Last month I discussed some practical strategies for managing the contact lenses you sell. This month, I'd like to share some helpful things we've learned about managing contact lens patients.

When you fit patients with contact lenses, whether or not they return -- and why they return -- can make a big difference in practice profitability. On the one hand, you may find many patients reappearing within a few days complaining about their new lenses. On the other hand, you may be frustrated because so few patients return when you want them to -- for follow-up visits.

Having some unhappy patients return 2 days after you fit them is probably unavoidable. In a situation like this, the obvious response is to switch to different lenses. The problem is, every time you do this you lose money.

Here are a few strategies that will help you minimize this kind of situation:

• Evaluate each patient carefully.
If your patient is very technically oriented (an engineer or an accountant, for example) and he has significant astigmatism, don't think you're going to get away with a spherical lens. You'll probably need to go to a toric design right from the start. (Just make sure you select a toric design that comes with a guaranteed fit program from the manufacturer. That way, you won't have to absorb the extra cost.)
• Don't rush your initial fitting.
Make sure the patient's tearing has settled down. Have the technician go back in and recalculate the power. If you take a little extra time and care at the outset, you'll save money in the end.
• Give the patient thorough instructions.
Tell the patient that her vision may not be perfect within the first 24 hours. Tell her that she needs to build up a little wearing time. Explain that tearing and foreign body sensation can be normal. If she understands these issues, she'll be in less of a hurry to switch to another lens.

Once you've got a patient in your practice, do everything you can to keep him. (As you know, keeping existing patients is much less costly than winning over new ones.)

Here are some helpful strategies:

• Educate your patients.
Tell them all about their lenses and the potential problems they could run into. If they understand that there's a real reason to return in 6 months, they'll be much more likely to do so.
• Include the 3-month follow-up visit in your initial price.
From the patient's point of view, the return visit is free, so there's no reason not to show up. This will help to get your patients in the habit of returning.
• Make sure you have a good recall system.
I was surprised one day to realize that my staff could only manage to get out a single recall following patient visits. If patients didn't show up in response to that notice, they were gone.

Now we have a computer that can easily track and recall patients again and again. If I want to see the patients who didn't show after their first recall, the computer will come up with those people, and we can recall them a second time. (If they don't respond to the second mailing, the technician who saw the patient previously, or a front office staff member, makes a personal phone call.)

Thanks to the computer and this extra effort, a much higher percentage of our patients return.

Contact lens patients can be a great resource for a refractive surgery practice. Hopefully the strategies listed above will help you to make the most of these patients -- and keep them coming back for more.