|
|
Total practice turnover has improved by 5 per cent on January figures to 173 Index points and is 3 per cent higher than February last year. This is the highest Index figure we have seen since June 2011 but annual growth is still negative at just under -1 per cent. Turnover per eye examination is up by £10 to £175.90 from January, this is £22 higher than February last year. This is an average value of the practices which submit data and the increase reflects the change in the sample from the start of this year to include only independent practices and regional chains.
Figure 1 shows the total number of eye examinations from February 2011 set against the sample average total number of spectacles dispensed over the same period. Total eye examinations increased this month by 4 per cent on January to 114 Index points and this is just under 1 per cent higher than February last year. For the last four years, from 2009, we have seen the total number of eye examinations peak in February. Annual growth for this indicator is just over 1 per cent and the moving average (which takes into account historic values over the preceding 12 months) has begun to improve again after the falls in the summer months of last year.
In the second half of 2011 the Index value for the sample average total spectacles dispensed increased at a faster rate than the total number of eye examinations and peaked in November at 107 Index points. The moving average has fallen more steeply than the number of eye examinations in the second half of 2012 and has not matched the increase in eye examinations over the last three months. This indicator increased by 8 per cent from January to 101 Index points and is 3 per cent higher than February last year. This improvement is also reflected in the average dispensing rate which now stands at 65 per cent, a 1 per cent increase on February last year.
All lens types increased for the second consecutive month, single-vision lenses went up by another 6 per cent to 75 Index points, 1 per cent higher than February last year. Bi/trifocal lenses increased by 8 per cent to 69 Index points, also 1 per cent higher than February last year. Progressive lenses show a 10 per cent improvement from last month to 215 Index points, which is 8 per cent higher than last February.
New contact lens fits went up by 6 per cent from January to 133 Index points; this is 7 per cent higher than last February. Solution sales also increased by 2 per cent on last month to 83 Index points but this is 11 per cent lower than February 2012.
Private and NHS eye examinations (Figure 2) show comparison over the same two-year period with the introduction of a linear trend-line (which takes into account only the values included in the chart and no historic data). The trend for the total number of eye examinations is flat but the trend for the number of NHS examinations is falling slightly and this is matched by the rising trend for private eye examinations. NHS tests accounted for 77 per cent of all eye examinations carried out during February, which is 2 percentage points higher than January and the same percentage as February 2012.
Our panel has contributed the information for the following analysis on private eye examinations. It should be noted that the survey was only answered by independent practices last year so any comparison is relevant.
Examination fees charged ranged between £21 and £55; the average figure is £31.56 which is £1.16 higher than results from our survey in the same month last year. Figure 3 shows the percentage of practices with examination charges in fee bands of £5. The largest group, 38 per cent of our sample charge between £25 and £30, but the notable change from last year is the decrease in the number of practices which charge a fee under £25, from 21 per cent to 8 per cent, and the increase in practices charging £35 to £40, from 17 per cent to 28 per cent. An increasing number of practices provide an optical care programme for their patients and an allowance for the examination fee is included in the price of the package.
There does appear to be a relationship between eye examination fees and turnover (Figure 4), with fees tending to be higher in the larger turnover practices. However, practitioners with a monthly turnover under £20,000 charged an average of £30.15 for their standard private eye examinations compared with the lower average figure of £27.94 in the turnover group between £20,000 and £30,000. The larger turnover group, over £40,000 per month, charged an average of £36.19 which was £2.64 higher than last year.
The minutes our panellists set aside for a standard private eye examination varied between 20 and 40, with the majority, 68 per cent allowing 30 minutes; this is 1 per cent higher than last year. The number of panellists allocating 20 minutes is unchanged from last year at 13 per cent and the number allocating 40 minutes has increased by 1 per cent to 9 per cent. The average amount of time allocated has increased from 29.5 minutes last year to 30.75 minutes. It appears that independent practices are differentiating themselves from the national multiples by improving levels of service.
Photochromic lenses decreased this month by 1 percentage point to 11 per cent of dispensing, which is 2 percentage points lower than February 2012. The percentage of spectacles dispensed as re-glazes decreased this month by 1 percentage point to 15 per cent, which is 6 percentage points higher than February last year. Reflection-free coatings increased by 2 percentage points from last month and in February were applied to 39 per cent of spectacles dispensed. This is a 7 percentage point fall on February 2012.
Please note all figures shown are adjusted to a 25-working-day month. In February 2013 there were 24 working days. ?