20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry Improving your practice by tracking the right KPIs (and ignoring the wrong ones) with Nathan Hayes
Jan 19, 2026
Nathan Hayes, optometry practice operations and benchmarking expert who leads Books & Benchmarks/IDOC work. He breaks down which KPIs matter and which are vanity metrics. Shortlists simple, actionable measures like schedule fill, revenue per patient, and space utilization. Explains benchmarking, staffing trade-offs, and how to align metrics with daily responsibilities.
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Financials Are Lagging Indicators
- Financial results are lagging indicators of past decisions and inputs.
- Track upstream activities (inputs) to influence future financial outputs.
Put Patients In Chairs First
- Prioritize patient volume first: fill your schedule before optimizing other metrics.
- Use revenue-per-patient and collections KPIs to guide pricing, services, and capture rates.
Time Is Your Primary Inventory
- Time is the practice's finite inventory; exam slots are the unit of capacity.
- Measure doctor hours, exam slots, and throughput to map revenue potential.
