editor’s perspective

Contact Lenses: What Tops Our List in 2015

BY JASON J. NICHOLS, OD, MPH, PHD, FAAO

As a reader reminded me a long time ago, it’s important to take a step back and consider the “big picture” as it relates to our perspective on things—and, in our case, to the contact lens field. With this in mind, we’ve presented a “top 10 list” of sorts occasionally through the years. You know the kind—the top 10 funniest movies, the top 10 actors/actresses, the top 10 ice creams, the top 10 fails. The “list of lists” goes on and on. In thinking about what our list of important topics in the contact lens field would include this year, many things come to mind. We would like to share some of those with you in this editorial.

Indeed, we are seeing many new contact lens materials, designs, and care solutions enter the market, and this is critical as we try to expand this arguably stagnant field. Along these lines, we have also observed changes in the dynamics of the marketplace, and this is important for us to follow as we challenge our practice patterns and meet the needs of our patients.

Speaking of changes in practice patterns, you will note that this is our Annual GP Issue—an issue in which we devote many of our articles to specialty contact lenses. You will also find the GP Annual Report written by our own Clinical Features Editor Dr. Ed Bennett starting on p. 24. This article features many interesting tidbits about trends in specialty contact lenses in clinical practice—trends in corneal and scleral GPs, specialty soft lenses, and hybrids.

There is also no doubt that myopia control is changing the way we practice contact lenses. Our most recent annual Practice Profile survey of readers found that many practices have incorporated myopia control with contact lenses, plus much more.

We hope that you dive into this issue of Contact Lens Spectrum as you reflect on your own contact lens practice trends.