How I Made My Optometry Practice 90% Daily Disposables

My practice's success, and therefore my personal success, has been largely driven by making my optometry practice 90% daily disposables and achieving a 75% capture rate, which I am always working tirelessly to improve.

This is easier than you might think by focusing on patient education, programs, and products. In this article, I will share my top tips and what has been the driving force behind my success.

Committing to daily disposable contact lenses

There are a few main reasons I decided to commit to making daily disposable lenses a staple in my practice. In my experience, they offer both new and existing wearers the healthiest lens-wearing option while providing the clearest and most comfortable vision.

I believe one of the biggest mistakes eyecare professionals make is being afraid to prescribe the “best,” and to let cost drive decision making and thus your recommendation. However, I have found that more often than not, with the proper education, patients not only understand the additional cost associated with daily lens wear versus other modalities, but truly understand and appreciate the value daily disposable lenses provide.

Like all eyecare professionals, I want the best for my patients, and as a business owner, I want the best for my practice. Prescribing daily disposables allows me to accomplish both of these goals. Providing patients with the best lens wearing experience only enhances the patient experience which generates more referrals for my practice, which has been a driving force for the growth of my business.

Bringing contact lens technology into focus

Educating patients on today’s contact lens technology is not only important but has been fundamental in converting my patients from reusable lenses to daily disposables. I believe patients should have a basic understanding of the science behind contact lenses, including differences in materials and how that impacts breathability, wettability, and any unique lens technology that impacts their wearing experience.

I find that educating patients on these fundamentals goes a long way in helping them understand the value behind the contact lens fitting / evaluation and why I am prescribing them a specific lens, one that meets their unique needs.

Discussing the benefits of daily disposable contact lenses

When I review the benefits of daily disposable contact lenses with my patients, I focus on three primary benefits:

Comfort
Ocular health
Convenience

This trio of upsides becomes the driving force behind my recommendation, whether the patient is a new wearer or is an existing wearer in a reusable modality, who I want to transition into daily disposables.

Comfort

I tell my patients that daily disposable lenses will provide them with the most comfortable wearing experience. Many studies have confirmed a reported increase in comfort and reduction of dry eye symptoms when a patient switches from a reusable modality to a daily disposable lens.¹

Bishop et al. found that participants reported Contact Lens User Experience (CLUE) comfort scores and Contact Lens Dry Eye Questionnaire 8 (CLDEQ-8) discomfort and dryness scores improved with a switch from either a reusable modality or an older daily lens. Even more important, a majority (57.0%) became asymptomatic (CLDEQ-8 score ≤ 11 points) after 2 weeks of bilateral wear.²

While the data may be a little too detailed for most patients, at times it can be helpful to reference studies or research to support your clinical experience and recommendations. I find that some patients value that.

Ocular health

I find that maintaining healthy eyes is often one of our patients’ greatest concerns. Therefore, I always emphasize that daily disposable lenses optimize eye health and reduce the risk of adverse events when compared to reusable lens modalities.

When tracking adverse effects, the TEMPO registry reported corneal infiltrative event rates of 0.4% and 0% with daily lenses, which were significantly lower than the rates reported with reusable soft contact lenses (3 to 4% per year), indicating that safety is improved with daily lenses.³

Reusable lens wear increases one’s risk of ocular adverse effects. When compared to compliant daily lens wearers, patients who wore reusable lenses were at an increased risk of severe keratitis. Daily disposable lenses were protective even when patients were noncompliant and did not change them daily. Lens material did not play a role according to the multicenter, case-control study data.⁴

Even children can wear daily contact lenses with few reported complications. A study of children wearing daily lenses for myopia control over 6 years found that of the 144 enrolled, only three had adverse events, of which none were serious. The incidence rate of infiltrative adverse events was 0.61%, and the most common biomicroscopy findings were limbal, bulbar, tarsal hyperemia, and tarsal roughness.⁵

There is also less likelihood of lens deposits or problematic interactions between contact lens solutions and the eye. Patients are less likely to be out of their contact lenses for extended periods of time due to ocular complications, constituting an office visit for a red eye, which could be a substantial inconvenience.⁶ This leads us to our next daily disposable advantage—convenience.

Convenience

I find that most of my daily disposable lens-wearing patients really value the convenience this modality affords. Not only do they not have to purchase solutions, but they also do not have to worry about cleaning / disinfecting their lenses. Plus, the benefit of having a spare, replacement contact lens if a lens is ripped or lost—and the peace of mind that brings—cannot be understated.

Daily lenses are also ideal for your patients who travel, whether for their job or for pleasure fun because not only do they save on travel-size solutions, but there’s one less thing to fit in their luggage.

Finally, for patients buying annual supplies, I provide direct shipping free of charge to their homes. This is a major convenience for patients, which has also helped me capture annual supplies and compete with large online retailers.

My go-to daily contact lenses

Due to a combination of comfort, vision quality, and reported satisfaction, the ACUVUE OASYS 1-DAY with HydraLuxe Technology family of lenses have become my go-to daily disposables for the majority of my patients. These lenses were specifically designed to help meet the daily digital demands and fluctuating environments of today’s patients.⁷

The ACUVUE OASYS 1-DAY with HydraLuxe Technology employ a range of technologies to enhance the overall wearing experience. At the core, HydraLuxe Technology mimics natural tears and helps maintain hydration and lubrication throughout the day. This proves particularly beneficial for people who experience dry eyes, have varied visual demands, or spend long hours on screens.

They also utilize a thin, tapered-edge design and ultra-smooth lens surface to reduce eyelid interaction and irritation, further increasing comfort; which often leads to patients reporting they feel as if they are not even wearing contacts—a phrase I love to hear!

In addition, Acuvue Oasys 1-Day with HydraLuxe technology includes Class 1 UV blocking—the highest level among contact lenses—to help protect the eyes from harmful UVA and UVB rays.⁷ While I can meet the needs of most of my spherical and toric wearing patients with these lenses, there are other lenses in my armamentarium that I leverage for those patients with additional needs including:

Multifocal lenses

My favorite multifocal daily lens is either the ACUVUE OASYS MAX 1-Day Multifocal or the DAILIES TOTAL1 Multifocal. I find both lens brands provide patients with all-day comfort and exceptional vision.

Depending upon the patient’s prescription, visual demands, and ocular physiology, one may provide better vision than the other. Should the patient not be fully satisfied with my initial recommendation, I often order both and will have the patient compare lenses in my chair as well as in their real-world environment.

I find that testing these lenses in the real world is truly paramount in determining what lens will provide them the best visual experience because, as doctors, we know their ability to read letters from a chart does not correlate to real-world success or satisfaction.

Toric lenses

Again, while I frequently leverage ACUVUE OASYS 1-Day with HydraLuxe Technology for Astigmatism, another lens I have had success with has been the PRECISION1 for Astigmatism.

For patients who are not successful with the OASYS 1-Day for Astigmatism, I find they do well in the PRECISION1 brand, which may be due to the edge profile design of the lens.

Multifocal toric lenses

This summer, ACUVUE will be launching the first daily lens multifocal toric contact lens in the OASYS MAX brand family. I am excited to fit this lens on patients who have only had a monthly reusable lens option in the past or were fit with a monovision instead of a multifocal due to dryness with the monthly lens options.

Finding the right industry partners

As a practice owner, it is important to have partners that offer support to independents by offering access to programs and products that lower my cost of goods and result in an improved capture rate. When deciding which partner to work with, I suggest pairing with companies that provide you access to quality products, competitive pricing, and customer service.

It is beneficial to focus primarily on one vendor for the best rebates and growth initiatives. A secondary manufacturer may be selected to fill in the prescription gaps. By utilizing one vendor, your business often receives a lower cost per box or greater patient rebates.

How I have improved my capture rate

When it comes to contact lens sales, while my capture rate is 75%, I am always looking for ways to improve. Patient rewards programs, including extra rebates, have really helped me to stay competitive with pricing and have driven the increase in capture rates on annual supplies.

I focus on a few core things throughout my process that have helped me navigate the delicate and oftentimes difficult discussion of cost while capturing those annual supplies:

Rebates: I always talk to patients about rebates and insurance benefits and break down the cost of their lenses over an annual supply. I typically do not even present another option unless the patient absolutely does not want to proceed forward with an annual supply.
- I have found that most patients understand the idea of buying in bulk to save money, it is something that resonates, and therefore, has been a very easy way for them to understand the value of buying an annual supply.
- When breaking down costs as it relates to daily disposables, while it may seem obvious, I always factor in the cost of solutions, or the cost of tearing or ripping a lens that was intended to be worn for 2 weeks or a month, which many patients can relate to.
Convenience: Using all the pros listed within this article, I educate patients extensively on the convenience of daily disposable lenses and the sheer benefit of always having extra lenses when they—almost certainly—will need them.

How staff can help increase capture rates

In my practice, staff are trained to always present the option of an annual supply first before presenting any other option. If your staff can reinforce your messaging, it will make you far more successful.

Often, patients seem to have this preconceived idea that you, as an independent, will be more expensive. We present our prices to all patients, regardless of whether they want to take their prescription to “shop around.”

By leveraging insurance and rebates, your office may offer an even more attractive price than many other places or competitors. And I have found that patients often will choose convenience through you, especially if you are helping them with rebate completion.

Establishing a process you can believe in

If you are looking to achieve a high percentage of daily disposable contact lens wearers in your practice, aside from partners, programs, and product, you need to ensure you have the right process. The cornerstone of my process is education—of both staff and patients.

Incorporating daily disposable contact lens wear into your exam flow

Achieving a high percentage of daily disposable contact lens wear in your practice requires a joint effort with your staff. While my patients are being worked up, my tech will already begin asking patients about their contact lenses and will let me know ahead of time if they seem open to daily disposable lenses if they are currently not wearing them.

We will also ask this question during our patient intake process before they come for their visit. Your staff should all be wearing daily disposable lenses. It is one thing to have them “buy in” to a script in process, but it is another to have them truly believe in the lenses.

By fitting my entire staff in daily disposable lenses, they have additional insight and conversational opportunities to talk to patients about wearing less comfortable lenses in the past and how much they love daily disposables.

Patient education is key

First and foremost, I assure my patients that I would never fit them in a contact lens that I would not personally wear myself. I point out that the lenses recommend for them the same lenses that I would put my best friends or family in.

Beyond that, I educate them on the:

Comfort of daily disposables and reduced incidence of dry eye symptoms
Convenience of daily disposable lenses
- Always having extra lenses should they need them
- Direct shipping free of charge to their homes for annual buyers
Lower adverse event profiles and better safety outcomes in daily disposable lenses, supported by research⁴

When it comes to new contact lens wearers, I do not talk about reusable modalities unless they ask. I tell them the contact lens market has moved towards daily disposable contact lenses and most likely everyone will be in one in the future.

Making the case to upgrade reusable lenses to daily disposable lenses

In addition to basic education, asking the right questions to uncover patient complaints and dissatisfaction is another critical aspect to converting a reusable wearer to a daily lens. I use it as an opportunity to educate patients on how and if their complaints may be addressed with daily disposable lenses.

A demographic that I have had success with as far as upgrading from reusable lenses to daily disposable lens wear has been part-time contact lens wearers, particularly those who work from home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I find that many part-time contact lens wearers think that because they only wear their reusable lenses a few days a week, they can use the same pair over a period of months. With these patients, I use the analogy of milk. Once you open a carton of milk, even if you only drink it a few times a week, it will still expire.

Between this and providing a breakdown of the cost and convenience of daily disposable lens wear, usually part-time lens wearers are very open to changing to daily disposable lenses.

Pivoting patients who are resistant to change

While these patients present a challenge, it comes down to patient education and asking those probing questions in the exam room:

Is your current type of lens new to you? Any complaints about it?
Can you wear it during the work day on the computer?
Any difficulties with glare at night?
Anything you don’t like about your lenses that I might be able to improve?
Does it ever become dry or uncomfortable?
Can you wear it all day comfortably?
How many hours can you wear your lenses?
Are they ever difficult to remove at the end of the day? (Helps discern if they are dealing with dryness)
If I’ve worn the lens, I’ll say sometimes patients will complain about x or y? Do you ever experience those problems?

I do want to stress that it is never about forcing patients to upgrade to daily disposable lenses, but providing them with the latest technology and ensuring they understand there are options out there that may enhance their experience.

I always make it very clear to patients that even if they decide to try daily disposables, they can always go back to their reusable lens modality. However, it is my job to always recommend the best products for their eyes and to, at the very least, provide them with the opportunity to experience them.

I never want them to hear about lens technology first from someone other than myself. Many of these patients who are “resistant to change” come back the next year and say that switching to a daily lens has significantly improved their lives.

Final thoughts

In the end, the key is educating your patients on daily disposable lenses and lens technology. It seems so simple, and it truly is! If you and your practice believe dailies are the best for their eyes, then patients will also buy in.

Have a discussion with every patient about daily disposable lenses and how they can improve their quality of life. For patients who may have dropped out of contact lenses years ago due to comfort, tell them all about the exciting new lens technology and encourage them to give them another try.

Achieving a high percentage of daily disposable lens wearers in your practice is attainable, and does not require any additional time during your exam. It truly is a great practice builder, referral source, as well as a gratifying experience to provide your patients with the best products and the best wearing experience.