Dr. Carr in one of his office’s exam rooms. Dr. Carr says having a contact lens to offer patients like NaturalVue ® Enhanced Multifocal 1 Day Contact Lens is a tremendous practice differentiator.
A multifocal contact lens that provides superior comfort AND vision.
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By Ian Carr, OD
Oct. 4, 2023
When you notice that you suddenly have to strain your eyes to read small print up close, it can be frustrating. For many patients, wearing glasses all the time, or worrying about carrying reading glasses everywhere, is not a good solution. In our practice, we are able to offer a multifocal, NaturalVue ® Enhanced Multifocal 1 Day Contact Lens, that allows our patients to seamlessly see near and far, and everything in between.
A Lens with Unique Advantages Over Other Daily Multifocals
The unique advantage that NaturalVue Multifocal has over its daily multifocal competitors is the center-distance design. A common complaint that patients have about their center-near lenses is compromised distance vision.
NaturalVue Multifocal offers superior distance vision for driving, watching TV, going to the ballgame and any other activity you can think of. Another great advantage are the lens parameters that are offered. They are available in high minus and plus and come in 0.25 steps. This allows for more precision and fine-tuning and higher patient satisfaction.
This lens also provides great comfort because of its moisturizing agents, including hyaluronic acid (HA). HA draws moisture into itself and attracts water molecules. HA can hold 1,000 times its weight in water, making it a powerful hydrator. Patients have repeatedly reported to me that they cannot feel NaturalVue on their eyes.
NaturalVue Multifocal has been a game changer in comfort due to these state-of-the-art wetting agents. If a patient experiences lens awareness, dryness and irritation on a regular basis, then they are likely to eventually give up on contact lenses and resort to glasses full-time. That never happens with NaturalVue.
Better Vision & More Comfortable than Their Old Lenses
I also attribute the enhanced comfort of NaturalVue Multifocal to the tapered edge of the lenses, which decreases eyelid interaction, and to its Triple Tear Lubrication technology.
In addition, patients report improved distance vision compared to their old multifocal lenses, which I attribute to being the only daily multifocal with center-distance. This yields less halos and glare due to the virtual pinhole optics effect.
Capturing Sales of All Patients Who Try NaturalVue
A key performance indicator metric that is important to us in tracking contact lens profitability is our patient retention rate or capture rate. We would obviously prefer that patients order lenses from us instead of taking their prescription and ordering online.
Now, more than ever, it is important to retain your patient’s business and keep the orders in your practice. People are increasingly ordering contact lenses and glasses online. Our capture rate for all contact lens brands is 80 percent, but with NaturalVue, every patient orders from us. NaturalVue cannot be found on any online retail sites. Our capture rate is 100 percent with NaturalVue, enabling us to keep that revenue in-house!
As a private practitioner, I really appreciate this. Visioneering Technologies, Inc. (VTI), the makers of NaturalVue, are not catering to the big-box stores; they are helping the private practice. When you are selecting a new lens for a patient, why not fit them in a lens that you KNOW they will order from you?
Educating Patients About the Value of Daily Multifocal CLs
The greatest financial challenge in selling contact lenses is the perception that daily disposable lenses are much more expensive. However, when you explain the large rebate the patient will get with a year supply, and factor in not having to purchase cleaning solutions for the whole year, then the patient can see the value.
I explain the health benefits, with daily disposables being more sanitary, having a lower risk of complication and infection and being much more comfortable if they have dry eye or allergies. I also remind them that if they accidentally lose or tear a daily lens it is not a big deal since they have hundreds of pairs as opposed to losing or tearing a monthly or biweekly lens.
When I am converting a planned replacement wearer to a daily lens like NaturalVue Multifocal, I like to say: “With daily disposables you get that first-day fresh feeling every morning.” That seems to hit home because they’ve noticed that their planned replacement lens gets ever less comfortable with each passing day.
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An Industry Partner You Can Count On
Our VTI rep keeps us stocked up on trial lenses to give patients. She emphasized the importance of using the NaturalVue Multifocal fitting guide, which has been helpful in reducing chair time and having more successful fits. She has also provided materials like brochures and posters about myopia management via use of NaturalVue Multifocal. This information has been useful to give to parents who are concerned with their child’s myopia progression.
Let Patients Know You Have Just the Multifocal CL They Have Been Waiting For
We have used social media and mass e-mails to spread the word about NaturalVue Multifocal. We have used posters and brochures in the exam rooms to spread awareness and prompt questions.
But first and foremost, I always make it a point to discuss the option of multifocal contact lenses in the exam room, and I ask patients if they are tired of using over-the-counter readers with their contacts.
The high level of comfort and vision, combined with the fact that they will order from us, makes NaturalVue Multifocal the first multifocal lens that I reach for in the trial room.
Ian Carr, OD, is a partner with Edgewood Eye Center in Edgewood, Ky. To contact him: carr_ian@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Dr. Carr was compensated for his time in preparing this article.
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