THERE IS CERTAINLY A LOT GOING ON IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, especially economically. Tariffs. Trade wars. Inflation. Stock market volatility. Even fears of recession. Many take the position that some of these economic corrections are necessary to undo unfair trade practices, recognizing that imported goods will become more expensive, while ultimately giving domestic goods a competitive advantage. Time will tell.

Have you stopped to think about the potential impact of these economic times on eye care? For instance, many “goods,” whether they be eyecare instrumentation or corrective devices, are produced outside of the United States, in whole or in part. Will there be a financial impact on practices? Will the increased costs of providing eye care using the latest diagnostic and therapeutic technologies be passed along to patients?

Speaking of corrective devices, some contact lenses are manufactured outside of the United States as well, again possibly in their entirety or in part (think even down to packaging materials of contact lenses). Will tariffs lead to changes in pricing structure in this category of visual correction? How will patients respond, given that many of them already believe that contact lenses are more of a “luxury” item than spectacles? How will new pricing affect the more expensive types of contact lenses (for example, daily disposables)? Will patients start to stretch their daily wear schedules into weekly or monthly wear schedules, perhaps negating the health and comfort benefits of daily wear? Again, only time will tell.

This is not the first time, and surely won’t be the last, that the eyecare industry is faced with market forces beyond its control. Whatever comes our way, we will make the necessary accommodations to get through it. We are closely monitoring these developments and will report back to you on any general trends we observe over the next several months.