Contact Lens Business
Profitability Revisited
Think you can't make money offering contact lenses? Think again.
BY WARREN MCDONALD, PH.D., ABOM, NCLC-AC

Recently, a practitioner told me that several patients had called about a specific contact lens product, but his screening process weeded them all out. When I asked whether he appointed them to see if an alternative modality would be appropriate, he said no.

Think about this for a moment. He had patients on the phone -- wanting to come in -- but made no appointments to evaluate alternative solutions.

To me, this is emblematic of a belief I often hear voiced by members of all three O's: that it's not possible to make money with contact lenses any more. This is simply not true, especially with the lenses and fitting techniques that are now available.

IT'S A NEW BALL GAME

The key to success with contact lenses is to offer specialty lenses and make sure your patients know that you offer them. Here are some contact lenses that you may not be offering your patients -- and why you should reconsider.

Multifocal/bifocal lenses. The options available to meet the needs of presbyopic patients have expanded and improved dramatically. The lenses have been simplified; they require less effort to fit, and success rates are much higher than in the past.

And there's no shortage of patients: Today, most Baby Boomers need reading help, and many of them are longtime contact lens wearers who don't want to wear spectacles.

Fitting these lenses does require more chair time, but fees are considerably higher than fees for standard lenses. (The manufacturer, or your local lab, will gladly help you learn to fit them.)

Toric lenses. In the not too distant past, toric lenses were limited in range, expensive, difficult and time-consuming to fit, and hard to reproduce. Today, soft torics are available in a wide variety of parameters and disposable materials. The fitting process has been vastly improved, and costs are minimal compared to former materials, so most patients can afford them.

Incidentally, rigid gas permeable (RGP) designs aren't particularly complicated. With a little help from the consultants at your lab, you should be able to offer these designs successfully.

Cosmetic lens designs. Many practitioners dread fitting cosmetic lenses. (How many of you have had a teen come into your office and spend hours trying on opaque lenses?) Today, computer tools can capture an image of the patient and display multiple versions showing how she would look wearing different colored lenses, all at one time.

This greatly reduces chair time and makes these lenses more profitable. Patients love it; they can even take a picture home to show their friends. Referrals go through the roof, according to several doctors I've spoken to who use these tools in their offices.

Offering these types of specialty lenses can benefit your bottom line in multiple ways:

• Fitting them can be very profitable.
• These lens designs can't be ordered through 800 numbers.
• If you meet the needs of astigmatic or presbyopic patients, they'll stay with you forever.
• These patients will be giving enthusiastic recommendations of your practice to everyone they know.

RECOGNIZING OPPORTUNITY

I've only mentioned a few specialty designs here; many more are available. (It pays to be creative because one lens design won't meet every patient's needs. You'll have to provide a professional evaluation to know which lens is likely to work.)

If you believe there's no profit in contact lenses, I hope you'll reconsider. Your practice could be missing out on a significant source of income, patient loyalty, referrals and job satisfaction. And isn't that what it's all about? 

Dr. McDonald is director of contact lens services at the Jacksonville Eye Clinic in Jacksonville, N.C. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Webster University.