Dr. Tucker with a patient participating in training for the practice to start using a custom contact lens.
A change that increased patient satisfaction and reduced chair time.
By Ashley W. Tucker, OD, FAAO, FSLS, Diplomate, ABO
Feb. 28, 2024
After several years of fitting patients with diagnostic lenses, and growing my specialty lens practice during that time, I realized there were certain patients who needed something different. Here is what I am able to do for them now, and how this enhancement in care has helped both them and our practice.
Custom Design
Some patients need a lens design with more customization. I was going to achieve this by either purchasing a scleral profilometer or by investing in training to allow me to offer impression-based lenses in our practice. I decided that offering a contact lens with a custom design, which requires specialized training, was the best option for us.
I knew for many months that my patients would benefit from a lens with a custom design, but the final straw was when a referring corneal specialist called my practice to ask if I offered impression-based lenses. Since I did not, he referred the patient to another office fairly nearby that did.
My goal for offering this lens design was to offer one of the most customizable lenses on the market, so every single patient who walked through my door had a lens option.
Training to Offer Custom CL Care
The custom lens we chose requires in-office training that comes with a fee. This lens can only be offered in an OD office after certification of at least one doctor in the practice. Staff training is also essential because the process of molding the patient works better when there is an extra set of hands available.
We had to make sure we would get a good return on our training investment. We determined that we would only have to order 3-4 pairs of lenses to offset the cost of the training. It took about a half day of training and we were all set!
We tapped existing patients in need of this lens as patients for the training. The company offered the lenses at a discount to the patients who participated, so it was a win-win for everyone. The patients received a discount, and were able to have some exam production during the training session.
Appointing a Right-Hand Person for Specialty CL Patients
Appointing one person in my practice to be my right-hand person was crucial. In a busy specialty contact lens practice, almost every patient has a specific need at the end of the visit – they need a new lens ordered, they need a letter for their insurance, they need an accommodation letter for work, etc.
Other Articles to Explore
One of my technicians is with me all day scribing and ensuring I have a working list of patient needs, so at the end of each half day, we are addressing each action item.
Elevating Specialty CL Care & Saving Chair Time
Offering this lens design has elevated my specialty lens practice. My patients’ vision is of a higher-quality, improving their quality of life.
The cost of this custom design is about three times the cost of a traditional scleral, but it saves so much time, for both me and the patient.
On average, it takes 2-3 visits for the custom molded lens, but for the traditional lens, it can take double the number of visits to fit. So, a big part of the ROI of this lens for us is the savings in chair time.
Also, this lens is not offered in most practices, so these patients are very loyal to our practice.
Ashley W. Tucker, OD, FAAO, FSLS, Diplomate, ABO, is a partner with Contact Lens Institute of Houston (CLIH) within Bellaire Family Eye Care (BFE) in Houston, Texas. To contact her: Tucker@bfeye.com
