Entering a brand new Optician Awards category is the mark of an innovative practice so when Johnson & Johnson launched the Contact Lens Patient Engagement Award it was always going to be exciting to see who made it to the shortlist.
Entry levels to new awards can be lower than to the established favourites but the category drew a good response. Just to turn up the heat further, entrants in this category were also asked to submit a short video to back up their entry. The videos can be viewed by clicking on the images below.
Award entrees were asked to demonstrate how they brought contact lenses to the widest possible audience, innovation and new approaches and the four shortlisted practices delivered these in spades. Below, in alphabetical order, is a flavour of the approaches taken to entries. The winner will be announced at the Optician Awards on April 9 at the Vox, Birmingham.
Classic Eyes is an independent practice based in Bournemouth and has a demographic which is significantly older than the national average.
Its entry takes this conundrum as a starting point but it doesn’t diminish the practice’s ambition to provide all of its patients with the freedom of contact lenses. It states its target as growing its contact lens business to equal half of its total sales.
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Classic Eyes’ rules of engagement state that contact lenses will always be discussed with patients. Clients will always see and be offered contact lens information and all patients are offered a contact lens comfort trial during their eye examination.
Despite its demographic, Classic Eyes places a great emphasis on contact lenses for younger wearers and also shows children, and their parents, the possibilities for myopia control with Ortho K lenses. Sport and active pastimes are also cited as reasons to discuss contact lenses.
Additionally patients browsing for frames are offered contact lenses under the EASE programme and this has been very successful with presbyopes.
Once patients leave the practice Classic Eyes aims to continue contact to ensure retention and upgrading to new products. It has also partnered with a contact lens supplier, Clearlab, to be able to offer its own private label brand of lenses available at competitive prices. These are not available from the internet and aid retention, it says.
Damian Conway of Dipple & Conway, Norwich put his success in contact lenses down to regular contact with patients. He says engagement means regular contact between the practitioner and patient on many levels and he uses several linked strategies to illustrate this.
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These include regular contact letters, not the ‘tombstone’ reminder letters but carefully-timed and subtly-worded letters designed to reduce drop-outs. He sees patients every six months at relevantly-timed intervals.
Dipple & Conway also use telephone contact, email and encourage patients to recommend contact lenses to their friends. Positive Google reviews, newspaper advertising and networking outside of the practice also play their part, as does the use of in-practice materials to educate the patient on wear and care of their lenses.
The practice states that convenient appointments and out-of-hours telephone advice are also important, as well as add-ons, be they tinted lenses, reading spectacles or short-term contact lens wear for holidays. The practice also shows a genuine interest in the patient, listening carefully to what they want and following up communication. Through these techniques Dipple & Conway hope to plug the leaks in the bucket and build their wearing base rather than continually replace patients.
Hammond and Dummer’s entry maintained that there is a contact lens for everyone and the practice is determined to find it.
It boasts over 50 types of contact lenses and patients range from seven years to 84-years-old. It ensures all members of staff are involved in the contact lens process and all staff receive the same training so they can communicate confidently with patients about contact lenses. All of the Hammond and Dummer team have worn contact lenses so can speak from experience.
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All patients booking an eye exam are offered a contact lens check and if the patient says they don’t wear contact lenses they are offered a trial. Hammond and Dummer says not having a ‘go to’ lens helps with success as all patients are treated as individuals and their lifestyle and needs are taken into account. Patients get as many fittings as required to make the process successful.
Keeping up with the latest technologies and trends was also a feature of this entry and it too offers othokeratology through the Eye Dream lens as an alternative to laser surgery and for the control of myopia. Hammond and Dummer also works closely with manufacturers when a new lens becomes available, providing mailshots to convert existing wearers and encourage new ones. It also employs technology in the assessment and monitoring of eye conditions.
For patients with more specific needs Hammond and Dummer offer prosthetic and coloured lenses for the treatment of colour deficiency or dyslexia.
Volume and universal appeal were a major thrust in the entry from Specsavers Chelmsley Wood which has a large, dedicated contact lens area and staff dedicated to contact lens wear.
The practice utilises Specsavers Sight Test and Contact Lens appointments and promotional ideas which are all designed to bring patients into practice and then create the ability for the practice to see as many contact lens patients as possible.
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Staffing played a big part in the entry with part of the pre-reg’s time set aside exclusively for contact lens training. Assistant training and optical assistant training also take place. Patients are further encouraged through promotional events such as a ‘Big Fit’ day.
The practice tries to be flexible when it comes to communication and follow-up with patients. It also uses other brands to meet wider needs, such as last year's Contact Lens Product of the Year, Mark ‘Ennovy’s Gentle 80 lens. Within the entry the targeting of specific groups, from children, to multifocal wearers was outlined but the engagement of staff in the process at all stages is also stressed.
