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Contact lens subscription programs foster patient loyalty
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Specialty lenses are the main focus of my practice, and I believe every contact lens specialist should offer a wide variety of soft contact lenses to our many patients who have “normal eyes measured ocular surfaces,” or as my good friend Eef Van Der Worp calls them, “NEMOs.”
For any eye care practitioner (ECP), whether in primary care or specializing in contact lenses, competing with online retailers is a challenge that cannot be ignored. For many Americans today, accessing an annual supply of the most advanced contact lens technologies may see m challenging at times. However, contact lens manufacturers are seeking ways to meet the joint needs of patients and ECPs with contact lens subscriptions programs.
Bridging the gap
These programs available help to bridge the gap between contact lens wearers and their ECPs and streamline the ordering process to improve access and convenience for annual supplies.
These programs are generally convenient, reliable and affordable. They also save time and increase wearers’ loyalty to ECPs and the practice. They involve ECPs in the entire process from the examination to receipt of the prescribed product. They also provide a competitive alternative to the large online retailers that have been recently taking over the market.
How it works
Usually, the orders are placed through the ECP’s practice after a comprehensive eye examination and contact lens fitting. The subscription programs allow contact lens wearers to maximize savings by using a rewards program established by the manufacturer and/or their full insurance benefits, or by financing the cost of an annual supply into affordable payments. It is, therefore, a good option for patients committed to contact lens wear but unable to order an annual supply up front. Busy patients may see the greatest benefits – for example, automatic receipt of their contact lenses, with monthly debits instead of paying for an entire year at once.
When the patient does not get an annual supply, the office’s administrative time increases and is not covered by the low profit margin on individual contact lens boxes. With subscription programs, no fees are usually incurred to the practice to participate. Shipping is generally free, and the lenses are delivered directly to the patients, without clogging up practice accounts receivable and inventory storage. Some of these programs offer marketing and remind patients when they are due for their next exam and direct them back to the office.
CooperVision (through its subsidiary, EyeCare Prime’s Lens Ferry) has even committed to donating a free eye exam to Optometry Giving Sight for each patient subscription.
In these programs, the prices of contact lenses available for purchase are usually decided by the practice itself, not by the manufacturer. This personalization of subscriptions for each practice is important to both ECPs and their patients.
Some programs such as Boxsee even incorporate the logo of a unique practice into their monthly subscription lens box. Each delivery has a message from the office that can be personalized.
Lens Ferry S allows contact lens wearers to sign up and order their lenses from any connected device. Staff can enter patients into an electronic system after an examination or other appointments, and the patient then receives an email prompting enrollment in the program. Previously, everything had to be done while the patient was in the office, but now it can be done at the patient’s convenience.
Sightbox, an e-commerce system acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2017, allows eye care practitioners to sell contact lenses online. For a nominal monthly fee, the company schedules patients for eye exams and mails them contact lenses. Patients, on the other hand, pay a monthly fee for which they receive a comprehensive eye exam and a 1-year supply of contact lenses.
MyContactLens creates a portal accessible through independent eye care professionals’ practice websites.
Subscriptions improve patient loyalty and offer affordability and convenience. ECPs should offer an annual subscription to all their disposable contact lens patients.
For more information:
Elise Kramer, OD, who is residency-trained, practices at Weston Contact Lens Institute and specializes in ocular health and disease, ocular surface disease, and regular and specialty contact lens fitting. Over the last few years she has created a unique scleral lens practice.
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