr. Jens visits with Janice Holly Booth, founder of The Team Building Kit, about how personality types typically trend in eye care practices, and how they impact the performance of the team. She shares strategies for achieving balance in the team personality mix.
Optical Dispensary expert Mike Della Pesca joins Dr. Jens for a frank discussion on cutting costs as a necessary part of your business strategy.
Why should you measure your practice value like financial institutions will measure it? Industry expert Jay Binkowitz talks to Dr. Jens about his passion for using metrics to understand the truth about your business.
Dr. Mick Kling returns for a second session and reviews his guidelines for compensation for practice owners.
Mike Della Pesca of Quantum Optical sits in for this conversation on how to give your optical business the attention it needs (and what happens when you don't!).
Dr. Michael Cymbor, partner at Nittany Eye Care, discusses how to build a medical model practice.
Dr. Jennifer Stewart of OD Perspectives reviews her go-to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can be game-changers for profitability.
Dr. Mile Brujic, partner in a highly progressive eye care practice as well as the student-focused business "Optometric Insights" shares how he has leveraged innovation to differentiate his practice.
Dr. Jens sits down with Lynn Lawrence, MsOL and digs into the core principles for leadership in your practice.
OD Consultants Steve Vargo of IDOC and Mike Rothschild of Leadership OD speak to Dr. Jens this week, discussing when it's the "right time" to turn to professional consulting services, and how to find a consultant that's a good fit for your practice.
Dr. Lorie Lippiatt shares some of the hurdles and surprises she encountered during her practice's recent transition from single-owner / operator to private equity holding.