At 3D Vision Eye Care in Pueblo, Colorado, Cameran Drake, OD, and her sister, Jenni Drake, OD, have built a practice model around flexibility, medical care and technology that can keep pace with the realities of family life, rural demand and a changing profession.
That model includes the iCare | Visionix Eye Refract automated refraction system, which now plays a central role in the practice’s workflow. The system is used both in person and remotely, allowing the sisters to maintain consistent care even when one of them is out of state or balancing travel obligations.
The idea for telehealth came from a major life transition. The sisters — who attended Pennsylvania College of Optometry together and knew they wanted to be optometrists since middle school — always planned to own a practice together. But when Dr. Cameran Drake moved to Hawaii for two years, she did not want to leave her sister alone or shut down the office. Instead, she began researching how to make remote refraction and telehealth work without compromising the exam.
BUILD AROUND A SHARED VISION
The result was a system that let the practice preserve the full clinical experience while adapting to distance. Dr. Cameran Drake says she trained the staff to follow a step-by-step protocol from check-in to checkout and to capture the information she needed before she entered the room. The technology and workflow allow her to review findings in real time, whether she is in Pueblo or logging in from elsewhere.
At the time, the practice already had a strong rhythm. The sisters had opened 3D Vision Eye Care in 2010, during the recession. They are only 18 months apart in age, and Dr. Jenni Drake completed a three-year undergraduate program so they could be classmates in optometry school. Despite their similarities, their personalities and strengths are different, which has helped the business.
“She’s a good research person,” Dr. Cameran Drake says. “I’m more of a people person.”
That division of labor has shaped the way they run the practice. Dr. Jenni Drake handles many of the behind-the-scenes details, while Dr. Cameran Drake focuses on the patient-facing side. When the remote refraction model came along, that partnership made implementation smoother.
KEEP THE EXAM MOVING
The Eye Refract system became the tool that let the practice extend that teamwork across time zones. Today, they use it in person when they are in Colorado and remotely when they are away. While it’s not a replacement for the doctor-patient relationship, it is a way to maintain the same standard of care no matter where either doctor is physically located.
The iCare | Visionix Eye Refract is an automated binocular refraction system that combines dual wavefront aberrometers with a digital phoropter to deliver accurate, repeatable refractions in under four minutes. Its guided workflow allows trained staff to perform the refraction, giving the doctor reliable prescription data to review while freeing up more time to focus on patient care.
In the exam room, the workflow remains structured and familiar. The tech performs pretesting and other rooming tasks, and when the doctor enters, she can review the slit lamp video, the front of the eye and the back of the eye. The system gives her a live look at the visit while allowing the staff to keep the process moving.
It’s a great educational tool, Dr. Cameran Drake says. “When I tell them they have cataracts, I can show them what it looks like. Many patients have felt like it’s more educational because it’s a video. They get to see it versus me just telling them.”
That educational component matters in a practice that increasingly focuses on medical eye care and dry eye disease. Dr. Drake says she does not want important findings lost in a rushed visit, and the ability to share images and live video helps patients understand what the team sees and why it matters.
CREATING FLEXIBILITY
The system also supports continuity during periods of travel or disruption. Dr. Drake says she recently used it while in Hawaii doing veteran exams, splitting her day between Colorado time and island time. Her sister has used it too, especially when one doctor needs to be out for another commitment. “We both have a full book of patients, and we’re still able to do this,” Dr. Drake says.
That flexibility has helped the practice through more than one challenge. 3D Vision Eye Care started as a cold opening in Broomfield, Colo., then expanded to Pueblo and Colorado City. More recently, the sisters adjusted again, closing the Colorado City location and shifting care to the Pueblo office. Through each transition, Dr. Drake says the goal has been the same: keep the practice medically grounded and make the workflow sustainable.
As the practice grew, so did the need for staff. When staff changes left the office short-handed in earlier years, Dr. Cameran Drake’s husband learned how to work the optical side. Later, he helped support the telehealth setup as the practice adapted to a more remote model.
Dr. Drake says the key advantage of the Eye Refract arrangement is that it makes their workflow more manageable. What the system gives her is consistency — the ability to keep the exam thorough whether she is onsite or remote.
Now, as the practice continues to grow its dry eye services and maintain its medical focus, the iCare | Visionix system remains part of a broader strategy: use technology to protect access, preserve quality and let the sisters practice together, even when life pulls them in different directions.
