The upgrade conversation

However, even when a patient appears happy in their contact lenses, there could still be room for improvement, especially when technology evolves with each new product released that aims to improve one or all these three factors.

For Faye McDearmid, optometrist, practice owner and a professional affairs consultant on the Johnson & Johnson Vision team, this is why is it important to have an upgrade conversation with contact lens patients when they attend the practice, even when they appear happy and satisfied in their contact lenses.

“Technology develops fast, and our lifestyle habits evolve – we should utilise the time we spend with our patients inside and outside the testing room to educate them and discuss these developments and possible upgrades,” McDearmid told OT.

“If a patient tries a lens and decides to return to what they were wearing previously that’s fine. In having the discussion, they see that the practice has knowledgeable staff who have their best interests in mind,” she added.

To patients, contact lenses all look the same in the packet. If you feel them, they will sometimes feel different, but the benefits are not always directly understandable

Contact lens chats

In the testing room, when McDearmid sees a contact lens patient for an assessment, her routine involves looking at the fit of the lens and its wettability. She will then discuss the patient’s vision requirements in order to check if anything has changed since their last visit.

At the end of the appointment, the optometrist will use her judgement, paired with her contact lens knowledge and expertise, to discuss new lens options, how they work, and the technology behind them.

Where appropriate she will make an upgrade recommendation, regardless of how satisfied a patient has expressed they are in their lenses. This is done by pairing the benefits of the lens being recommended to a patient’s lifestyle requirements.

In doing so, McDearmid acknowledges the patient’s current satisfaction, but aims to educate the patient about what is newly available since they were last fitted.

For McDearmid, this upgrade conversation is important to have as, without it, patients will not know what is available to them.

“To patients, contact lenses all look the same in the packet. If you feel them, they will sometimes feel different, but the benefits are not always directly visible or easily understandable,” she said.

McDearmid notes that the questions asked about a patient’s lifestyle and satisfaction are key to this conversation.

She likens the importance of the questions asked in this conversation to upgrading your mobile phone. Recalling one of the first mobile phones she owned – the Nokia 3210 with a changeable colour front – McDearmid shared: “If when I upgraded, I was only asked if I was happy with my phone, I would still be using that phone today. However, the mobile phone industry doesn’t stand still, and new versions are released, iteratively building on the technology and capabilities of the last version. In a way, the same is true about contact lenses.”

When new lenses are released, there is always a clear clinical benefit, the optometrist said. She highlighted that the comfort benefit will then be determined by the patient wearing the lens.

She emphasised: “As practitioners we should not deny patients the opportunity of trying new lenses, or make assumptions. We should keep them informed and give them choice.”

McDearmid noted that as a profession, practitioners can be hesitant to speak to patients about upgrades if a patient appears to be satisfied. “I’m not sure if it’s because we fear coming across like we are selling, or a gap in knowledge when new lenses are released, but it’s important that clinicians and their wider practice team learns about new products when they become available.”

For McDearmid these discussions are important because “patients only know what they know,” and if you are not educating them, they will not be aware.

“If a patient takes up the option of a new trial, I make it clear that they can return to their current lenses, but they know they have choice. I say, for example, ‘I’d be interested in your feedback as its new,’ or ‘We know you are enjoying what you have, but it would be nice to see if this is going to be better for you’,” she shared.

Being able to have successful conversations is built on the team understanding the products available, asking patients the right questions, and ensuring that the clinician can match the lens technology to the patient’s needs to identify the most suitable lens, McDearmid shared.

If the practice team is kept informed and educated, they are able to educate our patients

The practice owner uses internal training, as well as training from contact lens companies to ensure her practice team is armed with the knowledge required to comfortably talk to patients about new contact lenses.

When McDearmid receives a new fitting set in practice she involves the whole team.

She will bring the team together to talk them through the new lens and show them how it works.

“With Acuvue MAX for example, I got my blue light pen out to show them the filter. This brings the technology to life for them,” she shared.

“Training is about using a language that the whole team understands,” she added.

The team will also try news lenses, providing them with a personal experience.

“If the practice team is kept informed and educated, they are able to educate our patients,” McDearmid said.

She noted: “The team is then able to reassure patients who may be struggling that there is a suite of different lenses that could work for them, while also talking to happy contact lens wearers about the options available.”

While McDearmid favours the personalised conversations that happen in practice over an email shot to patients when a new lens is launched, she uses the practice’s social media channels to keep patients and the wider community informed. That can lead to calls and in-person conversations.

“We want our contact lens conversations to be a personal experience that is based on each patient’s unique lifestyle and requirements,” she shared.