BLOG: Blue light protection makes second pair sales medically necessary

On Feb. 24, Prevent Blindness declared March Workplace Eye Wellness Month.

To read this statement by itself, the average person conjures up images of people wearing safety glasses while working with tools or machinery from which flying objects could harm the eye.

To an eye care provider (ECP), the image may be one of removing metal shards from a patient’s cornea. The other image we ECPs may have is of a statement showing a ridiculously low reimbursement for providing safety eye wear for a less-than-stellar vision care plan.

However, as I read the press release, I was pleased to discover that the main focus of this declaration was to draw attention to the increasing problem of digital eye strain. The report focused on the Vision Council’s 2016 Digital Eye Strain Report, titled “Eyes Overexposed: The Digital Device Dilemma,” the topic of my last blog. Cited was a couple of device usage statistics from the report as well as the definition of digital eye strain, “physical discomfort felt after prolonged exposure to digital screens.” Also listed were symptoms including dry and irritated eyes, blurred vision, eye fatigue, neck and back pain, and headaches.

The release also included the Vision Council’s statement that “most digital devices have light-emitting diodes (LED) that radiate blue wavelength light. Cumulative blue light exposure has been linked to slow degeneration of the retina, which could affect long-term vision problems such as age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.”

So in the first quarter of 2016, two respected and influential organizations, the Vision Council and Prevent Blindness, have handed us tools to not only make our patients’ lives better, but also to benefit the health of our practices.

Practice management experts tell us to lead with the second pair sale in our dispensaries. Retail optical locations do this very well (go shopping). However, for a variety of reasons, this seems to be difficult to implement in private practice. As doctors, it is ingrained in us to prescribe for medical necessity. We now have medical necessity, blue light protection, to prescribe a second pair.

We have excellent blue light filtering lenses and coatings available to prescribe to patients. But to lead with these options in our dispensaries, the conversation must start in the exam room. All of us likely have a poster or eye model on hand to explain eye conditions to patients. This is how I describe digital eye strain to a patient:

“Light can be broken down to its individual colors, like a rainbow. Warm colors are on the outside edge of the rainbow, while cooler colors like blue are on the inside edge because they have a shorter wavelength.” Picking up an eye model or pointing to an eye cross-section poster, I say, “Green light is our sweet spot of vision and it is focused on our retina. But blue light has a shorter wavelength and is defocused in front of our retina, creating blur. Because the majority of light emitted from our digital screens is blue, our eyes are continually trying to focus it, which we physically can’t do. The result is tired, irritated eyes that may be accompanied by headaches, neck or back pain as we struggle positionally to focus this unfocusable light. Fortunately, we have blue filtering lenses that can help.”

I find this 30-second explanation clarifies to patients why their eyes feel the way they do. One of the stats from the Vision Council is that 90% of patients don’t talk to their eye care provider about digital device usage. This is understandable, as electronic devices have become deep-rooted in our lives. Patients may just accept that tired eyes are a natural part of the modern lifestyle. But we have the tools to help them in our practices. Blue filtering lenses and coatings in prescription and plano, as well as near variable focus designs, can provide much-needed relief for patients as well as a point of distinction for your practice.

A question I often hear from new patients after explaining this is: “Why didn’t my last eye doctor discuss this?” While I always try to diplomatically answer this stating the newness of the technology, always remember that patients talk to each other and are still your best referral source. So, don’t become that “last eye doctor.”

Reference:

The Vision Council. Digital Eye Strain Report 2016. http://www.thevisioncouncil.org/sites/default/files/2416_VC_2016EyeStrain_Report_WEB.pdf