Your next new contact lens patient is very likely the next one in your exam chair. Why? Because each primary care patient who has a need for refractive correction or cosmetic enhancement, no matter how simple or complex, is a potential candidate for contact lens wear. Therefore, this month’s column discusses both the patient and practice benefits of offering contact lens wear to current non-wearing patients.

Patient benefit
The diversity of contact lens modalities, materials, and de-signs can satisfy the visual and lifestyle needs of patients of all ages. Therefore, even in the throes of a busy day, staff must take just a few short, but meaningful, moments to explore these needs with each patient.

For example, that 65-year-old female retiree will likely be thrilled to hear she can have freedom from her eyeglasses when playing pickleball.

So, how do we approach these patients? The answer is through conversation at these three patient-touch points:

1. Scheduling. At the time of appointment scheduling, it’s helpful to have the administrative team employ verbiage, such as, “we look forward to seeing you for review of your eyeglass, contact lens, and eye health needs.” This statement plants the seed in the established patient that contact lens wear may be a beneficial option.

(Perhaps, even quick, fun facts regarding contact lenses, such as that “an estimated 45 million people in the United States wear contact lenses,” according to the CDC, can be mailed prior to a patient’s appointment. Additionally, simple signage in the waiting area(s) promoting glasses-free lifestyles may also help plant the seed for further discussion.)

2. Pretesting. Here, the technician can simply ask, “do you ever think about not having to wear glasses for __________.” (The blank would be filled in with the answer to a prior question about the patient’s daily lifestyle and recreational activities.)

3. Exam room. Now, it’s up to the optometrist to take up the reigns and bring up the subject of full-time or part-time wear for every suitable patient. This closes the conversation loop.

Practice benefit
A welcomed bonus to meeting current patient needs with contact lenses is the practice revenue that results.

First, contact lens patients present more frequently for progress exams (every 18 months vs. every 24 months for spectacle-only patients), based on my practice’s data.

Second, contact lens patients frequently make material purchases annually (vs. every 28 months from spectacle-only patients), including “add-ons,” such as prescription eyewear and sunwear, based on my practice’s data. 

A captive audience
While we often focus primarily on external marketing to attract new patients, the reality is, it can be more effective to grow from “the inside,” as current, non-contact lens-wearing patients already trust our expertise and genuine care of their ocular, lifestyle, and recreational needs. OM

Dr. Resnick is president and managing partner at Drs. Farkas, Kassalow, Resnick, and Associates, a contact lens and anterior segment specialty practice in New York. She is a diplomate in the Cornea, Contact Lens, and Refractive Technology section of the AAO, a diplomate of the ABO, and a fellow of the Scleral Lens Education Society.