Glasses-only wearers wait for doctor recommendation before trying contacts
CooperVision encouraged eye care professionals to educate patients on all relevant vision correction methods, including dual use of contact lenses and glasses, in the company’s latest Consumer Insights Series report.
CooperVision commissioned a survey from YouGov in which more than 4,000 dual wearers and 4,000 glasses-only wearers from multiple countries were asked about their vision correction approach. Survey results showed that 23% of glasses-only wearers did not know that their prescriptions were available in contact lenses, and an overall takeaway was that glasses-only wearers may not fully understand contact lenses.
“A lack of eye care professional (ECP) recommendations is one of the main reasons patients don’t consider contact lenses for their vision correction,” Gary Orsborn, OD, vice president of global professional, medical and clinical affairs for CooperVision, said in a press release from the company. “By helping more people understand that they can wear contact lenses, ECPs can further deepen their relationships and increase their value as a trusted advisor in caring for their patients. This includes explaining that glasses and contact lenses do not have to be an ‘either-or’ choice, but can co-exist.”
The report outlines three steps for ECPs to take when encouraging patients to try contact lenses: be proactive, make it personal and get lenses on eyes.
“By understanding the insights outlined in this study — and more routinely discussing patients’ vision correction options — ECPs can help to bridge gaps in knowledge and misperceptions of spectacle-only wearers,” Orsborn concluded. “Doing so has the potential to create better experiences for their patients as well as enhanced opportunities for their practice.”
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