The trends in UK contact lens prescribing 2016

Our survey into contact lens prescribing has grown considerably since we first reported on UK prescribing trends in 1996, some three years before the launch of the first silicone hydrogel contact lenses. Nathan Efron and I started the project in order to inform practitioners, researchers and industry about the types of lenses fitted in modern practice. With the assistance of a large number of colleagues who act as national co-ordinators around the world, this initiative has now collected information about 300,000 contact lens fits in 59 markets. Of course, the longest series of data is for the UK and this short paper provides information on contact lens fits in 2016 and represents the 21st consecutive annual report.^1-20