March 25, 2020
Multifocal contact lenses, and other specialty contacts, provide an opportunity to help your patients improve their vision and quality of life. They also build your practice and increase profitability. Dave Anderson, OD, shares a few keys to remember to build this part of your practice.
Efficiently & Effectively Manage Multifocal Patients. More chair time is required for specialty lens patients. Much of the chair time is in the explanation of what is happening to the patient’s eyes and how the lenses will work to help them, but some of that added time is also due to the fine-tuning of the patient’s vision needs based on each lens. One big thing that helps limit chair time is proper patient selection.
Address Patient Concerns. Always allow patients to experiment with multifocal contacts by trying them in the office, and only charge them for a fitting if the doctor needs to evaluate the fit and vision with contacts, and the patient fully intends to proceed with wearing the lens out of the office.
Train Staff on Multifocal CLs. As part of pre-testing for every exam, ask if the patient would like to know more about contact lenses, and how it might help them see better. Your contact-lens technicians can also discuss further how the lenses work for any patient who is a current wearer, and who may soon need multifocals.
Don’t Inventory Multifocal CLs. Don’t keep an inventory of multifocal contact lenses in your office. With direct ship to patients, once they decide the contacts are performing to their needs, the patient has their supply in their hands within just a few days directly from your contact-lens distributor.
Make Patients Feel Secure in their Purchase. You can tell multifocal patients that you and the contact-lens manufacturer want them to be a happy patient who continues to love the product. Then, give them a generous three months to return the product if they are not happy.
Dave Anderson, OD, is a partner with Miamisburg Vision Care in Miamisburg, Ohio, and a partner with wEyes Guys. To contact: doca@burgvision.com
