Q&A: Andrew Millington

In general, what do practitioners find most challenging about contact lens dispenses?

Andrew Millington I think one of the main challenges faced by optometry is that contact lenses are seen as a separate entity, in the same way as sunglasses and sports eyewear are seen as an add-on or an alternative. We need to think in terms of shared care, as we do for chronic conditions, rather than a health-based model of episodic intervention when we fit lenses.

We still think of people as contact lens or spectacle wearers when we should be thinking about good vision and the quality of the patient’s life. Talking about contact lenses, varifocals, VDU specs and a pair with an intermediate add for shaving isn’t the hard sell. I would argue that it is unethical and negligent not to offer them to someone who would benefit from them.