Contact Lenses As a Growth Engine

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As an optometrist in Hialeah, Florida, I cater to a unique patient base, including a diverse demographic of working-class individuals. My practice, adjacent to a Walmart Vision Center, serves a wide age range, from pediatrics to seniors, with a significant focus on myopia control and specialty contact lenses. A substantial por­tion of my patients are in their 30s to 60s. I also operate a second location, OK Love Myopia Control Experts, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, which is dedi­cated to myopia management. Over 90% of our patients at this location benefit from orthokeratology lenses, commonly known as night lenses. This focus on managing myopia sets my practice apart and ensures we provide tailored solutions for our patients.

PRACTICE-SPECIFIC MARKETING STRATEGIES 
In my Walmart location, where most patients don’t closely follow social media and most are Spanish speaking, we’ve found that word-of-mouth referrals are the most effective marketing tool. Patients value seeing a doctor who speaks their language and understands their culture, and they frequently refer their family members and friends to us. Our emphasis on cultural competency, which includes ensuring every team member in our clinic is bilingual, has been instrumental in our patient-centered approach.

In addition to our referrals and walk-in business, I’ve discovered that there’s still room to reach new audiences. Last year, we joined a marketing program run by one of our contact lens manufacturers. It’s a comprehensive partnership designed to support doctors like me—independent leaseholding optometrists. The program sends mailers to potential customers in our local area on our behalf, encouraging them to come in for a contact lens evaluation. This simple concept has significantly increased our online engagement, which I hadn’t anticipated. Since joining the program, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in traffic to our website. I also love the patient education tools I’m provided, which make it simple to explain the advanced technology behind premium contact lenses. Additionally, the platform is an excellent resource for training and educating my staff about the latest in contact lens technology.

Another partnership that has been instrumental to our success is our strong relationship with the Walmart Vision Center team. Their staff trusts my team’s clinical skills and knows we will always prioritize patients’ needs. This collaboration enhances the qual­ity of care we provide and fosters a sense of trust and reliability among our patients.

SIMPLIFIED ORDERING CAN BOOST SALES 
Patients are busy and value convenience. We've found that using ordering platforms on integrated apps can boost in-office contact lens sales. Many patients tell me they won’t order the lenses themselves, that they prefer that my staff and I place the order for them. So, it’s best to process the contact lens order right there in the office, before the patient leaves. Of course, if the patient isn’t ready to purchase lenses that day, we can send them the link to order for home delivery. Patients love it when we can make ordering contact lenses easy. Some practitioners may hesitate to encourage patients to close the sale in the office, but we’re providing patients with a service by removing this item from their to-do list. Currently, we use the MARLO app for ordering Alcon lenses and Dr. Contact Lens for other brands.

My staff and I take a proactive approach to scheduling, understand­ing that life is busy and without mul­tiple reminders, even the most loyal patients can forget an appointment they made 12 months ago. Therefore, we preschedule annual exams before patients leave, then call them 2 weeks in advance, 1 week out, and again the day before their next visit. This proac­tive approach to scheduling removes the burden from patients and helps us increase the number of exams.

CONTACT LENSES ARE A NATURAL REVENUE SOURCE 
A common trend to increase revenue among optometrists is adding a specialty to their clinic, such as dry eye, myopia management, or advanced disease care. While specialties are rewarding, they require substantial upfront investment in education, staff training, and specialty equipment. A more straightforward and often over­looked growth opportunity is increasing the number of contact lens fittings. By using the strategies I've described, my business had an increase in revenue of 20%. Furthermore, contact lens patients are more likely to schedule annual eye exams than eyeglasses users, and they tend to remain loyal to their provider. This is especially true for two groups, children and presbyopes.

Contact lenses can be life-changing for children. Even though glasses have become a fashion statement among young adults, school-aged kids still get teased for wearing them, so they hide them in their backpacks as soon as they get to school. I’ve seen so many young patients light up when I tell their par­ents that contact lenses are an option.

For presbyopes, multifocal contact lenses can restore the seamless vision they’ve been missing. I often see high myopes reach presbyopia and suddenly struggle. They’re thrilled when I fit them with a multifocal lens tailored to their needs.

A NEW MODALITY THAT MEETS PATIENTS’ NEEDS 
Recently, one innovation I’ve had remarkable success with is the Precision7 one-week replace­ment lens (Alcon). This lens offers a unique balance of convenience and comfort, making them an excellent choice for many patients. As much as I want to put every patient in a daily dis­posable lens, it is not a realistic option for everyone. For those who’ve come to me from other practices and have been used to a 30-day or even a 14-day lens, switching to a daily lens is a significant change in routine. A weekly replace­ment schedule for these patients is intuitive and easy for them to adjust to.

One of my favorite aspects of the Precision7 weekly replacement lens is that it is FDA-approved for overnight wear. Many patients sleep in their lenses regardless of our recommenda­tions. When a patient tells me they do this, I see it as an opportunity to thank them for their honesty and reassure them that I have a lens that lets them do that safely. The lens allows me to meet them where they are and build trust and rapport, rath­er than lecturing them about what they “shouldn’t” do.

Also, the cost of daily disposable lenses can be a barrier for some patients, and the 7-day lens offers a more affordable option, with a similar price to a 30-day modality. Patients tell me they’re very pleased with the comfort of the 7-day lens, and I don’t worry about compliance issues like I do with 30-day lenses (I find it’s too easy for patients to forget to replace their lenses every 30 days).

FINAL TAKEAWAYS 
I attribute a large part of my prac­tice’s success to having a supportive network of corpo­rate and industry partners. I appreciate that having access to practice-management tools like premium eye care solutions, seamless ordering systems, automated scheduling reminders, and targeted marketing campaigns allows me to focus on connecting with my patients and providing excellent clinical care. I feel that I’m succeeding at work if I can stay abreast of innovations, understand and meet my patients’ needs, and make their visits easy.

Glenda Aleman-Moheeputh, OD 
Owner, ISmart Vision Care, Miami, FL
Owner, OK Love Myopia Control Experts, Pembroke Pines, FL
gmoheep@gmail.com
Financial disclosure: Speaker (Alcon)