Practitioners need to talk to patients more about eyewear options, keep up to date with the latest technology developments and make products easily available if penetration of contact lenses into the market is to be improved.
These were among the opinions voiced during a lively debate at the second Question Time held at The Vision Care Institute (TVCI) hosted by Johnson & Johnson last week.
Chairing the debate was TV anchor John Suchet who took questions from the floor and an online audience for the panellists.
On the panel were Dr Philip Morgan, director of Eurolens, Boots Opticians' professional services director David Cartwright, David Mitchell, head of pharmacy at J&J and Nick Atkins, founder of Independents Day.
In response to a question on the low level of penetration of contact lenses, Cartwright said it was ironic that 50 years after the introduction of contact lenses, penetration was still around 10 per cent of the potential market.
'Back then [when it was launched] I am sure they thought it would be much higher.' Cartwright said practitioner action was the driving force behind market share. 'If practitioners talk about contact lenses, patients will try them,' he added.
Dr Morgan defended the UK's record on penetration, insisting it 'was holding its own against the rest of Europe', but admitted the US and Scandinavia did much better.
These differences, he suggested, were down to the attitudes of practitioners. He also raised the issue of availability, saying: 'Obtaining contact lenses is quite a complex process in many ways and that affects access to lenses.'
Atkins said optics had not been good at getting messages across to patients. 'If a conversation doesn't take place they assume it's not for them,' he said.
Speaking from a patient's perspective Mitchell said he had never been offered contact lenses.
Answering a question on drop-outs, Atkins said the full benefit of the latest generation of products was not being realised. 'There's an onus on practitioners to be aware of what innovations there are in the market.'
The panellists saw the children's contact lens market, multifocals, and technological advancements as key factors for future growth of the contact lens market.