CLINICAL

  CONTACT LENSES

CUSTOMIZE YOUR FITTING PROCESS

IS IT TIME TO DIVERSIFY YOUR CONTACT LENS BUSINESS?

MANY PRACTICES prescribe an array of spectacle lenses as diverse as their patient base, yet stick to a chosen few when it comes to contact lenses. Instead of fitting your contact lens patients in the same lens designs, consider customizing the fitting process based on the patient’s needs. The result will be a broad portfolio of soft contact lens, rigid, specialty design and customized lens wearers. Doing so not only adds value to your contact lens services, it also breeds long-term success.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking to expand your contact lens portfolio.

EXAMINE PROFIT

When prescribing contact lenses, patient satisfaction, in the form of healthy eyes and the best vision, should always be your No. 1 goal. However, profit also plays a key role.

It’s easy to be distracted by which products have the highest revenue. But, even more important is net profit. Answer these two questions to help determine which products are the most profitable:

1. Which contact lenses have the highest per-box net profit?

2. Which contact lenses have the highest compliance?

For example, let’s say you prescribe a patient your go-to lens, contact lens A. It has a high net profit of $30 a box, and a one-year supply is eight boxes, or a total of $240 net profit per year. However, patients on average are only 50% compliant with the wearing schedule of lens A, which cuts your net profit in half to $120 per year.

Another viable option for this patient is contact lens B. It has a net profit of $25/box, and eight boxes fulfill a one-year supply. In a perfect world, this would be a total profit of $200, $40 less than contact lens A. However, lens B has a higher compliance rate, 85%, resulting in a net profit of roughly $170. Thus, contact lens B would not only provide a higher total net profit ($170 vs. $120), it also boasts a higher compliance rate, which would benefit your patients.

Additionally, it is important to identify the manufacturers with whom you have the highest capture rate. This may be a difficult number to find, but would be a valuable piece of information. We track our prescription verifications from online sites to see whether there is any pattern with specific brands or manufacturers. These patterns could be because of patient rebates, box prices or some other reason (i.e., the universal pricing policies [UPP] some manufacturers utilize). It would be nice to know why we lose a sale to online suppliers, and just asking your patients for their feedback may reveal the reason.

SUPPORTIVE REPS

If comparable lenses from different manufacturers offer relatively equal profit margins, take a closer look at each company’s customer support. Occasionally, there are issues with returning product, so having a good relationship with your vendor rep is critical. Additionally, good support reps will provide details on the newest products and can help guide your inventory selection based on their data. They may even afford your office with new products earlier than others, giving you an edge over your competitors.

PUT PATIENTS FIRST

Some manufacturers produce better daily disposable lenses, while others produce better toric lenses. Your job is to match your patients with a lens that best fits their needs, while keeping a keen eye on your bottom line. Fortunately, quite a few good products are out there, and these products also enable you to yield the highest chance for profit success. OM

JASON R. MILLER, O.D., M.B.A., F.A.A.O., is a partner at Eyecare Professionals of Powell, in Powell, Ohio, a Vision Source member and is an adjunct faculty member for The Ohio State University College of Optometry. To comment on this article, visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment.