This Podcast is in Partnership with Johnson & Johnson Vision

There’s a lot of science that goes into a contact lens, and we all know it’s more than clear vision that our patients need to be successful lens wearers. What are the main principles that make a comfortable contact lens?

* Coefficient of friction* Edge design* Wettability* Modulus

We’re going to nerd out a little here. Let’s talk about something that I think is easy for doctors to explain to patients in the exam room – thin edges.

* Acuvue 1 Day Moist and Acuvue Oasys 1 Day both have “invisible edge design” – a thin tapered edge that lets the eyelid glide right over as if nothing is there. This minimizes interaction with the eyelid

When you talk about eyelid/lens interaction, it’s the coefficient of friction that determines how easy it is for the eyelid to glide across

* Studies show the lower the coefficient of friction, the better the comfort* Research shows Acuvue brand lenses have a consistently low coefficient of friction throughout an extended day of wear! In fact even after 18 hours, Acuvue Oasys 1 Day coefficient of friction was never more than that of the natural cornea.

Dryness is a HUGE issue right now with contact lens wear. And kids are experiencing dry eye at alarming rates with the increased screen time required in the past year. How are we addressing that in contact lenses?

* Wettability of a lens – have to maintain wetting for both hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions of the lens material* Talk about what makes Acuvue lenses are different with Polyvinyl pyrrolidone/PVP

Last but not least, let’s talk Modulus. In my experience, this is an extremely important lens characteristic especially for new wearers like kids who might get easily frustrated with inserting and removing lenses, and give up before they even have a chance to enjoy contact lenses in their daily life.

* Define modulus: measurement of how stiff a contact lens is; how resistant it is to deformation under tension* Stiffer lenses can create more mechanical resistance to the lid and cornea* Acuvue brand lenses have 2 very different options: Acuvue 1 Day Moist is a low modulus (38 PSI) lens versus Acuvue Oasys 1 Day is a 99

7. What’s the take-home for doctors who want to prescribe a successful contact lens right from the start, and educate their patients about why they’ve selected the lens they’ve chosen when patients are getting inundated with advertisements for dozens of different brand options?

* A goal for every contact lens fit is to reduce on-eye friction and mimic the most natural ocular condition* Screen use is a major factor for contact lens discomfort: as digital device time goes up, blink rate goes down thus anything that preserves the tear film dynamic will be a benefit for vision and comfort

This Podcast is in Partnership with Transitions

If you’ve been noticing a big uptick in the discomfort and amount of help your patients need over the past year, you are not alone! The impacts of COVID-19 are continuing to be felt in the exam room for eyecare providers around the country as our patients come in with more concerns and symptoms from prolonged screen use. Our guest on this episode is Jonathan Ormsby, Senior Key Account Manager for Transitions Optical, and he’s breaking down the study data that supports just how much our patients are needing help in relieving their daily eye strain and ocular discomfort!

The Transitions Optical Workplace Wellness Survey conducted in 2021 interviewed 1,300 US adults and the findings show significant increases in digital eye strain and discomfort. This annual survey of employees whose employers offer vision benefits has been conducted for over a decade, and helps identify key trends in eye health and perception of premium eyewear options. This year’s annual Transitions Workplace Wellness Survey was conducted online among U.S. adults, ages 18 and up, employed full-time or part-time, and whose employers offer vision benefits. This year, participants were asked questions to identify the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on employees’ eye health and overall eye care, and to learn how the pandemic may have shaped their perspectives on the importance of annual eye exams, the use of eyewear that helps protect against harmful blue light and enrolling in vision benefits plans.

This year’s survey revealed that, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a rising number of employees report looking toward eyewear as a potential measure to prevent digital eyestrain and harmful blue light filtration. The increased interest in eyewear that helps to protect may be in part because employees also reported spending more time in front of their work computer screens since the pandemic began.  Specifically, the survey found that over half of employees spend more time in front of their work computer screens now than before the COVID-19 pandemic, with one in five employees reporting that they spend at least three more hours in front of their screen. Additionally, among those employees with increased screen time, 85% say they experience digital eyestrain frequently. Other takeaways from the survey include:

* almost six in 10 employees report experiencing more eye fatigue symptoms due to increased screen time since the COVID-19 pandemic began* The top symptoms reported by employees include headaches and dry eye* Light sensitivity complaints have increased with increased screen time* The survey ultimately revealed that in the next 12 months, employees intend to look more towards eyewear to help alleviate their digital eyestrain symptoms.

Specifically, one in three employees says he or she will seek information on blue light eyeglasses, update a prescription or buy new eyeglasses. In comparison, only 24% of employees say they would use a blue light screen filter, and 22% say they would change their computer monitor.

While patients are increasingly seeking the help of eyecare providers, Dr. Lyerly emphasizes that we have a limited opportunity in the exam to explain the important elements of any glasses that were prescribed that would address the patient’s specific complaints. If the patient just takes a copy of their prescription numbers, and gets eyewear filled online, the important protective elements that you had recommended would be totally absent from the eyewear they just purchased outside of your office, and they would not have seen any value or relief from your “prescription.” 

What do you wear to see patients? Scrubs? Business Casual? White Coat? Whatever you want? We have pretty much worn them all. A recent study has come out looking into how doctors dress and their patient’s perception of their professionalism. With little surprise (and much disappointment), women are viewed as less professional than men no matter what they wear. So we ask the question “What does professionalism even mean anyways??” Come chat and grow with us as we figure out how to challenge our beliefs. Want to read more? Check out the article, Public Perceptions of Physician Attire and Professionalism in the US.

Join Dr. Darryl Glover as he sits down with Mr. Dave Gilboa, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Warby Parker, as they talk about Warby Parker’s role in the eyecare industry and the future demands and unmet needs of our patients.

Gilboa shares his background and interest in both eyewear and ocular health goes back to childhood. Both of Gilboa’s parents are doctors, and growing up he was 100% sure he was also going to medical school. After majoring in biomedical engineering at U.C. Berkeley, his plan was to take the MCAT and apply to medical school. But at the time (early 2000s), his parents and other doctors that were in his life were expressing larger frustrations with the changes in healthcare -from the rise of HMOs, to the increased time required outside of patient care to perform their important jobs.  Their concerns over the future of medicine led him to reconsider his path, and after a stint in business and then returning to school for an MBA at Wharton, he teamed up with fellow MBA classmates for an idea that combined business innovation with the medical path he had always envisioned for his life; Warby Parker was born. 

The story has been well covered, but Gilboa describes in this podcast that the price of glasses was the primary influence in his and his classmates’ decision to create Warby Parker. In 2008 he was in the market to purchase new glasses, and was concerned to find his glasses were more expensive than his recent iPhone purchase (roughly $200 at that time). A fellow classmate at Wharton was involved with a service project called VisionSpring that was providing eyewear to people in need with incomes of under $4 a day in other countries, and that relationship with the service project helped create a pathway for them to find less expensive eyewear manufacturing routes. 

Dave Gilboa, Co-Founder of Warby Parker

Gilboa explains that innovation in Warby Parker is focused on making the experience as consumer-friendly as possible. “We don’t try to focus on developing technology or new tools just for the sake of it; we start by getting customer feedback and looking at customer data and then thinking about the mechanism we could create or develop that would reduce friction and make things easier for our customers.” Key customer feedback they’ve received is the desire for an enhanced ability to “try on” glasses from home, and they’ve created a virtual try-on feature in their app to address this need. But many customers also wanted to try glasses on in person, and that was the feedback that inspired their need for brick-and-mortar opticals (they have 135 locations as of March, 2021 with plans to open 35 new locations in the next year). Other needs their customers have addressed is frustration over the need to renew their prescription with an in-person exam when they feel their prescription has not changed, and they are looking at technology solutions for this issue. 

“We certainly don’t think of ourselves as a marketing company,” Gilboa explains when asked about the branding enterprise that has made Warby Parker a success. “First and foremost, we think about creating the best products and experiences for our customers. If we get those things right, the awareness will follow.” They closely follow consumer Net Promoter Scores; their NPS has been in the 80s for their entire company history. With over 11 years in business, the majority of their customers tell them that they heard about Warby Parker from a friend. Their strongest marketing channel is word of mouth referrals – not unlike traditional eyecare practices. 

We’re in the middle of a public health crisis, even as COVID-19 numbers improve and life begins to return to normal for millions of vaccinated Americans. Studies show myopia is the most common ocular disorder worldwide, it is the leading cause of visual impairment in children, and its incidence is increasing rapidly.1,2 In 2010, an estimated 1.9 billion people (27% of the world’s population) were myopic, and 70 million of them (2.8%) had high myopia. These numbers are projected to rise to 52% and 10%, respectively, by 2050.

Progressive and pathologic myopic changes are treatable, and FDA approved treatment option for myopia management, MiSight daily disposable contact lenses, have been on the market since early 2020.3  We sit down with Dr. Inna Lazar on this podcast as she shares her passion for myopia management, how she is addressing this need in her private practice, and what she is doing with her popular social media platform @dr.innalazar on Instagram (with over 27,000 followers) to raise public awareness.

After graduating from optometry school in 2015, Dr. Lazar went to work at a busy group practice in Connecticut, but found that it was hard to incorporate specialty care like dry eye and specialty contact lenses into such a fast-paced practice modality. She left to open her own private practice, Greenwich Eye Care. “I knew I really just wanted to concentrate on myopia management and dry eye,” Dr. Lazar explained. “That’s my passion; that’s why I went to school. The office is quite small (just 300 square feet) but it’s perfect for what I want to do.” 

Dr. Lazar embraces myopia management as medical optometry practiced to the fullest scope and she encourages all doctors to change their mindset that myopia is purely a refractive condition.  Studies show that in the USA, fitting rates of soft multifocal contact lenses for myopia control in children is less than 5%.4 Her calling to practice myopia management was inspired by simply seeing kids in need in her own clinic. “I don’t feel that it’s right to let kids just get worse,” Dr. Lazar explains. “How does a doctor decide that today I’m going to treat this patient with glaucoma, but I’m not going to address this kid with progressive myopia?” 

Dr. Inna Lazar, Optometrist, and founder of Greenwich Eye Care

How does she approach this concept with parents where it’s been normalized that children’s vision will get worse every year? “I drill the concept that this is not normal,” Dr. Lazar explains. “We do not allow kids’ vision to keep getting worse these days. We have a treatment; we treat this like any other medical condition.” As soon as the MiSight contact lenses became the first FDA-approved treatment for myopia management at the end of 2019, she was fast to get in line to get certified to prescribe the lenses. She found the certification process very informative, giving doctors insight into the scientific studies behind myopia progression and the risks of associated retinal disease, including glaucoma, cataract, and retinal detachment, that they can share and explain to concerned parents about why slowing myopia progression is so important to long term ocular health.

“We can change this child’s future by treating them, and that’s very rewarding,” Dr. Lazar explains. Her success in connecting with parents is all about the tone of how she presents myopia treatment. Dr. Lyerly shares that before MiSight certification,

Dr. Matthew Jones, Optometrist

Earlier this year Dr. Matthew Jones of Arkansas was the first optometrist in Arkansas to perform SLT following scope expansion laws allowing laser procedures for optometry in that state. We’re sitting down with Dr. Jones to talk about his experience serving the unmet need for glaucoma care in his local community, and about the legislative work that it took to make Arkansas’ scope expansion bill a reality.

This podcast episode was made possible with the support of Johnson and Johnson Vision. 

Building a practice is centered around creating an outstanding patient experience, but for many doctors, we can get stuck in our normal habits and routines. We’re joined by Dr. Danielle Richardson on this livestream video podcast as she shares how her practice breaks away from traditional office norms to create an unforgettable patient experience, and how she prescribes for clarity and comfort to provide patients with an upgraded lifestyle even after they leave her office.

Dr. Richardson practices at Zak Eyes in Los Angeles, a practice whose goal is to break free of the normal optometry office play book. Their mission statement reads “a new vision for an old industry”. The office is designed for a luxury experience but offers eyewear and comprehensive exams at an extremely competitive price point. Their private label eyewear line focused on 6 top-selling frame styles starts at $125 for a complete pair of frame, lenses, and anti-reflective coating. In non-COVID times, fresh carrot juice was made daily for patients to enjoy during their visit.  

There is no traditional waiting room, and pretesting equipment including an autorefractor and lensometer to read current eyewear is located in the optical so that patients’ exams begin immediately upon entry. Dr. Richardson explains that the schedule is kept purposefully spaced so that patients have a private and very one-on-one experience with the optician and the doctor. This personal attention creates a luxury shopping and concierge-style healthcare experience. 

In the exam room, Dr. Richardson focuses on ways she can upgrade her patients’ experience after they leave her office and return to their normal day to day. “I use the word ‘premium’ a lot when I talk to patients,” Dr. Richardson explains. “I talk about premium eyewear and premium contact lenses.” When speaking with other doctors, she notes that we often don’t lead with the best options because we are concerned about costs and how patients will perceive us if we start with an expensive option right out of the gate. But when patients understand their options and how the technology will solve specific issues in their life, the choice is often very clear that the best option is the best choice. “I always talk to patients about upgrading them to a premium contact lens, whether that’s because they have dry eye, or they need UV protection, or they need an astigmatism lens to get better visual clarity.” 

Daily disposable contact lenses are her go-to lens option. “A daily disposable is supposed to be the most comfortable modality,” Dr. Richardson explains to her patients. If her patients have signs or symptoms of dry eye during the slit lamp examination, she explains to them that their issues mean they need an upgrade to a premium product. Currently only 34% of Americans are prescribed daily disposable contact lenses, despite the fact that research shows they are both more comfortable to wear and safer than reusable contact lens options. A 2010 study where 83 symptomatic reusable contact lens wearers were refit into daily disposable lenses showed that after changing to dailies, patients reported statistically significant improvements in both symptom frequency and symptom severity for tired eyes, irritated eyes, blurred vision, redness, discomfort, and dryness.  Research also shows that patients wearing daily disposable lenses experience a 12-to-13-times reduced risk of corneal inflammatory events when compared with patients weari...