How Optometrists Can Prevent Contact Lens Dropout

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Contact lens dropout has tremendous consequences

Contact lens dropout presents a challenge for both the patient and the optometrist. When patients choose to quit on their contact lenses, it is our job as their primary eye care professionals to guide them and help them find a solution to their day-to-day issues.

Contact lens dropout can stem from long term or even short-term frustrations. When a patient drops out of contact lenses, it is likely because they have given up on a daily struggle they have been facing. Not only do these patients surrender the joys and freedom that contact lenses afford them, but this negative experience can spill over and cause them to give up on you, their eye care provider.

It doesn’t stop there! Patients who drop out of contact lenses are also bad for business. The lifetime value of contact lens wearers are on average 60% more profitable to your practice than glasses-only wearers.¹

Reasons for contact lens dropout

Contact lens dropout can occur for various reasons. The reality is that 1 in 3 contact lens wearers drops out due to comfort, and challenges with insertion and removal.²

While insertion and removal can be a challenge, dropout due to comfort issues falls solely on the eyecare provider. At a time when the contact lens industry is constantly innovating and providing great lenses for our patients, failing to provide patients with a lens that provides adequate comfort should only occur in extraordinary circumstances.

How to prevent and troubleshoot contact lens dropout

One of the best ways to prevent contact lens dropout is to make sure all of your contact lens wearers are wearing a lens that will provide them with an exceptional experience from the start, and this begins with new wearers. I am a strong advocate for daily disposable contact lenses. I prefer to fit most of my new contact lens patients into daily disposable lenses when possible in order to promote healthy habits and a good wearing experience from the beginning.

Chair time is extremely valuable, so it is important to communicate to patients efficiently and effectively so they understand your recommendations from the beginning.

I take a three-step approach:

Communication – I tell patients exactly why I am prescribing them a specific lens and why by discussing benefits and technology of the lens.
Education – I educate new and existing wearers at every visit on the importance of contact lens replacement on recommended wear schedules
Recommendations – I recommend a yearly supply of contacts to patients and discuss how this helps with costs in the form of rebates, and ensures they will not run out of lenses until their next yearly exam.

When patients ask about other lens modalities (such as monthly or biweekly lenses), I will explain the benefits and advantages of daily disposables, including the decreased risk of infection and contact lens solution toxicity³, and the added benefit of not needing to purchase contact lens solution every month, a consideration when it comes to discussing costs.

I have had great success with the ACUVUE® OASYS Family of lenses. I utilize ACUVUE® OASYS Brand Contact Lenses 1-Day with HydraLuxe™ Technology as my go-to when it comes to prescribing daily disposables. While there are many excellent lenses in the daily disposable category, feedback from my patients who I prescribe this lens has consistently been excellent, particularly when it comes to comfort and vision. In a study of 119 patients, ACUVUE® OASYS Brand 1-Day was preferred overall by 2 to 1 over Dailies Total 1® among wearers with preference.⁴

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HydraLuxe® Technology offers a tear-infused design with an enhanced network of tear-like molecules designed to mimic the tear film. The lens creates a tear-like network of moisture that works consistently throughout the day rather than being blink released which helps create long lasting all day comfort,4 which is one of the most critical things you can do in order to prevent contact lens dropout. This lens, inspired by the ideal tear film, offers high optical precision to help provide patients sharper, brighter, and clearer vision**, which is why I have enjoyed great success with this lens in practice.

If a patient cannot commit to daily disposable lens wear, due to various factors, I will typically prescribe them ACUVUE® OASYS 2-Week with HYDRACLEAR® PLUS Technology.

Why a Two-Week Lens Over a Monthly Lens?

I find that a two-week lens is the next best thing after daily disposables. Though daily contact lenses are my first option for new contact lens fits, I always make it a point to at least offer a trial of existing monthly and biweekly contact lens wearers daily contact lenses for at least a week so they can experience the convenience aspect first hand. I have found that offering a few days worth of daily contact lenses as a trial has been highly successful in converting my monthly and biweekly contact lens patients to dailies.

However, the perfect case scenario does not always exist. Sometimes the cost difference is enough to cause patients to steer away from daily disposable contact lenses. In this case, I prefer my patients wear a 2 week contact lens rather than a monthly. I think of 2-week replacement lenses as “halfway to 1-Day,” as 2-week patients are more likely to switch to daily disposables than monthly patients in the future. ⁵I will often communicate to patients that if replacing their lenses daily is not possible, then I prefer a 2-week option as a sort of compromise between every day and once a month.

My go-to lens is ACUVUE® OASYS Brand Contact Lenses with HYDRACLEAR® PLUS Technology to provide my patients in the reusable modality an exceptional wearing experience. Even after prescribing two-week lenses for daily wear, I still offer these patients a prescription for single use contact lenses to utilize for sports, quick weekend getaways, or as a spare set. This can give patients the opportunity to experience these lenses first-hand, and may make it easier to transition them into daily disposables at their next annual exam.

Why ACUVUE® OASYS?

Many of my colleagues have enjoyed great success prescribing ACUVUE® OASYS to patients, and so have I. More eyecare professionals (ECPs) select ACUVUE® OASYS, because they consider new wearers least likely to drop out of this particular spherical reusable contact lens. ⁶

Additionally, ACUVUE® OASYS 2-WEEK is the #1 prescribed brand by ECP’s for new contact lens wearers.⁷ With discomfort being the leading cause of drop out, ² it is critical to utilize a lens proven to combat that. In 23 clinical trials conducted over the past ten years, the ACUVUE® OASYS Family has never been beaten in comfort.⁸

There’s a Good Reason Why Many ECPs Choose This Lens.

HYDRACLEAR® PLUS Technology works by embedding polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) within the lens, which in turn mimics mucins found in the tear film to help support a stable tear film.⁹ A stable tear film can be extremely important when it comes to providing long lasting comfort, and stable vision. This is critical in preventing patients from dropping out of contact lenses.

An advantage of introducing patients into the ACUVUE® OASYS Family platform from the beginning of contact lens wear is that you allow them to enter an ecosystem that can support their ever-evolving contact lens wearing needs.

If a patient develops astigmatism down the road, there is a lens option available for them. Once presbyopia presents itself, there are lens options available. Soon you will be able to utilize ACUVUE® OASYS with Transitions™, the first-of-its-kind contact lens to offer additional visual benefits beyond vision correction by reducing exposure to bright light both indoors and outdoors.¹⁰ As their demands evolve, there will be an ACUVUE® OASYS product that can meet your patients’ needs.

Providing an exceptional contact lens wearing experience for patients and preventing dropout from the beginning is a great way to be confident that your patient can achieve satisfaction in all aspects of contact lens wear and continue to make healthy choices when it comes to their eyes.

**Compared to ACUVUE® OASYS Brand Contact Lenses with HYDRACLEAR® PLUS Technology

Important Safety Information

ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses are indicated for vision correction. As with any contact lens, eye problems, including corneal ulcers, can develop. Some wearers may experience mild irritation, itching or discomfort. Lenses should not be prescribed if patients have any eye infection, or experience eye discomfort, excessive tearing, vision changes, redness or other eye problems. Consult the package insert for complete information. Complete information is also available by visiting jnjvisionpro.com, or by calling Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. at 1-800-843-2020. © Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. 2018 The third party trademarks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners. CC18724

Learn more about understanding patient need when it comes to prescribing contact lenses.

Sources:

Ritson M. Which patients are more profitable? CL Spectrum 2006;21:3 38-42.
JJV Data on File 2018. Top reasons for New Wearers to drop out.
Daily Disposables: Prescribing Trends and Pipeline Lenses” Review of Cornea & Contact Lenses. Web. 06 June 2010.
JJV Data on File 2018. Among those with a preference †n=119, 4-7 days of 1day wear. Study was a masked, randomized, bilateral crossover study where patients were randomly assigned ACUVUE OASYS® with HydraLuxe™ Technology or Dailies Total1® the first week and switched to wearing the other lens the second week. Lenses were worn as daily disposables on both eyes, for approximately one week. After wearing both lenses patients were asked to rate their preferences across a variety of attributes.
JJV Data on File. IQVIA, using the ProVoice Survey, fielded to 645 Eye Doctors (Optometrists and Ophthalmologists) from July 1, 2018 to August 23, 2018
JJV Data on File 2015 Survey of 274 ECPs conducted by IPSOS Healthcare
JJV Data on File. IQVIA using the ProVoice Survey fielded from August 1, 2018 to September 31, 2018.
JJV Data on File 2018. clinicaltrials.gov is a website maintained by the NIH. The 23 clinical studies evaluated subjective comfort as a primary or secondary endpoint for ACUVUE OASYS® Brand with HYDRACLEAR® Plus or ACUVUE OASYS® 1-Day with HydraLuxe™ Technology. Review conducted as of August 2, 2018
JJV Data on File 2016. LACREON, HYDRACLEAR Plus, HYDRACLEAR 1 acting as pseudo‐mucin layer
JJV Data on File 2018. Definition of ACUVUE® OASYS with Transitions™ Light Intelligent Technology