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WebSystem3 expands LensFerry service to two states
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NEW YORK – WebSystem3 announced here at Vision Expo East that after initial market testing, the company is expanding its LensFerry service to select optometry practices in New York and California over the next month before opening it up to additional markets.
LensFerry is a mobile commerce solution specifically developed for eye care practitioners that allows patients to order contact lenses through a mobile device, tablet or computer for direct shipment to their homes, according to a WebSystem3 press release.
Although WebSystem3 is a wholly owned subsidiary of CooperVision, contact lenses from all manufacturers can be ordered through the service, Shaun Schooley, CooperVision vice president of global marketing technology, told Primary Care Optometry News.
He added that the prescribing practice receives the revenue from the sales.
“We want to set a new industry standard for buying contact lenses,” he said. “It’s a way to close the circle between the medical and clinical aspect and the product.
“We feel it’s imperative to give doctors a tool to compete,” Schooley continued. “Consumers expect to be able to buy things this way.”
Gregory Kraskowsky, OD, has been using LensFerry in his practice for 7 months. He said his staff and his patients are happy with the service.
“Patients want convenience,” he told PCON. “It’s a way to provide ordering 24 hours a day.”
Kraskowsky, who helped design the service, said he is beginning to see an uptick in 6-month contact lens sales.
“It’s easy for us,” he added. “It’s no different than anything we would have done otherwise to order contact lenses. The template is nearly the same as ABB Optical’s.”
Once patients are enrolled in the doctor’s office, LensFerry offers them numerous buying options, incorporates any available insurance benefits and notifies patients about applicable manufacturers’ rebates, according to a company press release. Lenses are shipped directly to the patient’s home or business through LensFerry’s partnership with ABB Optical Group. – by Nancy Hemphill, ELS, FAAO
Disclosures: Kraskowsky helped design LensFerry. Schooley is an employee of CooperVision.