CooperVision

CooperVision Unveils ECP Viewpoints for Eye Care Professionals

As an extension of its partnership with eye care professionals to share valuable insights and information across the profession, CooperVision, Inc. has introduced ECP Viewpoints. This one-stop resource is accessible from CooperVision’s practitioner homepage (www.CooperVision.com/practitioner/ecp-viewpoints), and features original content including peer-written articles, legislative updates, and news and information from CooperVision’s Professional Affairs team.

ECP Viewpoints includes focus areas such as: “For Your Practice,” featuring articles written by eye care professionals about how practices are adapting to changes in patient behavior and the marketplace; “From the Lane,” which enables practitioners to share insights and practical experiences for building a successful contact lens practice; and “Best Practices,” containing updates from the program’s current and past honorees. Other sections include “Legislative Advocacy,” “Product Spotlight,” and “Optometry Students & Educators.”

“To keep our finger on the pulse of optometry and engage with our customers in meaningful ways, we partner with eye care professionals every day,” said Michele Andrews, OD, Senior Director of Professional and Academic Affairs, North America, CooperVision. “We’re uncovering insights about common topics of interest among practitioners, and also finding success stories—eye care professionals who have knowledge and experience to share. ECP Viewpoints is an opportunity for these insights to be cast more broadly, enabling more peer-to-peer information sharing across the profession.”

Content will be updated regularly, as well as aggregated into a monthly email newsletter. To read ECP Viewpoints, visit www.CooperVision.com/practitioner/ecp-viewpoints.

 

New CooperVision Study Shows Considerable Opportunities to Educate U.S. Consumers on Digital Eye Health

More than 1,000 Americans Weigh In on Digital Eye Fatigue, Device Use and More; Research Reveals New Ways for ECPs to Engage Patients on Critical Topics

A new study commissioned by CooperVision, Inc. and announced at Vision Expo West reveals that while the explosive use of digital device screens may pose vision challenges, only a fraction of United States eye care professionals (ECP) are talking about these issues.

Only six percent of U.S. consumers reported that they had spoken with an ECP regarding concerns about time using screens. However, 64% of contact lens wearers and 60% of glasses wearers reported they would be very interested or somewhat interested in exploring ways to reduce eye strain with their ECP.

“It’s clear that many people entering an eye care practice want to talk about their digital device usage with their eye care professional, even though such conversations are rarely being held,” said Michele Andrews, OD, Senior Director of Professional and Academic Affairs, North America, CooperVision. “With the growing adoption of groundbreaking products such as Biofinity Energys™ contact lenses – which recently celebrated their one-year anniversary in the U.S. – ECPs have new opportunities to engage in this discussion, providing even better care and welcome guidance in a digitally-dominated world.”

The study also cast light on terms used by consumers to describe how their eyes feel after spending long periods of time staring at digital screens – words and phrases that ECPs may employ to spark a conversation. These included tired (60%), dry (18%), blurry (17%), and strained (9%). To a lesser extent, words included fatigued, cloudy, scratchy, heavy, burning, and irritated. With 57 separate words or phrases reported in total, this points to a broad group of indicators, dependent on each person.

Among all surveyed adults, 16% report being concerned about the amount of time spent looking at screens in an average day. That jumps to 25% among contact lens wearers.

A portion of consumers are practicing good habits when their eyes felt fatigued from screen use, including taking a break for a few minutes (74%), closing their eyes for a few minutes (48%), and looking away for a few seconds (40%).

“Interestingly, Millennials (18-34) were more likely than older respondents to behave like this, perhaps from being digital natives,” said Andrews. “There’s still room for to grow these good habits among people of all ages, through regular advice and reminders from ECPs.”

When it comes to overall health, most consumers don’t think of their eyes first. 57% try to eat healthy, and 40% report exercising at least once per week, yet only 10% say they exercise their eyes regularly.

“As much as we rely on our eyes as the primary input device for digital screens, we have a long way to go in helping consumers understand the importance of eye health,” noted Andrews. “When 24% of the population say they actively research and maintain knowledge of how to live a healthy lifestyle, yet only 9% do the same to keep their eyes healthy, it speaks to significant opportunity. ECPs can take that leadership role, and based on what the data tells us, consumers are eager to listen.”

Biofinity Energys™ with Digital Zone Optics™ lens design is the first contact lens specifically created for digital lifestyles. These pioneering contact lenses are engineered from the ground up, combining breakthrough optical properties with an advanced moisture-retaining polymer material. Approximately 14,000 optometry practices across North America are now prescribing the patent-pending lenses.

The CooperVision-funded study was conducted among 1,129 U.S. adults (18+) from August 22-23, 2017 by YouGov Plc. All figures have been weighted except for consumer-supplied phrases relating to eye fatigue.

LensFerry Now Offers EHR Integration; Automation Drives Practice Revenue

System Integration Allows Patients to Order Contact Lenses from ECPs Anytime and Anywhere; Enables Practices to Increase Revenue and Save Staff Time

The digital age has fundamentally changed the marketplace with US online contact lens sales totaling almost $700M. Giving patients a seamless way to buy lenses from their doctor has become more important than ever. Simplifying patient contact lens ordering and empowering practices to retain more contact lens sales, EyeCare Prime® announced today that itsLensFerry solution now integrates with electronic health record (EHR) systems utilized by eye care practitioners.

LensFerry allows wearers to order their prescribed contact lenses from anywhere at anytime, including text-to-order, subscriptions, an online practice portal, and other selling tools. The EHR integration enables contact lens prescription and ordering information to automatically sync between systems, streamlining the ordering process for both patients and practices.

“The new data sync functionality saves staff a significant amount of time, making LensFerry easier to use than ever before,” said Mark Lindsey, Global General Manager, EyeCare Prime. “LensFerry provides practices with automatic multi-channel selling capabilities so practices can drive lens sales even when their store isn’t open for business. Patients can order their contact lenses directly from their eye care practice with just a few clicks—any time of day, any day of the week—and the lenses are delivered right to their homes.”

With LensFerry, patients can quickly and conveniently order replacement contact lenses from any major manufacturer, and the prescribing practice receives the sales revenue as if the lenses had been ordered in-office. Patients are able to purchase lenses 24/7 by texting “order” or visiting their doctor’s custom-branded portal. The integration between LensFerry and practice management systems enables the patient’s prescription information to automatically pre-populate, making the checkout process simpler than many other retailers. Patients can also receive intelligent reminders based on purchases at the time of their exam including a “Win Back” campaign targeting patients who leave the office without purchasing anything. Subscriptions are also available for patients who want to pay monthly for their lenses, and receive automatic deliveries directly to their homes.

“In the current retail landscape, it is typical for many consumers to feel the need to shop around,” said Lindsey. “With those patients, there is a real opportunity to show them that the most convenient and reliable place from which to buy contact lenses is from their eye care practitioners. We have partnered with eye care practices to offer the tools necessary to make that possible. LensFerry enables practices to meet the needs of today’s anytime/anywhere patients by allowing them to purchase when, where and how they choose.”

For more information, visit eyecareprime.com.