1ST Group Limited, the Australian online health, media and technology group, has signed an agreement with Eye2Eye Media, which will see its MyHealth1st online optical appointment bookings system rolled out across 350 optometry stores in the first instance with an expected roll-out to all 500 stores over time.
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, 1ST Group Managing Director, Klaus Bartosch, said, “We are excited to announce this significant agreement which will reduce administrative work for optometry staff, improve patient experience and drive new patients to optometrists’ businesses. In just twelve months, we have grown our position in the independent optometry market from 3 per cent to 60 per cent; some 1,200 stores now, which demonstrates the value we can bring to the optometry market.
“We believe there are significant opportunities to broaden all optometry stores’ existing use of 1ST Group’s suite of digital patient engagement products, such as EasyRecall, EasyFeedback and MyHealth TV health education and preventative care. EasyRecall, for example, encourages loyalty and helps to improve the customer experience. Our view is that our products represent ‘best practice’ for digital patient engagement in Australia.”
In June 2016, 1ST Group provided services to about 75 optometry stores. Having identified that the market had limited access to innovative online patient engagement products, the company executed a strategic marketing campaign to dominate the market. 1ST Group now has contracts with 1,200 of approx. 3,000 stores in Australia, of which around 2,000 are independent.
