Dr. Mann holding boxes of MiSight 1 day contact lenses, which he uses for some of his myopia management patients. Dr. Mann says the myopia control segment of his practice is showing incredibly strong growth.
Tapping an opportunity for great strides in patient care and practice growth.
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By Chandler Mann, OD,
and Pat Wellik, OD
July 17, 2024
Myopia management offers tremendous benefits to safeguarding children’s eye health and improving their quality of life. It also provides practices with the opportunity for impressive growth in both patients and profitability.
Two optometrists share how they are building a myopia management niche that delivers superb care to patients while significantly boosting profitability.
Both optometrists were honorees of CooperVision’s 2024 Best Practices Program.
Building Myopia Management with Blockbuster Growth
Chandler Mann, OD
Stone Oak Vision Source
San Antonio, Texas
I started offering myopia management services starting the very first day we opened in December 2022. While the ophthalmology practice I was at previously was not designed for myopia management, I had a personal passion for it and did my best to treat whichever kids I could. I knew when I opened my own practice that myopia management was what I wanted to focus on for my community.
I offer a full range of myopia management services, including: MiSight® 1 day contact lenses, orthokeratology (Ortho-K) and off-label treatments, including atropine drop therapy and soft multifocal contact lenses.
In the first 18 months, more than 100 children have been enrolled in our myopia management program. We have seen an increase in patient-to-patient (parent-to-parent) referrals over the past four months, with over 20 new children referred from friends!
We have maintained a high retention rate with the majority of patients continuing their treatment plans as recommended. Only one child discontinued treatment out of the 112 children currently enrolled.
Almost all of our patients have shown significant stabilization and reduction in the progression of myopia, as evidenced by their follow-up exams, displaying stability in their axial length, as well as their refraction.
We are proud of our over 99 percent capture rate. Of the 114 children who were recommended myopia management treatment, 112 had parents who agreed, with the other two returning for follow-up to track progression. Our whole team does an amazing job on patient and parent education, which helps immensely during what can often be a difficult conversation.
Educating patients and parents about the importance and benefits of myopia management has been crucial to our success. We conduct regular workshops and one-on-one consultations.
Utilizing the latest diagnostic tools and treatment technologies ensures accurate assessments and effective treatment plans and helps ease the parent’s concern when they realize how in-depth we can go to help keep their child’s eyes healthy.
Initially, one of the greatest challenges was raising awareness among parents about the importance of myopia management and gaining their trust in the efficacy of the treatments, but by building strong relationships with local schools and pediatricians we were not only able to better educate the community, but increase referrals. We also found that children can be hesitant to try contact lenses, but reward systems work! Don’t be afraid to implement a patient-specific reward system for children who are apprehensive about trying contacts.
For example, I once provided a significant incentive for a child who was initially reluctant to wear his MiSight lenses. This incentive encouraged him to increase his wearing days from 1 – 2 days per week to 6 – 7 days per week. As he experienced the benefits of improved vision and saw his prescription progression come to a halt, he became enthusiastic about the treatment—even referring three of his friends to our office after realizing how well the lenses worked for him!
Our goal is to keep our capture rate above 95 percent for children who are offered treatment, while continuing to expand our footprint and outside referrals in the myopia management space.
We want to expand treatment options, and continuously evaluate and incorporate the latest and most effective myopia management treatments and technologies. We also want to strengthen partnerships with local schools, pediatricians and community organizations to increase referrals and awareness.
A Journey that Began Over Two Decades Ago
Pat Wellik, OD
Apple Valley Eye Care
Apple Valley, Minn.
My initial start into myopia management began in 1997 when I began to practice orthokeratology. It wasn’t exactly classified as “myopia management” in the late 1990’s. The few doctors who were using Ortho-K at that time knew that myopic progression could be significantly slowed with this technique.
However, we did not realize that we were actually decreasing children’s chances of many ocular pathologies associated with myopia. Our clinic began with an early version of reverse geometry overnight GP design and then I became certified with Paragon CRT in 2002.
Apple Valley Eye Care continues to utilize Paragon CRT for Ortho-K. We have since added atropine topical drops, MiSight contact lenses and several brands of center distance soft multifocal contact lenses. We are firm advocates for offering the BEST myopia management strategy for each patient.
To truly be a leader in myopia management, we feel that all options need to be available to treat the highest percentage of patients and obtain the best success rates.
Dr. Wellik in his office. He says that succeeding with myopia management requires confidence from the doctor that they can do it and coordination with the whole practice team.
We have four optometrists at Apple Valley Eye Care, each with different stages of learning and experience with myopia management. We continue to update clinical practices for all our doctors.
We have myopia management firmly entrenched in our practice culture with all 21 members of our team, including staff and doctors.
I believe our success in this specialty is due to establishing myopia management as a true standard of care for young myopes in our practice. We feel it is our clinical duty and responsibility to inform parents (and young patients) that myopia management is THE best long-term option for their children.
As doctors, I think we all set up false barriers of self-doubt, excuses and negative reasons why myopia management will not be successful in our clinics: “I don’t have time to learn about orthokeratology.” “I am not convinced fully about the research in myopia control.” “I think the costs are too high for my patients.” “I don’t have time to train my staff.” “How do I work myopia management into my already busy schedule?” The list of “bad mojo barriers” can go on and on…
My first step to overcoming these negative challenges of “ME” was to totally convince myself that myopia management was the best solution for these patients. I wanted to be 100 percent certain and confident that it was the right choice for these patients. This took time to read, research, attend lectures, talk to other myopia management specialists, learn new techniques and then put this all to work in our clinic.
After I was completely convinced this was the proper choice for my patients, then I needed to convince the other doctors in my clinic. Then I needed to convince my staff. Then I needed to convince the young myopes and their parents. All in this order. Myself – associate doctors – staff – patients.
The one thing I wish someone had told me before I started practicing myopia management was the importance of axial length measurement. If you are going to be a true expert in myopia management, this measurement is a must!
The entire premise of our treatments to prevent future eye pathologies is based on keeping the eyeball as short as possible. If we do not measure the axial length, we cannot possibly know if our treatment is working. In glaucoma treatment, we all understand that intraocular pressure is our numerical measuring stick…in myopia management, axial length is our true measuring stick.
One of my future goals is to continue to expand our professional referral network at Apple Valley Eye Care. I am direct-mailing information packets to local optometrists, ophthalmologists and pediatric physicians. These packets have a personal letter from me, along with information about myopia management in general and the services at our clinic. I give an open invitation to any of these doctors to visit our clinic if they would like to learn more about myopia management.
Even if they may be practicing myopia management already, I am still inviting them in to observe at our clinic. If the doctors are not practicing myopia management, then I kindly ask them if they would consider a referral to Apple Valley Eye Care.
My ultimate hope is that more doctors will add myopia management to their clinics. However, if they do not, I think that more OD-to-OD referral patterns can be established to help the young myopes obtain the treatments they deserve.
Myopia management is not a “far away future possibility” in optometry. It is here…right now and right in front of us. Don’t be your own roadblock. Get past your own personal hurdles and make it happen in your clinic. I AM CONVINCED that you will feel professionally fulfilled, your patients will be happy and your clinic will see positive financial results!
Watch Drs. Mann and Wellik share more about their myopia management success.
>>Click HERE to learn more about CooperVision’s Best Practices Program>>
