Establishing a dry eye clinic

Located in the heart of London’s City district, close to St Paul’s, independent optometry practice, Eyelink Opticians, has seen demand for dry eye services grow. An estimated 60% of the patients who walk through its doors experience dry eye symptoms.

“Around 90% of our patients work in front of a screen for at least eight to 10 hours a day,” dispensing optician and practice partner, Bansri Shah, told OT when discussing the why the Hakim Group practice decided to establish a dedicated dry eye clinic just over 18 months ago.

The practice’s Eye Spa was introduced in November 2024, in direct response to patient need that the team was observing in practice.

Prior to establishing the spa, Shah explained that around 40%–50% of patients seen in practice were experiencing some form of dry eye. As a result, the practice was selling high volumes of eye bags and drops.

Discussing the patient need with optometrist and practice partner, Marcus Hosken, the duo agreed that investing in diagnostic dry eye kit would benefit both patients and the practice.

“We knew we wanted to invest in a diagnostic kit, but it had to make business sense,” emphasised Shah.

After trialling equipment at an industry event, Eyelink Opticians invested in the Idra ocular surface analyser.

Shah noted that the Idra provides a printable diagnostic report and recommended treatment options.

She highlighted this reinforces conversations in practice with patients: “It’s not just us saying it, [the Idra] demonstrates the clinical basis behind it.”

When establishing the clinic in practice, Shah and her team considered what patients would want from a treatment offering and how they would want it delivered.

Subsequently, the practice transformed a previous office area into a dedicated dry eye room, complete with reclining furniture that could be used during the 20-minute treatments and music playing in the background, and its Eye Spa was born.

Discussing how the practice embedded the new service into its offering, Shah acknowledged that they would have to take their staff on the journey as well as patients.

“We made sure staff were fully trained and that they went through the journey and had the treatment,” she said.

The practice team was also trained to ask clear questions when booking appointments over the phone and when patients attended the practice.

This made “a huge difference” to the patient awareness, Shah said.

She added that a lifestyle questionnaire that patients complete prior to an eye exam also allows for a clear handover to the optometrist, in which symptoms of dry eye are mentioned.

For the patient, the practice has created patient literature, which includes a leaflet that can be shared with patients to explain the service and potential benefits.

Sharing advice on establishing a dry eye clinic, Shah acknowledged that it is a big investment and advised: “Start small. If you notice people are buying the masks and drops, consider the next stage.”