By Michael Pier, OD, – Director of Professional
Relations, Bausch & Lomb
Every day contact lens and lens care solution
manufacturers strive to make products that
are safer and easier for patients to use. As an
optometrist, I know that eye care practitioners
like me are primarily interested in safety and
efficacy; however, we recognize that patients
are more likely to comply with convenient and
easy-to-use systems of contact lens wear and
care. It’s common to see safety and compli-
ance messaging regarding contact lenses in an
eye care practitioner’s office and on the lens
solution’s packaging. However, a critical inter-
section where that compliance message could
and should be reinforced is at the retail shelf –
and here’s why.
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Patients are more likely to comply with
convenient and easy-to-use products.
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While the overall contact lens market shows
an increasing trend in the number of contact
lens wearers, there is also a significant num-
ber of patients who drop out of lens wear each
year. It’s important to note that a good per-
centage of these “drop outs” may discontinue
wearing contact lenses because of noncompli-
ance issues. Retailers and pharmacists should
be concerned about this trend because fewer
contact lens wearers, using less lens care
solutions, ultimately means fewer sales of
these lens care products at the shelf.
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A good percentage of “drop-outs”
stop wearing contact lenses because of
noncompliance issues.
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Proper contact lens care and regular return
visits to their eye care practitioner are essen-
tial for a patient’s safety and wearing success.
The reality is that greater compliance has a
direct causal relationship on patients’ contact
lens comfort and health, and that is why we
need to take contact lens compliance very
seriously.
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The reality is that greater compliance
has a direct causal relationship on
patients’ contact lens comfort and
health