Your financial prep guide for AOA Optometry's Meeting 2026
Optometry's Meeting runs June 17-20 at the Phoenix Convention Center, with over 300 hours of CE. The clinical track is strong, but optometry is a hybrid medical-retail business and the financial decisions there are what separate good practices from great ones. Sorso is not an exhibitor, sponsor, or speaker at this event. This is an independent prep guide for optometry practice owners.
Why this matters for your bottom line
Optical capture rate (the percentage of exam patients who buy eyewear from you) is the single most important number in optometry. A practice running 35% versus 60% capture has a fundamentally different P&L.
Vision plan reimbursement (VSP, EyeMed, Davis) compresses exam revenue while also dictating frame board allowances. Practices need to know the true profitability of each plan separately, not blended.
Medical optometry billing (dry eye, glaucoma, diabetic eye care) typically reimburses better than routine vision. Practices that have built medical workflows often see materially higher revenue per chair hour.
Private equity consolidation in optometry has accelerated. Independent ODs need to understand their EBITDA and valuation multiples whether they plan to sell or remain independent.
What to look for
Practice management sessions on optical capture rate improvement with real before-and-after data
Vision plan vs. medical billing economics, including which plans are profitable and which to drop
Specialty service expansion: dry eye clinics, myopia management, vision therapy, and their startup economics
Frame and lens vendor sessions covering margin, inventory turn, and patient out-of-pocket positioning
Practice valuation and PE transaction trends specific to optometry
Multi-location optometry operations and the economics of adding satellite offices
Financial prep checklist
Review these before you go.
Run your optical capture rate and average revenue per capture
Map exam revenue per chair hour for each provider, broken down by routine vs. medical
Audit the per-patient profitability of each vision plan you accept, not blended
Walk through your frame inventory turn ratio and the percentage of inventory aged over 12 months
Sketch your medical optometry revenue as a percentage of total and the trend over the last 24 months
Compare your EBITDA margin against AOA practice survey data for your practice size
From our CFO
Optometry is the only specialty where the lowest-margin product (the eye exam) drives traffic to the highest-margin product (the optical). Practices that obsess over exam efficiency without thinking about optical capture are optimizing the wrong thing. Before Phoenix, pull your optical capture rate and average optical sale. If those two numbers are not on your weekly dashboard, that is the first change to make when you get back.
Get a financial checkup before Optometry's Meeting 2026
Take the 4-minute financial assessment. Know your numbers before you attend, so you can ask better questions and make better decisions.