Frames

Make Sure Your Contact Lens Patients Have Up-to-Date Eyeglasses

By Mark Hinton

A compliant contact lens wearer must have eyeglasses that are up-to-date–in Rx and fashion–so that they enjoy wearing them when they must rest their eyes. As doctor, it’s up to you to prescribe them.

Many–maybe even most–of your contact lens patients view eyeglasses as the optical version of the redheaded step child. Most own a “backup” pair of eyeglasses but are loathe to be seen in them. Those frames often are hopelessly in disrepair and out of fashion, and, more importantly, the lenses no longer offer the most up-to-date prescription for topnotch visual acuity. It is up to you as doctor to prescribe new eyeglasses each year, handing off the patient to your optical to reiterate your prescription for new eyeglasses. That includes opticians re-emphasizing the information you give contact lens patients in the exam room of why their eye health requires them to own a pair of eyeglasses they would be happy to wear.

Meet Contact Lens Patients’ Complete Eyecare Needs

Referring to “alternative eyewear” instead of “backup glasses” is an essential part of overseeing the complete eyecare needs of contact lens patients.

It is your job as doctor to prescribe appealing alternative eyewear with the most up-to-date prescription for the health of your patients’ eyes. –ROB Editors

Alternative Eyewear; Not “Backup Glasses”

Many of your contact lens patients around age 40 and older have outmoded perceptions of eyeglasses. They grew up at a time when there weren’t too many eyeglasses choices. There weren’t many shapes and colors to choose from and if your prescription was higher than a -0.50D, you were relegated to wearing clownishly thick lenses. That’s the picture many of your middle-age contact lens patients have in their mind when your optical staff tries to sell them new eyeglasses. When a contact lens patient comes to your office for an annual exam use the time before they see the doctor to plant the seed in their mind of the fashionable options available not for a pair of “backup glasses,” but for a pair of “alternative eyewear.” The change in terminology, along with the brief overview tour of your optical, will begin to change the perception of eyeglasses in a contact lens patients’ mind.

Doctor Sets the Stage for Purchase

The patient may have the beginnings of a favorable impression of eyeglasses by the time they get into the exam room, but that doesn’t mean they yet feel a sense of urgency to purchase a new pair. At that point they may still view new, fashionable eyeglasses as nothing more than a “nice to have.”

This is where you as doctor come into the picture. During the examination, explain to the patient the medical eyecare reasons that they cannot wear contact lenses every day without fail. For example, even for patients with the least sensitive of eyes, there will be at least two weeks out of the year when they should not wear contact lenses. Those days include any time the patient’s eyes are especially dry such as when the patient is taking anti-histamines for a cold or during times of the year like the spring and fall when ocular allergies are prevalent. Dry eye increases with age, and women in particular experience hormonal changes that increase dry eye. Explain that wearing contact lenses when eyes are very dry is akin to rubbing sandpaper on the paint of a car. Tell them that wearing eyeglasses during times like those can result in permanent scarring to the cornea that may make it impossible for them to wear contact lenses in the future. Over-wearing contact lenses because the patient does not have eyeglasses could lead to significant complications.

Offer “Red Hot Value Packages”

Work with your frame vendors and ophthalmic labs to create “red hot value packages” for anyone, including contact lens wearers, to purchase an affordable pair of eyeglasses. Ask frame vendors for frames they are discontinuing and see what you can work out with your lab to create eyeglasses at a pleasing price point to those looking for a deal. For instance, you may be able to get the lab to give you a discount based on volume to create a value package of eyewear. Offer the lenses in the value package both with and without anti-reflective coating to create two different price points. That will give you the opportunity to have a conversation about the benefits of AR while also letting the patient feel like she has price point choice even within your value category. Keep frames that are part of your value package in a separate part of the frame board–apart from your $300 frames–or don’t display them at all. Instead you could purchase white frame trays and keep a selection of these frames behind the optical counter to be brought out for patients like contact lens wearers who may be interested.

Offer Contact Lens Patients Gift Certificate for Eyeglasses Discount

Not all of your contact lens patients will want to make a decision to purchase new eyewear on the day of their exam. For those patients, have optical staff reiterate the need for comfortable alternative eyewear and say that as a “courtesy” you are providing them with a Red Hot Value Package gift card that can be used up to 45 days from the day they were in the office. If you don’t hear from them within two weeks, have an optician call and remind them that they are eligible for the Red Hot Value Package for another few weeks and have the optician ask the patient if they can help them pick out the perfect pair of eyeglasses, reiterating yet again the doctor’s prescription for a comfortable pair of alternative eyewear.

With their doctor’s words in their minds, your optician’s re-emphasis of those words and a compelling value package, how will your contact lens patients be able to say no?

ROB Talk-the-Talk
Explain the Dangers of Not Giving Eyes a Rest

As doctor you must explain why it is important for contact lens patients to have appealing eyewear with the most up-to-date prescription. Here is what the conversation might sound like between doctor and patient on why eyes cannot tolerate contact lenses 24/7 for 365 days a year:

Doctor: “Sally, I’m glad to see your eyes still look healthy and that you’re still doing well in your contact lenses.”

Sally: “Yeah, I love my contacts. I remember when I was in the seventh grade and got glasses how much I hated them. I’m so near-sighted they were so thick and clumsy looking. I was so psyched when my parents finally let me get contacts a few years later.”

Doctor: “I agree! Contact lenses are a great option we have today and I’m glad you still love yours. I want to make sure you are able to continue to wear your contact lenses regularly and comfortably into the future. For that reason it may surprise you that I am prescribing a new pair of eyeglasses.”

Sally: “Oh, I don’t think I need them. My eyes are always comfortable with contacts and I really can’t afford them.”

Doctor: “I’ll tell you, Sally, you can’t afford not to have alternative eyewear. There are days when even the most comfortable contact lens wearer should not be wearing contacts. When you have a cold or are suffering from allergies in the spring or fall and are on cold medicine or when you have an eye irritation of any kind are just a few of the times when you definitely should stay away from your contacts.”

Sally: “What’ll happen if I wear my contacts when I’m on cold medicine or my eyes feel irritated?”

Doctor: “In a worst case scenario, you could do permanent damage that may scar your eye enough that you may end up never being able to wear contacts again.”

Sally: “Wow, I didn’t know that! That kind of freaks me out. But I’m still not sure I can afford a new pair right now.”

Doctor: “Sure you can. Our optical staff will help you pick out new eyeglasses using one of our value package options. We will make sure you leave here with stylish eyeglasses with the most up-to-date prescription so you won’t hesitate to wear them on those days when wearing contacts could damage your eyes.”

Related ROB Articles

The Optometrist to Dispensary Hand-Off: An Open Dialogue Can Improve the Outcome

Prescribing from the Chair

Set the Sale: Bundle in the Exam Room

Mark Hinton, a certified optician, is a facilitator, product knowledge expert and dialog coach with eYeFacilitate Inc.Tocontact him:eyefacilitate@gmail.com

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