This article was originally published in a sponsored newsletter.

What’s holding back the growth of daily disposable lenses in your office? Barriers can come from different directions. Patients may have their own barriers along with inherent barriers that eyecare practitioners have developed over time. Let’s analyze the two most common barriers heard in the industry and discuss each one. 

1) Cost
Whether this barrier is presented from the patient or a presumptive barrier created by the practitioner, this could be a real barrier to growth for some people. Develop ways and strategies to break down this barrier.

First, if the eyecare professional has a presumptive barrier about the cost of daily disposable lenses, evaluate the positives of this technology. Allow patients to make the decision whether this technology is right for them and their budget. Daily disposable contact lens technology is the fastest growing technology with many new materials and available prescriptions. There are many reasons for this. They are often more comfortable and preferred by patients.

Second, if a patient presents this cost barrier, discuss the net cost when compared to reusable lenses. Keep it simple with this discussion. Discuss the net cost when factoring out the cost of contact lens multipurpose solutions (about a $100 a year) along with manufacturer rebates (sometimes $200 or more) provided for annual supplies of daily disposable lenses. After those two factors are subtracted, the net cost of daily disposable lenses is often very similar when compared to its reusable counterparts.

2) Waste
There are times when a patient will present waste with daily disposable contact lenses as a barrier. They may state: “It just feels like a lot of waste compared to my current contact lenses.” Discuss strategies for breaking down this barrier. This has been studied and discussed. Explain to patients that “[t]he average waste of one multipurpose solution or hydrogen peroxide solution bottle is equivalent to more than 2.5 years of daily disposable lenses.”¹ There is much improvement to be made in this area, but the plastic containers that daily disposables come in are all recyclable, and this modality actually creates less net waste than reusable lenses.

In Conclusion
Barriers to daily disposable growth may be assumed and/or real, but be prepared to address these barriers and allow patients to make the final decision on what is best for them. By breaking down barriers and adding in the positive factors of convenience and comfort, many patients will prefer daily disposable lenses. Be prepared to discuss these barriers and real growth will occur with this category of lenses.

Reference(s):

1. Yeung KK, Davis R. The Environmental Impact of Contact Lens Waste. Contact Lens Spectrum. 2019 Aug;34:27-30. Available at clspectrum.com/issues/2019/august/the-environmental-impact-of-contact-lens-waste. Accessed 2024 Feb 2.