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A patient who stopped wearing contacts when they started using reading glasses may assume their days in lenses are over. Another may have been told years ago that astigmatism ruled them out. Neither is likely to ask about a fitting. On The 20/20 Podcast, Dr. Harbir Sian and Dr. Harmin Chima, vice president of professional services at West Point Optical Group, explored what happens when optometrists bring up contact lenses first and how private label contact lenses fit into the business of providing that care. CooperVision supported the episode.
Topics Covered :
What Are Private Label Contact Lenses?
Private label contact lenses are made by a manufacturer and sold under a practice or retailer’s brand. Sian and Chima discussed examples from CooperVision’s portfolio in which the private label and national-brand versions use the same lens design under different packaging. Chima said a lower acquisition cost can give practices room to improve margins or pass some of the savings on to patients. A practice-branded product can also give patients a familiar place to reorder.
The doctors looked beyond the margin on a box. The practice also provides a professional service through the contact lens fitting and may see the patient again for follow-up care. Those visits are part of the value of a contact lens patient relationship and can get overlooked when a practice focuses on product sales alone.
Bring Up Contact Lenses During the Eye Exam
“We cannot wait for our patients to ask about contacts,” Chima said. Toward the end of an exam, he explains which vision correction options are appropriate for the patient. That conversation can bring out a detail that never made it onto the intake form. A patient might want to play pickleball without glasses or wear contacts on evenings out. Someone who gave up contacts after developing presbyopia may be surprised to hear that multifocal contact lenses are an option worth discussing.
Sian takes the conversation a step further. When appropriate, he offers a brief in-office trial so patients can experience wearing a lens before scheduling a full fitting. He also tells first-time wearers that the practice will teach them how to insert and remove their lenses. That reassurance addresses a practical concern patients may hesitate to raise on their own.
Explain Why You Chose the Contact Lens
Chima starts his recommendation with what he learned during the exam and what the patient wants to do in contacts. He might explain how reported dryness or difficulty seeing up close informed his choice, then ask how the lens feels and how well the patient sees. As he put it, “We let the lenses do the talking.”
For practices considering private label contact lenses, there’s a question worth asking before comparing product costs. How many patients who could benefit from contacts hear about them during the exam? A patient may only want lenses for weekends or special occasions. That can still solve the problem that made them curious in the first place.
