Transitions Optical has introduced an individual version of the Healthy Sight Calculator, which is designed to encourage employees to take advantage of their vision benefit to promote eye health and optimal sight. This free, online tool allows users to calculate their risk for eye-related diseases and vision problems, and how much they could save – in time, money and sight – with the right vision care and vision wear through their vision benefit. Results vary based on the user’s age, gender and ethnicity, all of which impact risk for vision problems and health issues that can affect the eyes. The new tool can be used by employers to educate their workforce, or accessed directly by consumers at HealthySightCalculator.org.
“Most consumers miss the full picture of what the benefit can do for them – regular eye exams for early detection of eye and overall health problems, an up-to-date prescription to maintain productivity day-to-day, and eyewear features like UV and glare protection to preserve and enhance vision,” says Pat Huot, director of managed vision care for Transitions Optical. “The calculator helps tell the story of what you could be missing if you don’t care for your sight. It’s a powerful way to motivate more people to use their vision benefit and get the care they need.”
Transitions Optical developed the Healthy Sight Calculator with a team of experts through its Healthy Sight Working for You initiative, which aims to raise awareness about the value of eye care and eyewear available through a vision benefit. Contributors to the Healthy Sight Calculator include Kovin Naidoo, O.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., International Centre for Eyecare Education; Robert Pariseau, CLU, CEBS, Benefits Solutions Group; and Vincent Young, M.D., chairman, Division of Ophthalmology at Albert Einstein Medical Center. The Healthy Sight Calculator takes visitors along a path, helping them understand their individual risk and potential savings, while providing education along the way. Visitors to the calculator can watch a video setting up the importance of caring for their vision, or can skip immediately to entering their demographic information, including age, gender and ethnicity. With each selection, the calculator provides details on how their demographics impact their risk. Users are also asked to enter whether they have health insurance, because the calculator considers this when determining how much the individual could pay out-of-pocket in medical costs for different eye- and overall-health issues.
The calculator then provides an overview of the user’s risk for 11 vision-related issues in three categories, showing where the user is at higher risk than the national average. Issues covered include: vision problems (trouble seeing up close; trouble seeing far away; eyestrain and fatigue; severe headaches from light and glare); eye diseases (cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, elevated intraocular pressure, glaucoma, macular degeneration); and overall health (pre-diabetes and undiagnosed high blood pressure).
Sections specific to vision problems, eye disease and overall health delve more deeply into risk rates and associated costs – in time and money – that could be avoided for different issues with earlier and proper care. Users can click on each vision issue for more information, including helpful videos narrated by Dr. Young and interactive “vision loss” simulations that show what they would miss seeing if facing that issue. The Healthy Sight Calculator then provides a summary of individual results, and offers a customized recommendation for next steps based on each person’s results. The summary can be printed out and shared with that person’s eyecare professional. While some recommendations are specific to certain conditions, all users are encouraged to find out what’s covered by their vision plan and to visit their eyecare professional. The calculator indicates that plans should include comprehensive, yearly eye exams and coverage of or discounts on lens enhancements (like photochromic Transitions lenses and anti-reflective coatings) to enhance and protect vision. The individual version of the Healthy Sight Calculator complements a version for HR professionals that assesses savings and return-on-investment possible for an entire workforce through a premium vision benefit. The HR professional version of the calculator can be found at HealthySightWorkingForYou.org/calculator.
