Virtual Assistants in Optometry: How AI Is Transforming Practice Management in Eye Care

Key Takeaways

Virtual assistants in optometry are real people who can use AI-enhanced tools to improve efficiency while preserving human interaction.

Teem’s AI phone coaching tool can help virtual optometry assistants and team members improve patient communication, information gathering, and conversion.

AI-supported analysis of denied claims can help team members identify potential problems faster and improve revenue cycle workflows.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing healthcare, but for optometrists and practice owners, the biggest opportunity may not be replacing people. It may be helping good people perform their jobs better. That distinction matters especially as virtual assistants grow in optometry and eye care.

That idea shaped a recent Defocus Media conversation between Dr. Darryl Glover and Corey Pinegar, CEO of Teem, about human virtual assistants, artificial intelligence, phone coaching, denied claims, staffing, and the operational pressures facing eye care practices. Rather than positioning AI as a substitute for practice staff, Pinegar described a model in which technology enhances real people’s capabilities.

Teem provides human virtual assistants who support practices with administrative responsibilities, using AI-enhanced tools to improve how they perform certain tasks. Two examples stood out during the conversation: an AI phone coaching tool designed to help team members improve patient conversations and a claims copilot that can help employees analyze denied claims.

For eye care professionals, that distinction matters. Virtual assistants in eye care are people—not AI bots replacing the practice team. When those people have the right AI tools, they may work more efficiently, improve consistency, and reduce the administrative burden on doctors and in-office employees.

The bigger question for practice owners is no longer simply, “Should the practice use AI?” It is: How can people use AI to solve real problems without sacrificing the human experience?

What Are Virtual Assistants in Optometry?

Virtual assistants in optometry are remote human team members who support administrative and operational responsibilities within an eye care practice. Depending on the role and the practice’s needs, they may assist with patient communication, scheduling, insurance-related tasks, recare, claims support, and other nonclinical responsibilities.

That definition is important as AI becomes more prominent. An optometry virtual assistant does n