The benefits of a proactive approach to contact lens fitting

Abstract

A multicentre, controlled, masked and randomized trial was conducted to evaluate the benefits of proactive contact lens recommendation by optometrists on prescribing trends. From 1st January 1995, patients presenting for routine eye examination to the practices of three optometrists were selected according to the study criteria. The first 150 patients satisfying this criterion were prescribed contact lenses only if they specifically asked to try them. The next 150 suitable patients had the option of contact lens correction presented to them. Every patient trying contact lenses was offered a ‘free trial’ of 1. Day Acuvue, or Acuvue or Surevue (Vistakon, Johnson & Johnson). The practitioners had the freedom to use products of other manufacturers if this was clinically necessary. Patient-initiated trials resulted in 17% of patients being fitting with lenses, whereas practitioner-initiated trials resulted in significantly more patients being fitted with lenses (31%; P<0.0125). Presbyopic patients were less likely to try contact lenses than pre-presbyopes (10% and 34% respectively; P<0.0001); however, whether or not the patient was presbyopic had no effect on the success of trials (non-presbyopes = 90%; presbyopes = 78%). Eighty-eight per cent of all patients in the trials were successfully fitted with lenses. The results of this study demonstrate that a proactive approach to contact lens fitting is likely to have a positive impact on increasing the number of contact lens wearers.