LCA-Vision’s Call Center Receives “Center of Excellence” Award

LCA-Vision Inc., a leading provider of laser vision correction services under the LasikPlus brand, today announced that its Patient Communication Center has been awarded with the “Center of Excellence” certification by BenchmarkPortal and the Center for CCINCINNATI (July 1, 2004) - LCA-Vision Inc. (Nasdaq NM: LCAV), a leading provider of laser vision correction services under the LasikPlus brand, today announced that its Patient Communication Center has been awarded with the "Center of Excellence" certification by BenchmarkPortal and the Center for Customer-Driven Quality at Purdue University. LCA-Vision's call center's performance was in the top two percentile of the thousands of call centers in the benchmarking database, and was ranked first among the 28 companies in its peer group in the healthcare industry segment. The "Center for Excellence" certification is based on quantitative criteria, including operational efficiency, service level standards, process management, customer satisfaction, leadership, resources and employee training. The lead Auditor for BenchmarkPortal, Dru Phelps states, "LCAV/LasikPlus showed exceptional effectiveness, validated during our on-site discovery. They achieved strong results by staffing and training agents to quickly answer, educate and confirm patient exam needs as a health care provider." "We are delighted to have earned this prestigious award," said Stephen N. Joffe, chairman and chief executive officer of LCA-Vision. "Delivering world-class service to our customers and exceeding their expectations is the cornerstone of our business. Receiving this certification confirms our long-standing commitment to successfully balancing efficiency and effectiveness in our call center operations." LCA-Vision's call center, based at the Company's Cincinnati headquarters, receives thousands of incoming calls each week from customers inquiring about, and arranging appointments for, laser vision correction services. BenchmarkPortal is the custodian of the Purdue University Center for Customer-Driven Quality database of contact center metrics, the largest in the world. It provides reports, products and services for contact centers in the areas of operational metrics, customer satisfaction measurement and agent satisfaction measurement. BenchmarkPortal's website can be found at www.BenchmarkPortal.com. For more information contact: BruceBelfiore@BenchmarkPortal.com. LCA-Vision operates 41 laser vision correction centers, including 37 wholly owned LasikPlus vision centers located in large metropolitan markets throughout the United States, three joint ventures in Canada and one joint venture in Europe. Contact: Stephen N. Joffe LCA-Vision Inc. (513) 792-9292 Jody Cain Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates (310) 691-7100 This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may result in actual results to differ materially from current expectations. For a discussion of risks and uncertainties that LCA-Vision faces, please refer to LCA-Vision's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, but not limited to, its Forms 10-K and 10-Q.