Contact Lenses

We have been the fortunate recipients of innovative technologies in contact lenses that were only concepts a mere decade ago. As a profession, we transitioned most of our two-week and monthly disposable contact lens wearers who were in traditional hydrogel materials into silicone hydrogel materials.

When we take a step back and think about what happens in our offices-in our exam rooms-we realize what a huge impact we have, dare I say “control,” on the growth of our contact lens practice. Yet so many elements of our everyday operations challenge that control and cause us to forget or push to the side the techniques we know to grow our contact lens business.

Bausch + Lomb, a Valeant Pharmaceuticals company, has acquired Alden Optical Laboratories. The acquisition is the latest in a series of moves by Bausch + Lomb that sent ripples through the gas permeable subset of the contact lens industry.

In a recent filing, Dallas-based gas permeable (GP) contact lens laboratory TruForm Optics has taken legal action against Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The class-action complaint aims to stop competitive behavior, obtain damages for past competitive behavior, and to restore competitive market conditions.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals and its subsidiary Bausch + Lomb have come under fire for its recent actions in purchasing competing gas permeable (GP) contact lens manufacturer Paragon Vision Sciences, attempts to purchase independent GP laboratories, price increases, and withdrawal from industry support group Contact Lens Manufacturers Association (CLMA).

It is a constant challenge to be able to inspire patients to care meticulously for their lenses when life is easy, but what happens to that care when life gets hard? What happens when their schedules are upside down, and they are on the go? Travel influences how patients wear and care for their lenses-let’s look at the how, why, and most importantly, what we can do about it.

The American Optometric Association (AOA) has called upon the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to strengthen its Contact Lens Rule to prevent its manipulation by contact lens retailers for their own financial benefits, causing potential harm to patients.

Halloween is here, so we asked eyecare professionals on ODWire, ODs on Facebook, and our own editorial advisory board to share their own patient horror stories.

In honor of Contact Lens Health Week late this summer, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) published a study titled Contact Lens Wearer Demographics and Risk Behaviors for Contact Lens-Related Eye Infections-United States–2014 which goes through the risks of contact lens wear and the costs associated with eye-related infections.

According to a recent report form the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are approximately 40.9 million adult wearers of contact lenses in the U.S.1 Numerous reports suggest that 16 to 31 percent of contact lens wearers discontinue contact lens wear and return to glasses.

At the Global Contact Lens Forum at Vision Expo West, a panel of five offered suggestions on succeeding in a contact lens practice.

We believe that this is still an important topic, and we ask patient to bring in their contact lens case, solutions, and any other products they may be using to care for their eyes or contact lenses.

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is celebrating Contact Lens Health Week to raise awareness among contact lens wearers about proper lens care habits.

Are we innovating new ideas, products, and systems? If not, what does that hold for the future of our profession? This may not be something that you think much about, but it is the thing which I believe holds the future of optometry in its hands.

New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz spoke to student athletes about the importance of vision during a sports vision session at sports training facility IMG Academy.

Historically, we know that competing with big box stores for profit is an uphill battle-like trying to fight the Ebola virus with a Z-pack.

Your patients are conditioned to believe that if they take their Rx and just buy it online, they are going to get the best deal. That may have been a partial truth in the past, but today, you are often times able to offer your patients the best deal.

Optometry Times Editorial Advisory Board member Milton Hom, OD, FAAO, shared his top 10 multifocal contact lens tips during a session at the American Optometric Association’s Optometry’s Meeting.

Patients do not decide suddenly to drop out of lens wear. It is a progression that may occur over months or years.

Liverpool, UK-The British Contact Lens Association meeting features several panel discussion on a theme. Topics included a look into the future for managing myopia and contact lens discomfort. In addition, improve the success of your multifocal contact lens fits with expert suggestions.

Liverpool, UK-We have a roundup of what you need to know about information shared at the British Contact Lens Association meeting. Today’s topics range from reducing contact lens dropouts to understanding online shoppers to improving your communication.

Liverpool, UK- The British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) opened the first day of its 2015 conference with a day-long focus on myopia management. Professor Brien Holden, BAppSc, PhD, DSc, chief executive officer of the Brien Holden Vision Institute, offers several points to remember when managing myopia with contact lenses.

Today’s contact lens practice has an abundance of choices for almost every patient. We can pick a soft or gas permeable material, custom or conventional, multifocal or monovision.

Since 2013, one by one, the four major contact lens manufacturers (Johnson & Johnson, Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, and CooperVision) have enacted pricing policies that seek to limit what contact lens discounters can charge for certain products.

A new contact lens delivery service offers convenience to patients and financial benefits for practitioners-while offering an alternative to other online contact lens retailers.

After writing about lens care for more than two years, I wondered if my well had run dry. So this morning while on a flight, I perused PubMed and waited patiently for a new idea. When it didn’t come, I decided to turn to the guy next to me in 1A for a fresh perspective.

A recent study published in Optometry and Vision Science found that contact lens wearers who have poor hygiene habits also have increased bacterial contamination in their contact lens cases.

The American Optometric Association (AOA) recently updated several state associations on legislation which is backed by online contact lens retailer 1-800 CONTACTS.

Scleral lenses have gained popularity in the last decade. From a lens with limited viability for over 100 years to the fastest growing segment of the gas permeable lens market, scleral lenses have come a long way.

When we discuss specialty lenses, most doctors think of multifocal or toric soft lenses. The overwhelming market share of contact lens fits are in soft lenses. However, there is a resurgence of use of gas permeable materials. This has been led by the introduction of scleral and semi-scleral gas permeable lenses.