Inna Lazar, OD, of Old Greenwich, Connecticut, doesn’t shy away from reaching out when she sees a good opportunity to expand her expertise. She’s sending out a special thanks to two mentors who have provided inspiration to her as an optometrist and business owner.
When Dr. Lazar was first opening her practice, she reached out to Viola Kanevsky, OD, who runs a successful practice in New York City. Their connection began with an introductory Facebook message, and then Dr. Kanevsky called Dr. Lazar to invite her to shadow her in the office for a day. “Dr. Kanevsky doesn’t accept any insurances, and I had just graduated and I wanted to learn how that worked. She is so incredible in what she does and genuinely wanted to help.”
Dr. Lazar took her up on the offer and spent a day in the practice. “It was eye-opening to see how every practice runs so differently,” she says. There were so many takeaways that day, and Dr. Lazar is proud to say that she does many things similarly to Dr. Kanevsky. “Every patient is treated as an individual, and she really puts her heart into everything.” Dr. Lazar says that they still keep in touch as she navigates the practice management side of the business. “She’s always available, and I’m so grateful for that.”
Dr. Lazar also recognizes the guidance she’s received from Laura Periman, MD, an ophthalmologist in Seattle, Washington, who developed a protocol for intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment. That’s been a tremendous asset as Dr. Lazar recently implemented IPL technology in her own practice. “Dr. Periman is very vocal about dry eye awareness,” Dr. Lazar says. When looking for advice on helping the dry eye sufferers in her practice, she sent a message to Dr. Periman. “I’ll ask her, ‘How do I approach this patient?’ or ‘Is there anything you can recommend?’ She will call me if she has additional questions; she wants to help you help your patients.”
When the support can go both ways, that’s a bonus for Dr. Lazar, as well. Dr. Periman reached out to Dr. Lazar a month ago for advice on creating fun Instagram Reels videos. “I’m fortunate to be surrounded by so many supportive teachers and doctors, and I’m happy to give back.”
