First Insight Partners With 12 Leading Optical Laboratories

Krista Smith
New Venture Communications
503-944-5507 phone
503-944-5509 fax
kristas@newventurecom.com

Insight Partners With 12 Leading Optical LaboratoriesparadEyes.com e-commerce system to integrate with lab management systems forincreased ordering efficiencyPORTLAND, Ore., April 25, 2000 - First Insight® Corporation, the leadingprovider of technology-based solutions for eyecare practitioners, todayannounced that it has signed partnership agreements with 12 premierwholesale optical laboratories. The agreements will enable the integrationof First Insight's comprehensive e-commerce system, paradEyes.com(tm), withthe partners' catalogs and lens processing software, leading to increasedorder accuracy and faster turnaround times.First Insight's optical laboratory partners include: Barry Optical, ofHempstead, NY; Conejo Valley Optical, of Ojai, Calif.; Cumberland Optical,of Nashville, Tenn.; CustomEyes, of Sauk Rapids, Minn., and E. Moline, Ill.;Deschutes Optical, of Bend, Ore.; Deschutes Optical, of Boise, Idaho; ExpertOptics, of
Shorewood, Ill.; Jorgenson Optical, of Tacoma, Wash.; PechOptical, of Sioux City, Iowa; Peninsula Optical, of Bremerton, Wash.; Q COptical, Ltd., of Portland, Ore.; and Toledo Optical, of Toledo, Ohio.Additional partnership agreements are also in progress.ParadEyes.com is the newest addition to the First Insight suite of products,which also includes the industry-leading maximEyes® practice managementsystem and optometry.net, which gives practices a presence online.ParadEyes.com, which recently entered beta testing, provides a single pointof access for ordering ophthalmic products, services and resources via theWeb.The integration of paradEyes.com with the labs' information systems enablesautomatic order entry into the labs' databases, eliminating the need formanual re-entry of orders. By pre-loading the labs' catalogs andspecifications into paradEyes.com, First Insight enables eyecare providersto know immediately what lens designs and materials are available, andprevents the ordering of lenses with incorrect
parameters. ParadEyes.comalso provides the labs with a new and more efficient way to communicateorder status, lens promotions, and lens information to their accounts."Currently, a lens order can be handled as many as four times before it isentered into the lab's database," said Nitin Rai, president and CEO of FirstInsight. "By integrating with the lab management system, we're eliminatingtime-consuming data entry as well as reducing the potential for error andeliminating the need for follow-up calls. All of this helps the end customeras well, as it enables patients to receive their completed eyewear morequickly.""Approximately 30 percent of the orders we receive through traditional meanshave incomplete or incorrect information," said John Granby, president ofDeschutes Optical. "ParadEyes.com allows us to avoid the constant cycle ofphone calls to correct and confirm lab orders, and it also enables us toprovide our customers with real-time order status information."ParadEyes.com currently integrates with DVI,
the most widely used labmanagement system in the U.S. First Insight plans to develop integrationsolutions for other popular lab management systems as well. Labs not usingthe DVI system can receive automated fax or email orders throughparadEyes.com.About First InsightFirst Insight Corporation is the leading provider of technology-basedsolutions for the $20 billion eyecare industry. First Insight's e-commercesolutions, comprehensive practice management software and electronic medicalrecords enable optometrists, ophthalmologists and opticians to be far morecompetitive.Since its introduction in 1994, First Insight's practice managementsolution, maximEyes*, has been installed in more than 550 eyecare practicesthroughout the U.S. and Canada. MaximEyes was the first practice managementsolution for eye care on the Microsoft* Windows* platform, and was also thefirst to successfully integrate with Vision Service Plan's Internet DoctorCommunication system (IDC), enabling verification of patient eligibility,claims
submission and prescription orders via the Web.First Insight's latest offering, paradEyes.com(tm), is a comprehensivee-commerce system that provides a single point of access for orderingophthalmic products, services and resources via the Web. Through integrationwith Optometry.net, paradEyes.com also gives practices the ability to buildprofessional Web sites quickly and easily, enabling doctors to strengthenrelationships with existing patients and market their services to potentialnew patients.Based in Hillsboro, Ore., First Insight is a pre-public company backed by aninvestment team that includes Richland Ventures, HLM Partners, Validus (theinvestment arm of United Healthcare), and Moss Forest Ventures. For moreinformation call 800-920-1940 or visit the First Insight Web site atwww.first-insight.com###