Vision Council: Inflation a key concern for eye care providers in 2024
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Three-quarters of eye care providers report that inflation has directly affected their practice in 2024, according to new data from The Vision Council.
“Performance of the economy, effects of inflation and considerations about available jobs and workers remain top of mind for a majority of eye care providers,” Alysse Henkel, the organization’s vice president of research and inSights, said in a council press release.
The semi-annual Provider inSights report revealed that one of the most significant effects of inflation has been an increase in wholesale prices for eye wear products, which has trickled down to consumers. In turn, patients have become more price-sensitive and often seek more affordable options or delay purchases.
In addition, providers who reported above-average revenue performance fell 20 percentage points compared with 2023, and only 17% of providers reported above-average performance in hiring new staff this year. Most providers (85%) said that their practices were either slightly understaffed or optimally staffed, which is similar to 2023 findings.
However, 78% of providers reported they do not offer telehealth services, with 70% noting that the service is not a priority.
“Our report shows that most eye care providers have felt the impacts of inflation during the first 6 months of this year, and they do not anticipate substantial improvements across other areas of business performance by the end of the year, such as hiring new staff, or increased practice revenue,” Henkel said in the release.
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