Photo courtesy of Dr. Dayan Monsalve-Ward. Dr. Monsalve-Ward can be seen in this photo with David Petersen, MD, in January 2025. According to Dr. Monsalve-Ward, engaging in inter-professional collaboration like this has provided a significant boost to her myopia management clinic.
Amplifying your myopia management practice
By Dayan Monsalve-Ward, OD
May 28, 2025
If there’s one thing I have learned in my nine years as an optometrist, it’s that collaboration is an essential part of patient care and business growth.
When I was an optometry student at the New England College of Optometry (NECO), I was part of a select group of international optometrists in an advanced program where collaboration with my cohort allowed me to expand my clinical knowledge, exchange diverse perspectives on patient care and build a global professional network.
During my time at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, Florida, I had the opportunity to participate in the soft launch of their myopia clinic, led by Susanna Tamkins, OD.
Working alongside leading optometrists, residents and fellow students allowed me to broaden my understanding of myopia management, refine my diagnostic skills, manage complex cases and develop a multidisciplinary approach to treatment.
Now, as a pediatric optometrist at Rocky Mountain Eye Care in Murray, Utah, I have established the practice’s new Myopia Management Clinic. Collaborating with pediatric ophthalmologist David Petersen, MD, and CooperVision’s Myopia Management Specialist, Austin Gregory, OD, has been instrumental in its growth.
Austin’s guidance on patient communication and pricing strategies, along with his support in connecting me to the broader myopia management community, have helped our practice thrive.
Our clinic is currently receiving an average of 3–4 additional myopia management referrals per week, which reflects a significant and sustained growth in patient volume—approximately a 40% increase compared to our previous average of 7-8 referrals per week. The growth has been impactful enough that we had to streamline our clinic processes to meet rising demand.
In addition, my MiSight 1 day fit rate has jumped 303%, making us the largest MiSight fitter in Utah in 2024.
Editor’s note: There are other contact lenses to choose from to facilitate myopia management including NaturalVue Enhanced Multifocal 1 Day and Acuvue Abiliti 1-Day (not available in the U.S. yet, however). And from the same parent company as MiSight, CooperVision, is the Biofinity Multifocal.
Perfecting Parent Conversations
As my practice has grown to include more myopia management patients, I have also seen a significant increase in the number of parents I interact with. On average, I speak with 80 parents per week, each with their own communication style and preferences.
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Effectively explaining myopia progression and management solutions requires adapting to these diverse needs. Clear, tailored conversations are essential to ensuring both parents and children understand the importance of treatment and feel confident moving forward.
Having access to someone with firsthand patient experience and insights to the latest innovations and research has never been more important.
A knowledgeable expert who understands both the patient perspective and new advancements in myopia management can bridge the gap between science and real-world application, ensuring that parents feel informed, confident and ready to take action in managing their child’s myopia.
Austin and I have frequent conversations about our experiences with families and best practices in connecting with them. This not only boosted my skills in communicating with my new patients but also gave me the tools I needed to explain to my ophthalmologist partners at the practice the importance of prioritizing myopia management.
Pricing with Confidence
Setting the right price for myopia management treatments is about more than just numbers—it’s about balancing accessibility, sustainability and practice growth.
Ensuring competitive pricing reinforces the value of these treatments to parents and strengthens the financial health of the practice. Each product and service we offer should provide both significant medical benefits to our young patients and meaningful monetary value to the clinic.
With his experience as a practicing optometrist and his work with other practices, Austin provided invaluable insights into pricing strategies. His business acumen complemented my clinical expertise, providing a framework to set fees that are fair, transparent and reflective of the high level of care we provide.
Beyond setting prices, effectively communicating the value of myopia management to parents is crucial. Parents need to feel confident that their investment in treatment is justified by long-term benefits for their child’s vision and overall eye health.
I refined my ability to present pricing in a way that emphasizes the life-changing impact of treatment, making cost a secondary concern to the proven effectiveness of intervention, enhancing both patient trust and practice revenue.
It Takes a Village
Austin also helped me establish stronger connections within my local eye care community. His invitations to specialized trainings and networking events have been instrumental in expanding my knowledge and confidence in myopia management.
These opportunities allowed me to learn from experienced peers, exchange insights on best practices and refine my approach to both clinical care and patient education. Over time, I have also found myself in a position to give back—sharing what I’ve learned from building this clinic and helping others navigate the complexities of myopia management.
Beyond professional networking, we actively collaborate to raise awareness about the importance of treating myopia early. While many pediatricians regularly refer patients to our practice for pediatric ophthalmology, I quickly realized that most were unfamiliar with the growing body of research surrounding myopia progression.
Recognizing this gap in knowledge, we took a proactive approach. In January, with sponsorship from CooperVision, we hosted an educational event specifically for local pediatricians and nurses. We provide them with a deeper understanding of myopia as a disease and the evidence-based treatments available to slow its progression.
Many attendees were surprised to learn that myopia is more than just a refractive error—it’s a progressive disease with serious long-term risks, including an increased likelihood of retinal detachment, glaucoma and myopic maculopathy.
Furthermore, they were intrigued to learn about the availability of an FDA-approved treatment to slow myopia progression, reinforcing the importance of how timely intervention can significantly impact a child’s long-term eye health.
The response was overwhelmingly positive. Many pediatricians and nurses expressed gratitude for the information, acknowledging that they now feel more confident in identifying at-risk children and initiating referrals earlier.
The results speak for themselves—we have already seen a 40% increase in new myopic patient referrals since this outreach. By continuing to foster these relationships and providing ongoing education, we’re not only strengthening our practice but also ensuring that more children receive timely, effective myopia management.
You’re Not Alone
The growth of our myopia management clinic has been transformative, benefiting both our practice and the children we care for. This success wouldn’t have been possible without collaboration—especially with experts like Austin. His support has been key in expanding our services and improving patient care.
If you’re considering myopia management or looking to grow your practice, I encourage you to embrace it as the standard of care.
You don’t have to figure it all out alone. There are valuable resources, mentors and account managers ready to help you succeed. With the right support, you can make a lasting impact on your patients and your practice.
Read more about myopia management practice growth strategies in Review of Optometric Business
Dayan Monsalve-Ward, OD, is a board-certified optometrist at Rocky Mountain Eye in Murray, Utah, specializing in pediatric eye care and myopia management. Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, she earned her optometry degrees from institutions in three countries, including the Universidad de La Salle in Colombia, the Universidad Europea de Madrid in Spain and the New England College of Optometry in the U.S. To contact her: 3CountriesOD@gmail.com
