Welcome to the inaugural Eyes On Eyecare Contact Lens Report!
In the United States alone, an estimated 197.6 million adults need some form of vision correction—that’s almost 77% of the adult population.1 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only 45 million, or roughly 22%, of them wear contact lenses.2
A recent report from the Contact Lens Institute (CLI) found that 47.8% of glasses wearers had a high interest in contact lenses—constituting what the CLI Executive Director called “tremendous untapped potential for the category.” However, that same report found that only 42% of glasses-only wearers reported receiving a recommendation for contact lenses from their optometrist.
In August 2024, we set out to identify what these statistics meant for the day-to-day practices of contact lens prescribers in the US—optometrists in private practice, corporate practice, and other modalities—who fit everything from spherical contact lenses to specialty lenses and beyond.
Gain a competitive edge with these data-driven insights to help boost patient satisfaction and drive practice growth.
Download the 2024 Contact Lens Report now or keep reading for a preview of our findings!
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2024 Contact Lens Report
Learn how fellow optometrists are navigating challenges in contact lens fitting and prescribing as well as practice management tips to grow your contact lens practice.
The 2024 Contact Lens Report includes:
- Contact Lens Revenue: Estimations of employed ODs’ versus practice owners’
- Practice Stats: Contact lens sales capture rates and dropout percentages
- Favorite Modalities: Go-to initial modalities and contact lens brands
- OD Confidence: Assuredness in fitting different lens modalities, coding and billing, and contact lens practice management
- The #1 Barrier to Patient Adoption of Contact Lenses: Download to discover
- And more!
Who’s who in the 2024 Contact Lens Report
In the 2024 Contact Lens Report, our respondents were ODs practicing in the United States who prescribe contact lenses.
Of the 248 qualifying ODs who responded to the survey, 50.4% work in private practice, and 24.6% work in corporate optometry. Additionally, 28.6% owned their own practices, and 22.2% completed a residency.
Download the report to learn more about estimated contact lens revenue!
First choice lens modalities for patients versus prescribers
According to one literature review, on average, 22% of contact lens wearers drop out or discontinue contact lens wear at some point, but those patients can resume wear safely about 74% of the time.3 However, dropout rates mean an estimated loss of revenue of up to $24,000 per patient over their lifetime—not to mention a less-than-happy patient.4
For the majority of our respondents, their go-to initial modality for first-time contact lens wearers was daily disposables, with 74.6% reaching for daily lenses.
In contrast, daily disposables ultimately made up 57.28% of patient lenses, illustrating the fact that contact lenses require more than a one-size-fits-all approach, and different patients have different needs.
Download the report to learn more—including our respondents’ go-to contact lens brands!
What kinds of resources do contact lens prescribers need?
When asked what kind of resources they would find most valuable, 49.19% of our respondents expressed the need for more resources on handling complicated lens fits. In comparison, another 21.77% wanted to know more about converting patients to daily disposables.
Overall, respondents described themselves as fairly confident in the areas of fitting and practice management but pointed to the awareness of new developments and products in the FDA pipeline as an opportunity for further education.
