{"id":9236,"date":"2017-03-14T10:30:20","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T14:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reviewob.com\/?p=9236"},"modified":"2017-03-21T12:24:02","modified_gmt":"2017-03-21T16:24:02","slug":"patients-search-eyewear-online-searching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/","title":{"rendered":"When Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD,\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

and Carole Burns, OD, FCOVD<\/strong><\/p>\n

March 15, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

When using the internet to search for eyewear, most Americans are usually window shopping online, according to The Vision Council VisionWatch Internet Influence Report. In other words, they are conducting research and activities that are utilized to help them purchase eyewear in-person at a future date. People most often compare prices of eyewear. They also look to the internet to examine possible brands, and to examine possible retail locations where they might eventually make a purchase in-person. People are somewhat less likely to use the internet to select the exact brand of eyewear they will buy, or to select the exact retail location where they will make a purchase. Finally, a small number of consumers are using the internet to review customer ratings\/satisfaction relating to eyewear or eyewear retailers.<\/p>\n

The doctor-patient relationship has changed. The internet has driven that change. Information now is just fingertips away. Now patients come to doctors after going on the internet to do a little research. This can be both good and bad.<\/p>\n

The good news is the more educated a patient is about the problems they are facing, the easier it is to get them to follow your treatment plan.<\/p>\n

The bad side occurs because the internet is filled with both accurate information and inaccurate information, but there are no flags telling patients they are reading inaccurate information.<\/p>\n

In our youth, one of the first of the medical television shows (Marcus Welby, M.D.) was popular. It was the story of two physicians treating patients. Each week had a new disease that was the center of the show. The problem was, the day after the show doctors\u2019 offices across the country would be inundated with people calling to schedule appointments believing they had the disease that they had seen the night before on the show. That problem has not gone away. We\u2019ve all seen patients who\u2019ve spent time on the internet coming into the practice convinced they have a problem they\u2019ve read about after using the Symptom Checker on WebMD.<\/p>\n

Patients also research glasses and contact lenses online. The problem is they do not know that there are significant differences between glasses or contact lenses design, material, or manufacturing process. Patients have a fundamental misunderstanding that just because my new glasses or contact lenses have my doctor\u2019s prescription in them, it doesn\u2019t matter where I buy them. The reality is that it does matter. Design, material, and manufacturing process matters.<\/p>\n

For both spectacle lenses and contact lenses, the design of the lenses matters<\/strong>. Just consider for a moment how many different designs of progressive addition lenses exist. Selecting the best design for the patient matters. Every contact lens company has a different design for astigmatism lenses. Design matters. If the patient does not have the best prescription design in the lenses for the patient, the patient may not have the best vision.<\/p>\n

Material matters<\/strong>. Material directly impacts abberations, weight and thickness of the lenses. If the patient does not have the best material in the lenses made for the patient, the patient may not have the best vision.\u00a0 The same thing is true for contact lenses. Some lenses are better for patients with dry eyes, and some lenses are worse. Some material gives patients comfort all day, while with other materials, patient comfort degrades as the day progresses. Material does matter.<\/p>\n

Manufacturing process matters<\/strong>. We now have the ability–by using advanced manufacturing processes–to have patients see clearly edge-to-edge with their spectacle lenses. With older manufacturing process, there was only one place on the spectacle lens with the patient\u2019s exact prescription. Manufacturing process matters with contact lenses as well. Edges, thickness, lens smoothness all matter.<\/p>\n

Our job is to recognize that patients do go on the internet for information. One way to address this fact is to help patients with accurate information. Here are two important ways you can positively impact patient care.<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Make sure you are telling patient about more than just the change in their prescription. \u201cMrs. Jones, there has been a small change in your prescription and I\u2019m going to prescribe this for you so that you can see clearer. But I\u2019m also prescribing the material, the design of the prescription in your lenses, and the manufacturing process so that you will see the best. It\u2019s more than just your prescription, you need to have all of these other things exactly as I\u2019m prescribing them to see your best.\u201d<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Take this week to examine your web site. Do you have information on your web site you can easily \u201cpush\u201d to patients? We used to give patients brochures and paper handouts. In today\u2019s digital world, you and your staff should be directing patients to your web site for information. \u201cMr. Smith, you have primary open angle glaucoma. I\u2019m sending you a link to information on my web site about primary open angle glaucoma that I want you to read. I\u2019m also updating the information on your digital medical record. My staff is going to show you how to access that information through our secure portal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Embrace the fact that patients are going to use the internet. Find ways to use this information positively by guiding patients in their online experience.<\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Give patients what they’re looking for online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":9257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[151],"tags":[620,618,619,305],"yoast_head":"\nWhen Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At? - Review of Optometric Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At? - Review of Optometric Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Give patients what they're looking for online.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Review of Optometric Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reviewob\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-03-14T14:30:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-03-21T16:24:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/3-15-17google3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"795\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"447\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Wright\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReviewOB\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ReviewOB\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Wright\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mark Wright\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#\/schema\/person\/17e926acbc533883a769a6128244d3f4\"},\"headline\":\"When Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At?\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-14T14:30:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-03-21T16:24:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/\"},\"wordCount\":912,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"competing online\",\"online competition\",\"online retailers\",\"online sales\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Insights From Our Editors\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/\",\"name\":\"When Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At? - Review of Optometric Business\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-14T14:30:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-03-21T16:24:02+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"When Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/\",\"name\":\"Review of Optometric Business\",\"description\":\"The OD\u2019s Online Business Consultant\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"ROB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Jobson Medical Information LLC\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/ROB_logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/ROB_logo.png\",\"width\":\"553\",\"height\":\"234\",\"caption\":\"Jobson Medical Information LLC\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reviewob\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/reviewofoptometricbusiness\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reviewob\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReviewOB\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#\/schema\/person\/17e926acbc533883a769a6128244d3f4\",\"name\":\"Mark Wright\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0e56ad4fc7bf730a52d6224cd2f3a9b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0e56ad4fc7bf730a52d6224cd2f3a9b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Wright\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.reviewob.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/author\/mwrightpathways-o-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"When Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At? - Review of Optometric Business","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"When Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At? - Review of Optometric Business","og_description":"Give patients what they're looking for online.","og_url":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/","og_site_name":"Review of Optometric Business","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reviewob\/","article_published_time":"2017-03-14T14:30:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-03-21T16:24:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":795,"height":447,"url":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/3-15-17google3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mark Wright","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReviewOB","twitter_site":"@ReviewOB","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Wright","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/"},"author":{"name":"Mark Wright","@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#\/schema\/person\/17e926acbc533883a769a6128244d3f4"},"headline":"When Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At?","datePublished":"2017-03-14T14:30:20+00:00","dateModified":"2017-03-21T16:24:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/"},"wordCount":912,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["competing online","online competition","online retailers","online sales"],"articleSection":["Insights From Our Editors"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/","url":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/","name":"When Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At? - Review of Optometric Business","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-03-14T14:30:20+00:00","dateModified":"2017-03-21T16:24:02+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"When Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/","name":"Review of Optometric Business","description":"The OD\u2019s Online Business Consultant","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#organization"},"alternateName":"ROB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#organization","name":"Jobson Medical Information LLC","url":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/ROB_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/ROB_logo.png","width":"553","height":"234","caption":"Jobson Medical Information LLC"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reviewob\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/reviewofoptometricbusiness\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reviewob\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReviewOB"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#\/schema\/person\/17e926acbc533883a769a6128244d3f4","name":"Mark Wright","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0e56ad4fc7bf730a52d6224cd2f3a9b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0e56ad4fc7bf730a52d6224cd2f3a9b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Wright"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.reviewob.com"],"url":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/author\/mwrightpathways-o-com\/"}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"When Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At?","url":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/3-15-17google3-150x150.jpg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/3-15-17google3.jpg"},"articleSection":"Insights From Our Editors","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Wright"}],"creator":["Mark Wright"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Review of Optometric Business","logo":""},"keywords":["competing online","online competition","online retailers","online sales"],"dateCreated":"2017-03-14T14:30:20Z","datePublished":"2017-03-14T14:30:20Z","dateModified":"2017-03-21T16:24:02Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"When Patients Search for Eyewear Online, What Are They Looking At?\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reviewob.com\\\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reviewob.com\\\/patients-search-eyewear-online-searching\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reviewob.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/3-15-17google3-150x150.jpg\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reviewob.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/3-15-17google3.jpg\"},\"articleSection\":\"Insights From Our Editors\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Mark Wright\"}],\"creator\":[\"Mark Wright\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Review of Optometric Business\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"competing online\",\"online competition\",\"online retailers\",\"online sales\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2017-03-14T14:30:20Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-14T14:30:20Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-03-21T16:24:02Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/reviewob.com\/p.js"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9236"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reviewob.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}