For recent optometry school graduates or residents, the first year or two of practice can be filled with a desire and professional need to expand their patient base and increase the amount of revenue they bring into their new practice. This pressure to perform may lead some new graduates to look toward implementing advanced procedures or new technology in order to make their mark.
While technological expansion and improved treatment options are certainly beneficial to any eyecare practice, it’s important for new eyecare providers (ECPs) to recognize that already existing soft contact lens options can be a primary source of practice income and growth.
Read on to learn strategies for exceeding expectations in contact lens wearers, reducing dropout, and increasing soft contact lens revenue in your practice.
Always offer a contact lens upgrade
Contact lens wearers have the freedom to purchase their lenses from any supplier. This has led to an expanded contact lens market that can make ECPs feel like it doesn’t matter what lens they choose for their patients if they are simply going to go online to make the purchase.
A recent study reported that only about 60% of current contact lens wearers were advised on lens upgrade options during their eye exam, and only about 30% of non-contact lens wearers were offered a contact lens option.1
That same group, however, also conveyed that their ECP had the biggest influence on their choice to wear contact lenses.1 In fact, the non-contact lens wearers replied that the most common reason they had not tried contact lenses was because they had never been recommended by an ECP.1
This data suggests that an ECP’s lens recommendation might be the most important factor in a successful contact lens fit. Specifically, it highlights opportunities in two different groups of patients in any practice.
Upgrades for non-contact lens wearers
First, for non-contact lens wearers, whether they actively inquire about contact lenses or not, the ECP should open the conversation about contact lens wear and highlight options that could benefit that patient’s vision and lifestyle requirements.
Don’t assume a patient isn’t interested in contact lenses because they haven’t pursued them previously. Past limitations like budget, parameter availability, or lifestyle demands may have precluded a patient from pursuing contact lenses; however, they might simply need a confident recommendation from a trusted professional to get the process started.
Upgrades for existing contact lens wearers
Secondly, for existing contact lens wearers, it is crucial to educate on new lens options that have emerged since their last prescription expired or options that may not have been explored in the past.
Even those patients who report being “fine” in their current brand or modality will often have an open ear for upgrade suggestions. In most cases, there is an opportunity to discuss new lens brands that have emerged since their last evaluation, modality upgrades that might benefit their lifestyle, and/or lens types that could serve them better now than in the past.
A patient may be able to purchase their contact lenses from a faceless online retailer, but that retailer isn’t able to give them personalized suggestions on what lens options can address their unique vision and comfort needs.
Consistently offering a new contact lens option or upgrade will underscore the value of returning each year for an annual exam and updated prescription. This will ensure patients come back to see you and increase the chances of purchasing from the prescribing practice.
Embrace specialty contact lens options
An easy way to upgrade new and existing contact lens wearers is to make sure astigmatic and presbyopic needs are consistently being optimized. About half of all soft contact lens wearers have ≥0.75 diopters of astigmatism in at least 1 eye,2 but toric soft contact lenses are only fitted in about 25% of all soft contact lens wearers.3
Similarly, contact lens wearers in the presbyopic age range make up a near majority of the contact lens-wearing market, but only about 60% of these presbyopic wearers are wearing a contact lens modality that addresses both their near and distance visual needs.3
The underutilization of toric and multifocal soft contact lens options is probably a result of ECPs’ experiences with older lens designs that didn’t stabilize well, and/or provided unsatisfactory vision. Older lens designs, as well, may have taken longer to fit than spherical options, and ECPs in the past may have felt limited by parameter availability.
In today’s contact lens market, parameter expansion and technological advancements mean that these historical limitations to fitting astigmatic and presbyopic soft contact lenses are no longer significant.
Recommending toric or multifocal soft contact lenses
Soft toric lenses, for instance, have been shown to take the same amount of chair time to fit compared to their spherical counterparts.4 Both low and moderate astigmats have been reported to have better visual acuity and visual function in low light conditions with toric soft contact lenses as compared to sphericals.5,6
In another study evaluating soft toric lenses in low astigmats, over 70% of them preferred toric to spherical designs.4 Similarly, it has been reported that presbyopic contact lens wearers prefer multifocal contact lenses to progressive addition spectacle lenses (PALS) as well as monovision soft contact lens options.7,8 Further, after initial adaption, multifocal soft contact lenses tend to perform better than monovision.9,10
Most soft contact lens wearers could therefore benefit from wearing a toric and/or multifocal soft contact lens option. Especially for new graduates entering established practices, toric and multifocal options provide an opportunity to upgrade established patients and create loyalty and trust in a new provider.
Don’t forget to follow up
It’s been reported that about 22% of contact lens wearers drop out or discontinue contact lens wear at some time.11 While that level of attrition can be discouraging, it is reassuring to know that about 74% of discontinued wearers can successfully resume wear.11
Regardless of how great the vision or fit is on the first day with a new lens brand or modality, make sure to follow up with patients to ensure they are achieving their contact lens goals with the upgrade you initiated.
It’s easy for a patient to assume nothing can be done to address any adverse visual or comfort symptoms they experience after visiting your office. If they don’t have an opportunity to voice those concerns soon after the exam, they are more likely to drop out and potentially never return to purchase lenses or have an exam.
Follow-up can obviously involve an in-person examination, but you can also utilize telemedicine and/or practice communication tools like staff phone calls, text messaging, or emails to briefly check in with patients after a contact lens fitting, and to ensure their comfort and visual expectations were met. Effective follow-up ensures continued contact lens compliance in the short term and prevents dropout in the long term.
In conclusion
Soft contact lenses offer unlimited opportunities to establish and expand a new graduate’s practice effectiveness and performance.
Being aware of continued parameter and technology expansion along with thoughtful and intentional lens selection will result in patients feeling like they are receiving personalized care that may be difficult to match elsewhere.
