Consumer survey results reinforce value of eye care services
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LAS VEGAS – Consumers ranked contact lenses and eyeglasses as very important to them in a survey commissioned by the Contact Lens Institute that asked respondents to rate 26 products and services.
The survey results were presented during a panel discussion at Vision Expo West.
In August, 251 contact lens wearers were asked to assign value to 26 different products and services in the categories of personal health, entertainment, clothing, dining and other discretionary spending options, according to a press release from the Contact Lens Institute (CLI). They ranked their contact lenses (84%) and eyeglasses (75%) as extremely important or very important – more than any other category. The respondents also said they would give up all other categories before their contacts and glasses in the face of economic pressure.
“This is job security,” practitioner Mark E. Schaeffer, OD, who practices with MyEyeDr, said during the panel. “It’s more validation on what we do on a day-to-day basis. You can’t do anything without good, clear, consistent vision. That’s why contact lenses and glasses are so important; they allow us to do what we have to do comfortably and clearly.”
“When people are asked what they will cut in their spending, their actual spending shows how resilient our eye care industry is,” Charissa Lee, OD, MBA, FAAO, CLI board member, head of North America professional affairs for Johnson & Johnson Vision, and panel moderator, said.
Clinician Klaus Ito, OD, who practices at Ocean Park Optometry, said, “When you look at contacts as something you can tap into more in your practice, you know that once you have your patient, that won’t be something they’re going to drop.”
“The occasional patient will ask for something less expensive,” Jason Tu, OD, who practices at Invision Optometry, said. “As a doctor, we have to go through the medical benefits of why we’re prescribing what we’re prescribing.”
“You’re ultimately helping them with their lifestyle needs,” Schaeffer said. "You’re trying to help them live their best life. It’s not a commodity, it’s a medical device.”
“We’re all human, and we have these finite resource,” he said. “We can say, ‘I understand your lenses may feel OK, and your vision may still be good, but you know you’re putting yourself at risk by overwearing your lenses or topping off solution.’”
“If a patient is telling you they’re wearing their lenses longer and topping off solutions, it’s a bit late at that point,” Ito said. “Get in front of it. Make it part of your education.”
Tu said every patient in his clinic gets a 60-second talk, “whether they’re wearing contact lenses for 30 years or this is their first time. We educate them on contacts being a medical device and the wear and replacement schedule. We’re almost 70% daily disposables, but they still get the education.
“I want to see you every year for your check-up,” he added, “not every other day because you’re getting infections.”
Luke Kulik from research firm Prodege also participated on the panel.
During an interview after the panel discussion, Lee told Healio the survey was conducted to bring awareness and to find out what patients are thinking, “to validate what we’re seeing in practice and how the CLI can help doctors based on what’s going on now vs. 2 years ago.”
Schaeffer told Healio the survey results provided a “wider angle of what consumers are doing as a whole.
“Having this data and resources helps us better serve our patients,” Schaeffer added. “And CLI is a unified voice that can help professionals.”
CLI members include Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, CooperVision and Johnson & Johnson Vision. The CLI said the full report will be available in October.
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Lee C, et al. The Contact Lens Institute and the Vision Council present their latest research findings. Presented at: Vision Expo West; Las Vegas; Sept. 14-17, 2020.
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