It was Nicole Hattaway’s colleagues at the Georgia Center for Sight who first encouraged her to pursue the role of Assistant Practice Administrator. They saw in her someone whose 18 years of experience in ophthalmology had fostered a deep passion for vision care and a profound empathy for patients. 

“Our goal at our practice is to give the best eye care possible to our patients,” said Hattaway. “And the one thing that we say — and that  I say a lot — is that we treat our patients like they are family, like they are someone's mother, father, or grandmother.”

Driven by her patient-centric focus, Hattaway stepped into her leadership role five months ago and has since remained committed to her vision of improving efficiency and patient care across the Center’s three Georgia locations.

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Leveling Up the Patient Virtual Visual Field Experience

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Before adopting the Virtual Field Pro, the Georgia Center for Sight primarily relied on a traditional Humphrey Field Analyzer to conduct visual field exams. According to Hattaway, the bulky tabletop perimeter created workflow bottlenecks, especially in satellite locations with limited space. Of greater concern, the exam experience was less than ideal for patients or staff.

"The Humphrey was slow, hard to use, and awkward for patients," Hattaway recalls. "Connecting test results to each patient chart was manual and frustrating."

To foster a more comfortable patient experience and a more hands-off technician exam supervision workflow, Hattaway wanted to fully transition from the Humphrey to a virtual visual field solution. One of the Center’s locations had previously subscribed to the Virtual Field Basic model; however, Hattaway’s providers wanted access to eye-tracking capabilities. So, Hattaway contacted the Customer Success team at Virtual Field to explore upgrading their subscription to the Virtual Field Pro.

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Why The Georgia Center for Sight Upgraded to the Virtual Field Pro

"The Pro’s eye-tracking feature was a game changer," says Hattaway. "It reassured our physicians that patients were fixating properly during their exams."

To further support a comfortable patient experience that doesn’t require time-consuming technician supervision, the Virtual Field’s vocal prompts and automated fixation monitoring enable technicians to multitask while remaining close by. 

“Virtual Field talks to the patient throughout the exam,” said Hattaway. "It can tell if they are paying attention to the prompts and gives them subtle reminders throughout the test. With the Humphrey, a technician would have to supervise the exam and remind the patient to keep looking at the dot and to blink.  Now, my technicians can step away for a moment and perform another test in the same room and still hear each patient’s vocal cues.”

Patients also responded positively to their new virtual visual field test experience. Instead of sitting at a stationary device with their head cradled for several minutes, they now wear a lightweight headset that talks them through the exam.

"They say things like, 'This is cool!' or 'My grandson has one of these!'" Hattaway laughs. "It’s intuitive and comfortable, even for our older patients."

The headset’s portability further enhances practice efficiency.

"In our main office, we have a dedicated testing area, but not in our satellite offices," Hattaway explains. "With Virtual Field Pro, we can conduct the test in any exam room. It’s installed on all our computers. We can bring the field test to the patient instead of the other way around."

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Adding Additional Tests to the Center’s Visual Field Testing Capabilities

Not only is the Georgia Center for Sight creating more comfortable patient experiences and freeing up technician time with their Virtual Field Pro, but they are now able to bill for additional exams.

“Now with Virtual Field, we can offer Esterman tests,” said Hattaway. “That’s not something we could do with the Humphrey. For patients who need a DMV form, we can perform that test and bill for it.”

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Creating Exceptional Eye Exam Experiences

At Georgia Center for Sight, efficiency improvements are not just about productivity — they support a higher standard of care. With a growing patient base, a community-focused mission, a culture of innovation, and equipment like the Virtual Field Pro that empowers comfortable and accessible visual field testing, the Georgia Center for Sight continues to set the standard for patient-centered eye care in the region.