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Become educated, connected when starting a specialty contact lens practice
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LAS VEGAS – “There is nothing more rewarding than doing specialty contact lenses,” Jeffrey Sonsino, OD, FAAO, said here at Vision Expo West.
“However, you need to have a genuine interest in doing this before pursuing it,” he added.
Sonsino told attendees at the Global Contact Lens Forum that 75% of his patients are now specialty lens patients, after he decided to focus his Nashville private practice on specialty lenses just 9 months ago.
The first step to developing a specialty contact lens practice is becoming educated in all lens modalities, Sonsino said. Hire the right people and speak the right lingo, he said.
He strongly advised staying current in the literature, which helps you know what standard of care your colleagues are providing. See which papers are cited in periodicals and be familiar with the major contact lens studies, he said.
Sonsino recommended that new graduates seek residencies in cornea and contact lenses, work for a cornea specialist or work for an optometrist who is fitting specialty lenses.
“If you’re an established practitioner, you need to go about it differently,” he said.
Learn from other specialty contact lens experts, attend educational meetings and join professional societies.
He said this transition will require a systemic change in your office. Make sure everyone on your staff knows the lenses.
“Your technicians must know how to remove specialty lenses,” Sonsino said. “They will be spending more time with patients than you will.”
Schedule patients appropriately, realizing they take more time; set up accounts with special lens manufacturers; and create forms (Advanced Beneficiary Notifications or ABNs).
“Almost every patient in my office signs an ABN letting them and the insurance company know that I’ll be doing things outside their coverage,” he said.
Educational handouts are also important.
“Setting expectations is 100% of what we do,” Sonsino said.
“At a bare minimum you’ll need fitting sets for all of the lenses you’re fitting, as well as an anterior segment optical coherence tomographer,” he said. “For all the lenses we’re using that are vaulting lenses, you need to know as much as you can about the fit.”
“Once you’re set up, marketing is then the key,” he said. “Promote the special things you’re doing and the reason why patients should stay with you.”
A robust website with doctor and staff photos and information on what you’re doing in the practice is important.
Sonsino recommended sending a letter to all optometrists and ophthalmologists in your multistate area detailing your specialty contact lens services.
“Specialty lens patients are willing to travel to a center of excellence,” he said. “When I went into private practice after leaving Vanderbilt, every one of my specialty contact lens patients followed me. They’re ultimately loyal.”
Associate with a local cornea specialist, he added.
“The day will come when every patient with keratoconus will be cross-linked,” Sonsino said. “We need to be on the front line with this.” - Nancy Hemphill, ELS
Disclosure: Sonsino is a consultant for Alcon, SynergEyes, Optovue and Visionary Optics, a principal in LVR Technologies and receives research support from Visioneering.