CLINICAL

  contact lenses

UV Protection for CL Patients

Are you making a point to discuss sunwear with these patients?

JASON R. MILLER, O.D., M.B.A., F.A.A.O.

The effects of ultra-violet (UV) light have been well documented: cosmetic sunspots around the ocular adnexa, cataracts and AMD. As a result, protection from harmful UV light is critical to every patient’s eye health — including your contact lens patients, many of whom complain of increased light sensitivity and glare while wearing their lenses.

Some contact lens wearers wrongly assume that over-the-counter sunwear is as effective as the sunwear eyecare practitioners prescribe, while others mistakenly believe that their contact lenses (CL) provide full protection. (Such contact lenses protect the cornea.)

Here, I discuss how to increase the likelihood of your CL patients purchasing sunwear from you.

Assessing Sunwear Sales

To determine whether your efforts are working in your contact lens patients, calculate your capture rate:

Provide patient education

The discussion about the importance of sunwear should begin with the doctor in the exam room. A few open-ended questions, such as “How much time do you spend outdoors?” and “How often and what type of sunglasses do you wear?” can jumpstart the conversation.

Give these answers to your optician during the patient handoff, and he or she can then select the most appropriate sunwear and explain the features and benefits as they relate to the patient.

For example, “Polarized sunglasses that have UV protection cover more parts of the ocular adnexa, providing an ideal safeguard for your eyes, and patients really appreciate how they eliminate light sensitivity and glare.”

At minimum, your optician should recommend high-quality polarized lenses with back surface AR coating and the highest UV light protection.

Think spring and displays

Though UV protection should be promoted year round, spring is the perfect time to shine the spotlight on your sunwear collection. The reason: Consumers associate spring with warm weather and outdoor activities and, thus, are more aware of the sun.

To capitalize on this season, bring your best-selling sunwear styles front and center via attention-grabbing displays where patients can easily see and sample your sunwear offerings.

Also, consider taking your staff on a field trip to visit retail sunglass shops to see how they merchandise their big name brands. Odds are, you will find ideas you can implement in your own optical that will help nab sales. (See “Assessing Sunwear Sales,” left.)

Sunshine day

By taking the time to educate patients about the benefits of the sunwear you offer and creating eye-catching optical displays, both your patients and your practice will benefit. OM

DR. MILLER IS A PARTNER AT EYECARE PROFESSIONALS OF POWELL, A MEMBER OF VISION SOURCE, IN POWELL, OHIO, AND IS AN ADJUNCT FACULTY MEMBER FOR THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY. TO COMMENT, VISIT TINYURL.COM/OMCOMMENT.