The results of Optometry Australia’s 2019 survey confirm the ongoing popularity prescribing silicone hydrogel materials and daily disposable lenses in Australia, with a sudden spike in prescribing myopia control lenses.
Soft lenses are still the main type of contact lens fitted and accounted for 90% of new fits. “Soft lenses have represented the vast majority of contact lens fits since our survey began two decades ago,” said survey authors Professors Nathan Efron, Philip Morgan and Craig Woods.
Multifocal designs (27% of new fits) continue to be preferred compared to monovision (4%) for presbyopia correction. “This trend, which has been evident since the turn of the century, largely can be attributed to improved multifocal lens designs. The fact that almost one-third of soft lens fits are for the correction of presbyopia highlights the importance of this growing demographic in modern day contact lens practice,” said authors.
The report showed a sudden surge of interest in prescribing for myopia control (17% of new fits). Authors suggested the increase may be related to the recent introduction of CooperVision’s MiSight lens, specifically designed for myopia control. “In addition, the considerable discussion and debate in the literature, at conferences and in online forums has undoubtedly fuelled interest in this modality of lens correction.”
The 20th survey of Australian contact lens prescribing was conducted during the first three months of 2019. As previous years, all Optometry Australia members were sent a link to a questionnaire, asking optometrists to provide details of the first ten patients fitted with contact lenses after receiving the questionnaire.
