Contact lens trends: 2018 data on UK contact lens prescribing

To inform practitioners, researchers and industry alike, we have reported on the contact lens fitting behaviours of British optometrists and opticians since 1996.1-22 This has allowed us to capture the impact of daily disposable soft lenses, the success of silicone hydrogels and increases in the use of soft toric and multifocal lenses, amongst other trends.

After starting the work in the UK, other colleagues from around the world expressed an interest in collecting similar information for their markets to the point where The International Contact Lens Prescribing Survey Consortium has now gathered information about contact lens prescribing patterns in 62 countries. The results from this endeavour are published in national and international trade and academic journals. The annual survey seeks to collect generic, prospective information about 10 lens fits conducted after receipt of the survey form which is sent out at the start of each calendar year.