With the interest in Myopia Management (MM) gaining traction in our profession, it is useful to give eye care practitioners (ECPs) tips on how to spread word of this treatment. By doing so, ODs can better serve those in need of MM, while also growing their subspecialty.

In this article, I provide some actionable steps to accomplish this.

BUILD A LIST OF PATIENTS

To fill your own funnel in preparation of offering these services at your clinic, keep a running list of patients whom you feel would benefit. Those patients most at risk of developing progressive myopia tend to present with specific history time and again. If your patient meets any of the criteria below, add them to your funnel:

• Onset of myopia prior to age 9
• Lower than expected hyperopia at a young age (i.e., 6yo < +0.75D)
• Axial length longer than expected relative to age (see chart)
• Rapid progression of spherical equivalent or axial length (greater than 1D change in a 12 month period)
• Parental myopia
• Asian ethnicity
• Near work (greater than 2 hours per day)
• Time spent outdoors (less than 2 hours per day, including recess at school)
• Binocular vision disorders

PATIENT EDUCATION

After you’ve decided on what patients would benefit most from MM, it’s time to start spreading word about the procedure. Use the action steps below to bring attention to MM.

Provide Education Materials. Have visual aids at the ready when you discuss MM. One way to do this is with laminated graphs and charts to discuss risk of disease or expected axial length for a child’s age. I like to show parents an axial length chart, marking their child’s current measurement with a red pen, to impress upon them where their child stands relative to what is expected.

Highlight New Purchases. Buying a new topographer? Purchasing an optical biometer to set yourself apart for axial length measurements? Tell your patients about it by posting it on social media. Also, don’t forget to highlight it on your website and maybe even write a blog post about it.

Don’t Wait to Start the Discussion. Even before you have all your training completed or instrumentation installed, start the conversation with patients. For example, if you are signed up for an MM conference, don’t wait until after your return to the office to tell your patients — announce it on your social media channels before and during the conference. Let them know that you are actively seeking CE in MM to better serve them and will be reaching out to good candidates as soon as you are able to start on their new treatment.

Talk about MM with pre-myopes, parents, and grandparents. Talk to EVERY patient about MM and do it so often you get REALLY good at delivering this message. Regardless of refractive error or age, send a consistent message. Below are some examples of patient conversations I frequently have in clinic:

• “Ms. Jones, fortunately Johnny is not nearsighted at this time. However, I think it is important for you to know that there are now ways to slow down nearsightedness. I am going to be watching Johnny very closely at his annual checkups and I assure you that if Johnny does become nearsighted, we will be able to recommend some ways to help him. In the meantime, let’s talk about visual hygiene…”
• “Mr. Smith, I am concerned about Anna because even though she is not nearsighted yet, she is not as far-sighted as we would expect based on her age. This puts her at a higher risk for becoming nearsighted very soon. For this reason, I don’t want to wait a year to check her again. I would like to reevaluate her in 3 months. If it looks like her eye is growing too fast or her prescription is changing too fast, I will have recommendations for you regarding specific treatments to help reduce her risk of becoming nearsighted or to slow progression of nearsightedness. In the meantime, let’s talk about visual hygiene…”
• “Ms. Johnson, I am pleased to tell you that your retina looks good despite your higher risk for retinal problems due to your nearsightedness. I also wanted to make you aware that we can now significantly slow down progression of nearsightedness. So, I recommend that you schedule appointments for your children so we can evaluate them and get baseline data. We can make sure they never have to experience what you went through when your prescription was changing so fast.”

PROVIDE STAFF WITH PATIENT SCRIPTS

This tip is so simple, yet SO effective. Try it first thing tomorrow. I have found that taping it to all the computer monitors used for scheduling makes it easily accessible and, therefore, more likely to be used.

“Yes, I would be delighted to help you schedule an appointment. I want to make sure we get you scheduled for the right type of appointment, so our doctors and technicians are properly prepared to address your needs. Is this appointment for glasses, traditional contact lenses, myopia management, or orthokeratology?”

EMBRACING NEW STRATEGIES

Optometrists are uniquely poised to be the premier experts at myopia management. As such, it is critical for our profession to embrace the new treatment strategies.

Furthermore, we must be diligent about incorporating new protocols in our practices that arm us to deliver this specialized care in the most efficient, organized and productive way possible. OM

MORE ON MYOPIA MANAGEMENT   

 

HOW DO I CONVINCE PARENTS TO SUPPORT MM FOR THEIR CHILDREN?

bit.ly/MyopiaOM2022Parents

 

WHAT’S THE LATEST RESEARCH ON MYOPIA MANAGEMENT?

bit.ly/MyopiaOM2021Research

 

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF MYOPIA MANAGEMENT?

bit.ly/MyopiaOM2020Types

 

WHAT ARE MY LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MM TREATMENT?

bit.ly/MyopiaOM2020Legal

 

DR. CHAPMAN is a Diplomate with the American Board of Optometry, a Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry and a Fellow of the International Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control. She serves as president of the American Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control. She practices at Gretna Vision Source, in Gretna, Neb.