CLINICAL

  diversify your portfolio

Expand Your CL Offering

Where do you go when your “go to” lens isn’t the answer?

JEFFRY D. GERSON, O.D., F.A.A.O.

Most of us have a favorite brand or specific line of contact lenses that we like to fit. This is important, as we all need a “go to” lens. But what happens when that lens doesn’t work? Do you tell the patient, “Sorry, I can’t help you”? Or, do you say, “Let me see whether one of the several other designs available may work for you”? If you want to retain and attract patients and increase your practice revenue, hopefully you use the latter reply.

Here, I explain.

Several options exist

With a diverse enough “line-up” of contact lenses to choose from, most people can be successfully fit and have both good vision and comfort. Sometimes, this “line-up” will need to include specialized contact lenses, whether they be scleral, semi-scleral, made-to-order soft contact lenses, or something else. If we look at a listing of contact lens manufacturers and lenses available, the plethora of choices that we (and our patients) have is amazing.

If a patient has seasonal allergies, daily disposables can be the answer. Silicone allergy? No problem! Plenty of other materials, such as RGPs, are available. Irregular cornea? Again, there is often a solution with the various choices in materials, fitting strategies and modalities available.

Most patients can and want to be fit

Most patients, if willing to invest their time, are able to wear contact lenses successfully. In fact, most of these patients are motivated to do so because (1) they want to be spectacle free and (2) they have been told by other eyecare providers that they are not candidates for contact lens wear.

Having an array of CLs is rewarding

Fitting the various designs is both personally and professionally rewarding. You are doing something that maybe no other doctor has tried or been able to do, which gives you, the practitioner, an enormous amount of personal satisfaction and reason to continue trying to fit all patients.

Professionally, the fitting fees charged to patients or reimbursed by insurance can often be financially rewarding. This makes sense because some of these patients require multiple fitting sessions and lens re-orders. The process may be intense, but it will ultimately be both profitable and satisfying.

In addition, patients are so grateful for your time and skills that they become loyal to your practice for all their eyecare needs (eye disease, etc.) and are eager to spread the word about the doctor who spent his time either trying to or enabling them to successfully wear contact lenses.

Designated CL guru

Having a point person who specializes in diversified contact lens fittings within your practice can be a successful strategy as well. I am lucky to have an O.D. partner who is really good at it and enjoys the satisfaction of doing it.

So, if one of my patients desires contact lens wear, but I’m not sure what the next step is, I can easily refer him or her to this partner, enabling me to both help the patient and the practice. OM

DR. GERSON PRACTICES AT GRIN EYECARE IN OLATHE, KAN. A FULL-SCOPE COMBINED O.D./M.D. PRACTICE. E-MAIL HIM AT JGERSON@HOTMAIL.COM, TO COMMENT ON THIS COLUMN. E-MAIL OPTOMETRICMANAGEMENT@GMAIL.COM.