What do the fastest-growing practices in optometry have in common? They track the right numbers, and know how to act on them. 

In this data-packed episode of Power Hour, Eugene Shatsman welcomes back Dr. Jason Lake, founder of the Elevate Conference and a recognized leader in practice analytics, to kick off a brand-new quarterly series built for the numbers-driven OD. 

Dr. Lake’s group of practices is growing at 4x the industry average, and he’s pulling back the curtain on the six key metrics that top-performing offices are using right now to shape strategy, drive profitability, and stay ahead of economic pressures. If you’ve ever wondered how to make smarter staffing decisions, improve capture rates, or benchmark your EBITDA like the pros — this is the episode you’ve been waiting for. 

Dr. Lake starts by tackling one of the most misunderstood financial metrics in optometry: EBITDA. The average across his high-performing group is now holding steady at 15%, down from 18–19% pre-COVID — revealing a concerning erosion in take-home profitability for practices that aren’t actively managing cost structure or reinvesting wisely. He shares why the biggest mistake many ODs make is failing to pay themselves appropriately for their clinical and CEO roles, masking real financial health in the process. 

From there, the episode moves into collections per refraction, currently trending between $480–$490 per patient for top offices. While this number surged during the pandemic, it’s stabilizing now — but Dr. Lake reveals how practices can still grow it through stronger recall systems and scope-of-care expansion (hint: think beyond retail). He cautions against focusing solely on capture rate without understanding what’s driving it, particularly the staffing shortages that are silently sabotaging retail performance. 

Speaking of staffing, Dr. Lake explains why staff costs at 25–26% of revenue may look healthy, but could be fool’s gold. Many practices are simply under-staffed, and he reveals how that’s impacting both patient experience and team burnout. To fix that, he introduces a metric most practices aren’t tracking: staff hours per refraction, with a recommended sweet spot of 4.0–5.0. And if your team is doing more with less? He shows you how to tell if that’s working… or backfiring. 

Finally, the episode ends on a topic that hits home for every growth-focused OD: refractions per doctor hour. The ideal range? Between 1.5 to 2.0, depending on your tech stack and support systems. Dr. Lake and Eugene break down how to build templated schedules that support efficiency without sacrificing care — and why it’s the ultimate lead measure that can help you forecast success (or failure) before it hits your P&L. 

• Beyond Revenue: Why understanding EBITDA is the most overlooked skill in optometry. 
• The $480 Benchmark: What high performers collect per refraction and how they do it 
• 25% Staffing Isn’t Enough: Why stable costs may be hiding a burnout crisis 
• Efficiency Over Expansion: How staff hours per refraction reveal hidden weaknesses 
• The New Drop in Capture Rate: What’s driving it — and how to fight back 
• Schedule Smarter, Grow Faster: Why your booking template matters more than marketing 
• Know Your Limit: How booking rate predicts if you’re ready to hire or already full 

• 00:00 – Introduction 
• 02:15 – Background on Elevate Conference & Peer Benchmarking 
• 07:55 – Metric 1: EBITDA – Understanding true profitability 
• 14:57 – Metric 2: Collections per Refraction – Patient value and trends 
• 22:37 – Metric 3: Staff Costs – Stabilization and hidden understaffing 
• 29:08 – Metric 4: Staff Hours per Refraction – Measuring efficiency & burnout risk 
• 38:09 – Metric 5: Capture Rate – The silent slide and how to reverse it 
• 44:33 – Metric 6: Refractions per OD Hour – Templating schedules for doctor productivity 
• 51:50 – Using Book Rate as a Lead Metric – Planning growth, hiring, and exit strategies 
• 1:02:01 – Closing Thoughts and Preview of Next Roundup 

Connect with Dr. Jason Lake

Dr. Jason Lake is a seasoned optometrist, business strategist, and data-centric leader in the eye care industry. Known for transforming optometry practices through analytics and operational discipline, Dr. Lake leads a high-performing group of practices that grow at over four times the industry average. He integrates EHR production data with accounting analytics to develop comprehensive business insights, enabling practitioners to manage not just patient care but practice profitability. 

His mission centers on educating optometrists about EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) — a term historically foreign to many in optometry — and helping them shift their mindset from “working in the business” to “working on the business.” Dr. Lake emphasizes that optometrists are paid in two ways: for seeing patients and for managing the practice. His data-driven philosophy encourages consistent benchmarking and productivity tracking to improve decision-making, scalability, and sustainability in optometric practice management. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-lake-od/  

Website: https://eyecarespecialties.biz/ 

Connect with Eugene Shatsman

Website – https://www.eugeneshatsman.com/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugeneshatsman