Making Contact Lenses Easy

Why bother?

In a busy practice it is sometimes difficult to find the time to inform each patient of all the options available to them, let alone give them the chance to try them out. However there is often a large opportunity to offer something valuable to each patient and at the same time increase practice revenue.

This is certainly the case when it comes to contact lenses. Studies have consistently shown that contact lens wearers generate more revenue per year than spectacle only wearers¹. This is often because contact lens wearers usually buy both spectacles and contact lenses from your practice, so the contact lenses can be viewed as an additional sale not as an alternative. In fact a contact lens wearer in the UK spends up to 3 times more per year in their optician’s practice than a spectacle only wearer¹. When considered over the lifetime of a patient in your practice this can add up to a lot of money.

Many spectacle wearers don’t realise they could also wear contact lenses, even just for specific activities, especially if they have astigmatism or just need reading glasses. This can really make a difference to their lifestyle and how well they can pursue their hobbies, sports and leisure time. Informing them of this can really exceed their expectations and make them more loyal to your practice.

Because the public have a low level of awareness about contact lenses² they rely on you to inform them. If you don’t mention them patients often assume they are not suitable. In fact interest in contacts is high and soars once they realise how soft and comfortable they actually are³. So you have a fantastic opportunity to delight them - what is stopping you?

1. London Business School 2002, Opinion Market Research and Consulting 2006
2. Consumer Usage and Attitudes survey, Opinion Market Research and Consulting 2006
3. CIBA VISION data on file 2003

How to keep it simple

There are may things that can be easily done in practice to promote contact lenses and save time in your consulting room.

Improve Contact Lens Visibility

On passing or entering many practices it may be difficult to tell if they fit and sell contact lenses. Naturally frames need a large display but by allocating some space to contact lenses it will automatically show your interest and possibly suggest your expertise. This may in itself save you time as patients may simply be prompted to ask you about contact lenses.

Window displays can be an eye catching way to communicate that contact lenses are fitted here and to promote enquiries. Frame display areas, reception and waiting areas are all ideal places to place contact lens promotional material. CIBA VISION and other manufacturers are able to supply a range of point of sale material ranging from simple leaflets to self standing displays that can be positioned straight in front of your ideal contact lens target – the spectacle wearer.

Educate Your Team

Much practitioner time can be spent answering simple questions about what type of lenses are available? Is my prescription suitable? Can I get contact lenses for astigmatism? Do I have to wear them all the time? Do they hurt? Can I play sport in them?

All these questions can easily be answered by any member of your staff who has had some elementary training. The ultimate decision as to the patient suitability of course will be made in the consulting room. But many preliminary questions can be fielded before the patient even enters the consulting room, saving valuable clinical time. “The Optical Assistant’s Guide to Contact Lenses” by training expert Sarah Morgan can help your staff become proficient at answering questions and discussing contact lenses to save you time and grow your business. It can be ordered free from the CIBA VISION website - click here.

Delegate

There are many tasks in practice that may be effectively and safely delegated from the clinician to other members of staff. For example, ordering contact lenses can be done by anyone and is made even easier by using “Easy” on-line ordering or FastFax. These can be done at a time that is convenient to you.

Teaching new contact lens wearers to insert and remove their lenses can take up valuable consulting room time if done exclusively by the practitioner. This can also mean an extra visit is required by the patient. By training other team members to teach a new wearer to insert, remove and care their lenses you can free up consulting room time as well as improving your service to patients being able to do this on the same day as their fitting.

Set up Direct debit/Standing Order/Credit Card Mandates

Registering patients for monthly payment directly into your bank account can save time at the front desk and help build patient loyalty. Once on the scheme patients don’t need to think about the price of their lenses each time they collect.

For more information about setting up direct debits, see part 4 of the Professional Fees Journey Plan.

Offer Home Delivery (Direct To Patient)

Registering patients for home delivery on your behalf direct from CIBA VISION saves time for you and your patients whilst making it more convenient for them to use your services. Patients can be registered either for regularly delivery each 3 months or to be sent only when you re-order. Speak to your CIBA VISION customer service representative or sales person for more information.

Know Your Patients – questionnaires, consumer research

A patient lifestyle questionnaire before the examination will help you to identify any particular lifestyle needs of your patients and can save you time in the consulting room. It can help ensure that potential opportunities for incremental sales are not missed.

Using a post service questionnaire can help you to understand the true patient experience of coming to your practice. Remember patient satisfaction is not enough, to build loyalty you need to exceed the expectations they had when they came to see you. Don’t be disheartened if you only get a small proportion back, this is common for this type of questionnaire. Any feedback you get will be useful and patients will appreciate the fact you have asked.

Stock Trial Lenses and Inventory

Keeping trial lenses of your most commonly used lens types at hand will mean reducing the number of appointments needed to fit a new patient. This will save both you and your patient’s time, increasing your efficiency and improving your service levels.

In many practices it may also be worth keeping stocks in practice of your most popular lenses for sale. This again can increase the attractiveness of your practice as patients can collect lenses whenever they need them.

Charge Professional Fees

Ask any practitioner who has changed to a professional fee based pricing system and it’s most likely they will tell you they wish they had done it years ago. Separating product costs from professional care can help make your product prices seem more competitive as well as making provision of eyecare more rewarding. The emphasis is moved from selling products to provision of professional care and you are appropriately rewarded for you professional time and expertise.

For more details of how this may work for you go to the Professional Fees Journey Plan

Mention Contact Lenses at Every Opportunity

As well as the eye examination there are several stages in a patient’s journey through your practice that are ideal opportunities to mention contact lenses. Many consumers don’t realise they may be able to wear contact lenses so this can help plant the idea and prompt them to ask more. This can save you time and allow you to schedule time for fittings at the same time as their eye examination, perhaps saving them another trip to the practice. Great times to mention contact lenses can include

• Over the phone when a patient rings for an appointment – simply asking if they wear them may elicit an enquiry
• Whilst booking in patients for an appointment in person
• As the patient arrives for the eye examination
• In any lifestyle or pre-exam questionnaire
• At the hand over after the eye examination
• Whilst they are browsing for frames
• Whilst recording their spectacle order
• When collecting their spectacles