Contact Lens Management
Trial Lenses Cost You
Learn how to save money when dispensing trial contact lenses.
BY T. POWERS GRIFFIN, JR., O.D.

Trial lenses help us evaluate fit and vision, and they allow prospective wearers to experience contact lenses without committing themselves too fast. That's invaluable in a practice such as ours, where nearly 60% of our patients wear contact lenses.

But patients who feel they're getting something for nothing can misuse trial lenses -- particularly colored contact lenses.

In our two-location practice, we take steps to ensure trial lenses are appropriately distributed. Maybe our ideas can help you, too.

Short-term solution

Cut down on trial lens abuse by:

• routinely using trial lenses to evaluate fit and vision. I gauge the initial fit, but because some problems don't show up for hours or even days, I ask the patient to return a week later.
• stressing that this is a short-term trial and that the patient shouldn't wear the lens beyond that week. This period also gives a new contact lens patient time to determine whether contact lenses are appropriate for her lifestyle.
• providing one trial pair of clear lenses in the appropriate prescription to patients who are interested in colored lenses. I then provide plano trial colored lenses. Providing colored trial lenses in plano simplifies stocking and reduces the storage space needed for disposable colored contact lenses. If a patient wants to try more than one color, I give her only one lens in each color -- not two pairs.

Let's face it. If you give a patient four pairs of colored lenses in the right prescription, you shouldn't be too surprised if you never hear from her again. Over-sampling and patient abuse of trial lenses results in lost practice revenue, particularly with colored contact lenses.

Toric trials

Free trials once weren't a cost-efficient option for toric lenses. But now that disposable torics are available, trial lenses are persuasive tools. Indeed, we can attribute the market growth in soft toric lenses, at least in part, to the widespread availability of free trials. All six major manufacturers of soft torics offer trial sets. CIBA Vision alone has distributed more than 16,000 trial sets of soft torics.

Soft toric trial lenses are particularly persuasive for low astigmats who have compromised acuity for the sake of convenience. They can also help new wearers or drop-outs overcome their hesitancy. Plus, trial toric lenses can help you evaluate the fit.

Be flexible

Of course, occasions arise when a patient is in dire need of a lens and a trial lens will fit the bill. Our policy is flexible so that we can accommodate these patients. Handing trial lenses to someone who's leaving for vacation is obviously worthwhile -- it generates goodwill. But such generosity with trial lenses should be the exception, not the rule. We've found that patients respect our policy and appreciate that we don't treat contact lenses as just another commodity.

We think our judicious use of free trials contributes to our success. Overuse of trials doesn't help patients or the practice.

DR. GRIFFIN IS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE IN LAGUNA NIGUEL AND SAN CLEMENTE, CALIF., IN A FOUR-O.D. PRACTICE. HIS PARTNERS INCLUDE HIS TWO BROTHERS.