Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | RSS
For years, many optometrists viewed myopia management as a service reserved for specialty clinics or private practices with advanced technology. Today, that mindset is changing. In this Defocus Media conversation, Dr. Jennifer Lyerly sits down with Dr. Robert Africano and Dr. Janelle Sventek to demonstrate that successful myopia management can be implemented in corporate optometry, academia, and virtually any clinical setting.
Through real patient experiences, practical communication strategies, and lessons learned from everyday practice, they show that slowing myopia progression doesn’t require a perfect practice—it simply requires a commitment to starting. Whether you’re looking to launch a myopia management program or refine your current approach, this discussion offers actionable insights that can immediately improve patient care and practice growth.
In Partnership with CooperVision
Table of Contents
What is Myopia Management?
Myopia management is the proactive treatment of childhood myopia using evidence-based therapies designed to slow eye growth, reduce prescription progression, and lower the lifetime risk of vision-threatening eye disease.
Why Every Optometrist Should Offer Myopia Management
Dr. Robert Africano believes the conversation should no longer be about whether doctors should offer myopia management—it should be about why they wouldn’t. Caring for children means looking beyond today’s prescription and focusing on protecting lifelong vision. Dr. Jennifer Lyerly echoed that perspective, explaining that today’s FDA-approved treatment options allow optometrists to shift from simply correcting vision to practicing preventive eye care.
Progressive myopia increases the risk of retinal detachment, glaucoma, and myopic maculopathy later in life. Instead of waiting for prescriptions to worsen every year, optometrists now have the opportunity to intervene earlier and potentially change a child’s visual future.
Building Myopia Management Into Any Practice
One of the biggest myths discussed was that successful myopia management requires expensive equipment or a specialty clinic.
Drawing from his experience within a large corporate network, Dr. Robert Africano explained how standardized protocols, educational resources, and doctor training made implementation seamless across multiple locations. Meanwhile, Dr. Janelle Sventek described how introducing pediatric care and myopia management helped grow a private practice before transitioning into academia, where she now teaches future optometrists how to successfully implement these services in practice.
Their experiences reinforce an important message: successful myopia management starts with commitment—not practice type.
How to Talk to Parents With Confidence about Myopia Management
Many doctors hesitate because they worry conversations about myopia management will be complicated or time-consuming. However, simple, relatable language can help families understand why slowing myopia progression matters and what treatment options are available.
Simplifying the discussion transformed Dr. Robert Africano’s success with families. Using language inspired by Dr. Justin Kwan, Dr. Africano explains, “Your child’s eye is growing too long too quickly, and it’s getting weaker.”
That simple statement helps parents understand that myopia is much more than needing stronger glasses every year. From there, he introduces proven treatment options, including CooperVision’s MiSight® 1 day, an FDA-approved daily disposable contact lens designed to slow myopia progression in children.
Dr. Jennifer Lyerly also encourages doctors to normalize the conversation by reminding parents that eye care has evolved. Rather than accepting stronger prescriptions year after year, clinicians now have FDA-approved options that can help slow myopia progression. She emphasizes that families should understand their choices and have the opportunity to select the approach that best fits their child.
Meanwhile, Dr. Janelle Sventek recommends giving parents time to process the information, providing educational materials, and following up after the visit. She has found that removing pressure while remaining accessible for questions can improve long-term treatment acceptance. The goal is not to force an immediate decision, but to help families understand that effective myopia management options exist and support them as they determine the best path forward.
You Don’t Need Axial Length to Get Started with Myopia Control
One of the most practical lessons came from the discussion surrounding axial length.
Although biometers provide valuable objective data, Dr. Janelle Sventek emphasized that they should never become a barrier to offering treatment. Before entering academia, she successfully managed myopia in private practice without axial length measurements by carefully monitoring refractive progression.
Dr. Robert Africano agreed, noting that his corporate practice also relies primarily on refraction rather than axial length while still delivering successful patient outcomes. The message for clinicians is reassuring: don’t wait for perfect technology before helping your first patient.
Overcoming the Biggest Myopia Management Barriers
Financial conversations, chair time, and confidence remain common reasons many optometrists hesitate to begin offering myopia management. Yet these barriers often become easier to navigate when doctors focus on their responsibility to educate families and recommend appropriate treatment options.
Dr. Robert Africano admitted that discussing cost initially made him uncomfortable. Over time, he realized his responsibility was to recommend the best clinical option and allow families to make informed decisions. Presenting MiSight 1 day as a daily investment rather than focusing only on the total annual expense also helped parents better understand the value of myopia control and its potential long-term impact.
Sharing a valuable lesson from her own experience, Dr. Jennifer Lyerly recalled that early in her career, she measured success by whether parents accepted treatment. Today, she defines success differently: making sure every eligible family understands that myopia management options exist. That mindset shift created more authentic conversations and stronger relationships with patients.
For clinicians concerned about introducing myopia management, the takeaway is simple: the doctor’s role is not to make the decision for the family. It is to clearly explain why myopia progression matters, discuss evidence-based options such as MiSight 1 day, and give parents the information they need to make a confident decision for their child.
The Future of Myopia Management Starts With One Patient
For Dr. Janelle Sventek, one of the greatest rewards now comes from teaching optometry students how to confidently implement myopia management in practice. Many students already understand the science; their biggest questions revolve around implementation, business models, and patient communication.
Likewise, Dr. Robert Africano enjoys watching skeptical externs become believers after seeing real patients whose prescriptions remain stable over time. He also shared the story of a father and son who had gone from practice to practice looking for a way to address the child’s progressing myopia. Dr. Africano introduced the family to MiSight 1 day, giving them a myopia management option at a time when the father felt there was little that could be done. These real-world experiences show how one patient can build a doctor’s confidence in myopia management and reinforce the value of putting evidence-based treatment into practice.
Whether practicing in corporate optometry, academia, or private practice, every doctor can begin with a single patient. As confidence grows, so does the impact on families and communities.
The future of optometry will not be defined by where doctors practice—it will be defined by their willingness to embrace evidence-based myopia management, introduce families to options such as MiSight 1 day, and improve children’s vision for decades to come.
