Practice Playbook
The Dry Eye Practice Playbook
The operating model for turning dry eye into a reliable, recurring part of your practice. A repeatable chairside workflow, the person who owns it, the channels that move product, the stages to build it in, and the economics that make it worth doing. Product names live in the Product Playbook; this is the business behind it.
Looking for the products themselves?
This playbook is the operating side: workflow, staffing, channels, and economics. For the products mapped by mechanism, phenotype, and patient fit, see the Dry Eye Product Playbook. The two work together: one tells you what to recommend, this one tells you how to run it.
Key Takeaways
- Dry eye is already walking through your door. The opportunity is a system to catch it, treat it, and keep treating it.
- A repeatable chairside workflow is the engine: screen every exam, confirm, treat, and hand over a take-home plan.
- Put one person in charge. A Dry Eye Champion who owns the workflow is the difference between a program and good intentions.
- Run two channels: stock the fast movers at wholesale and extend the shelf through RescueLink, with a kiosk as an optional add for higher-volume offices.
- Build in stages and let the recurring revenue compound. This is a base you grow, not a switch you flip.
Quick Answer
Build the program in a clear order: screen every exam so you stop missing patients, run a consistent test-and-treat workflow, give someone ownership of it, and equip the practice with two channels, stock plus RescueLink, adding a kiosk only when volume justifies it. Start small, prove it on your first wave of patients, then expand in stages. The guides below break down each piece, and the economics pages show what it adds up to.
The Operating Model in Six Moves
The whole program reduces to six repeatable moves. Each one has a deep-dive below.
- Find the patients. Screen for dry eye in every exam so the ones you are already seeing stop slipping past undiagnosed.
- Confirm and treat. Run a consistent chairside workflow: a quick questionnaire, point-of-care testing, and a treatment decision while the patient is in the chair.
- Equip the practice. Stock the fast movers at wholesale, extend the shelf through RescueLink, and add a kiosk only when volume supports it.
- Put someone in charge. Name a Dry Eye Champion who owns the workflow, the inventory, and the follow-through.
- Build in stages. Start lean, prove the model on your first wave of patients, then expand the shelf and the procedures as demand grows.
- Run the economics. Track the recurring value per patient and let the base compound over years. The numbers are the reason to do this deliberately.
Two Channels, One Optional Add
How product actually reaches the patient. Inventory first, RescueLink to extend the shelf, kiosk only when it earns its place.
| Channel | Why it wins | What goes here |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory (stock at wholesale) | Highest margin, instant gratification, highest capture rate, keeps patients in your practice and out of big box | Your fast movers across drops, lid care, heat, and nutrition, plus starter kits |
| RescueLink (extend the shelf) | Zero inventory for specialty and chronic items; auto-ship keeps compliance and the reorder yours | Less common formulas, larger sizes, and every recurring refill |
| Kiosk (optional) | Drives awareness and volume in higher-volume offices; not required | Self-serve in-office display for practices that can hit the minimums |
Dry eye is among the most common conditions seen in eye care and affects a large, growing share of the population, which is what makes a systematic in-practice approach worthwhile (TFOS DEWS III, epidemiology). Build the channel mix to your own patient volume and goals.
Why the Economics Compound
An engaged dry eye patient is not a one-time sale. They come back for drops, lid care, heat, and nutrition, month after month, and that recurring value adds up across a growing base over years. The economics guides below lay out the model, an illustrative multi-year arc, and a calculator you can run on your own numbers. Treat the figures as illustrative; your results depend on your patient base, pricing, and mix.
Build and Run It
The implementation guides, from your first patients to a fully staffed, multi-channel program.
Getting Started
Where to Begin: Your First 50 Patients
The lean way to start: screen, treat, and prove the model before you scale.
Workflow
The Chairside Workflow
Questionnaire, test, treat: the repeatable in-room sequence that drives everything.
Staffing
The Dry Eye Champion
Who owns the program, what they do, and why it fails without them.
Scaling
Build Your Center in Stages
A staged path from starter shelf to full procedures, sized to your volume.
Inventory
What to Stock, What to Route
Drawing the line between inventory and RescueLink so you carry no dead stock.
Recurring Revenue
The Recurring Layer: Auto-Ship
Turning refills into standing reorders that protect compliance and capture.
Merchandising
The DER Kiosk
When an in-office self-serve display earns its place, and how to merchandise it.
The Economics
What the program is worth, modeled and made runnable on your own numbers.
Economics
Practice Economics and Reimbursement
The revenue drivers, the recurring value per patient, and where reimbursement fits.
Economics
The 5-Year Financial Arc
An illustrative model of how a built-out base compounds over five years.
Tool
RescueLink ROI Calculator
Run the numbers on your own patient volume, capture rate, and mix.
The Channel That Makes It Recurring
RescueLink is the engine behind the recurring layer: personalized product sent to patients by text or email, one-tap ordering, same-day shipping, and optional auto-ship, with the recommending relationship staying in your practice. Free for providers, and it activates in minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the two playbooks?
The Product Playbook is what to recommend, mapped by mechanism and patient fit. The Practice Playbook is how to run the program: workflow, staffing, channels, and economics. Product names stay out of this one.
Where do I actually start?
With screening and a simple chairside workflow on your first wave of patients. Prove the model lean before you invest in more shelf or procedures.
Do I need to hire someone?
Not necessarily hire, but you do need to assign. A Dry Eye Champion who owns the workflow is what keeps the program from quietly dying.
How much inventory do I have to carry?
Less than you think. Stock the fast movers and route everything else through RescueLink, so you capture the sale without holding dead stock.
Is a kiosk required?
No. It is an optional add for higher-volume offices that can hit the minimums. It drives awareness and volume but is never a prerequisite.
Are the economic figures guaranteed?
No. They are illustrative models of how recurring per-patient value can compound. Your actual numbers depend on your base, pricing, and mix, which is why we include a calculator.
How do I make the revenue recurring?
Through the auto-ship layer in RescueLink. Refills become standing reorders, which protects compliance and keeps the reorder in your practice. Questions go to providers@dryeyerescue.com or (561) 468-8747.
How long until it pays off?
It builds rather than flips. A staged rollout starts producing early and compounds as your treated base grows. The economics guides lay out the arc.
Build the Program, Not Just the Shelf
Browse the catalog to equip your practice, or activate RescueLink to turn on the recurring layer that makes the model work.
The companion to this page is the Dry Eye Product Playbook. Economic and reimbursement figures referenced here and in the linked guides are illustrative and not a guarantee of results; verify reimbursement and regulatory details for your own setting. Dry Eye Rescue is a distributor of medical supplies and over-the-counter products.