Founded over 20 years ago, Opti-Port is a national alliance of leading multi-office eyecare providers which leverages the combined strength of its member practices to create revenue-enhancing, cost-saving and market-expanding opportunities. Opti-Port is the only eyecare alliance dedicated solely to supporting large, regional multi-office practice groups, according to the group.



Jason Lake, OD



The alliance has grown to include more than 60 multi-location practice groups that represent over 860 practice locations. Solutions offered include group purchasing for frames, lenses, contact lenses and lab services.

The alliance also offers technology solutions, including its CLX System, a cloud-based ordering, managing and marketing system that gives users the tools needed to grow their contact lens business. Opti-Port also offers members an educational conference series, as well as marketing solutions that include direct marketing, an in-depth marketing workshop and website optimization analysis.

“While the industry at large has experienced economic and market challenges for several years now, Opti-Port has faced these same challenges on a large scale. Opti-Port is a network for large regional multi-location eyecare providers, which means our members experienced challenges like price compression, rising costs and staff turnover in multiple offices at once,” said Jason Lake, OD, Opti-Port general manager.

“Our Opti-Port study groups gave members a unique peer support system to help navigate and solve for these mounting pressures. To combat the erosion on profit, Opti-Port offered members proprietary software for improved reporting and analytics, providing valuable business insights for better decision making and maximizing their business potential.”

Moving forward in 2023, Lake expects these challenges to continue for members and the industry as a whole, but points toward efficiency as the key.

“Economic challenges continue to be a concern for our members, particularly as they experience those challenges across multiple locations,” said Dr. Lake. “To address these challenges, we see a return to pre-pandemic systems and protocol to recapture the staff training and camaraderie which established our successful members as practices of choice for their patients and communities. Members are finding areas of efficiency to enhance patient experience and gain back lost margin.”





“Over the years, we have successfully scaled our member-driven study groups and leveraged them as a superpower to unlock insight and key learnings leveraged broadly by our members to drive profitability and growth,” Dr. Lake added. “Some 50 percent of members are now involved in the study groups, and with increased demand for additional groups we are forming the fifth study group under Opti-Port in 2023. They will have their first meeting at the Opti-Port Summit, our annual national meeting, in November in Denver.

“The data is clear that members that engage in our groups show far greater growth and profitability than the industry and we expect this next group to further illustrate this pattern. We will only allow one additional group in 2023 and expect demand to outpace our available openings.”

Opti-Port is a part of Essilor of America, which is a division of EssilorLuxottica.