Eye on the Industry Episode 13: Dr. Brianna Rhue on AI, Innovation and Thinking Like an Owner
Wednesday, August 12 2026 | 08 h 02 min | Eye on the Industry Podcast
Episode 13 of the Eye on the Industry podcast is now available, featuring optometrist, practice owner and technology entrepreneur Dr. Brianna Rhue.
Dr. Rhue joins hosts Christine and Isabelle for a lively conversation about the changing business of optometry—from artificial intelligence and practice technology to patient experience, entrepreneurship and the importance of thinking like an owner.
A board-certified optometric physician and private practice owner in South Florida, Dr. Rhue is co-founder and CEO of Doctor Contact Lens, co-founder of Techify and author of iPitch. Her experience as both a practising optometrist and technology entrepreneur gives her a distinctive perspective on where the profession is headed.
One of her central messages is that optometrists may be spending too much time worrying about outside competitors.
“Friction is my competition,” Dr. Rhue says, arguing that practices should instead look closely at the obstacles patients encounter when interacting with them—from accessing prescriptions to ordering products and communicating with the office.
The discussion also turns to AI. Dr. Rhue encourages optometrists to move beyond the hype and look for practical applications that improve efficiency or the patient experience while maintaining human oversight.
And throughout the episode, she returns to a broader challenge for the profession: optometrists need to be comfortable treating their practices as businesses.
“If you don’t run a business, you can’t fill up your own cup,” she says. “You can’t take care of your employees. You can’t take care of your patients.”
The nearly hour-long conversation also touches on leadership, contact lenses, myopia management, building effective systems and why practice owners need to spend less time in the weeds and more time looking ahead.
Listen to Episode 13 of Eye on the Industry with Dr. Brianna Rhue now!
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gKn8J6z9
Amazon Music: https://lnkd.in/gN2HYYjX
