While 72% of US optometrists wear 1-day silicone hydrogel lenses, a CooperVision study showed they prescribed them for only 33% of their patients.
CooperVision said its research also revealed that nearly six out of 10 (58%) optometrists who wore 1-day contact lenses chose to only wear silicone hydrogel material.
“When optometrists are overwhelmingly choosing the healthiest contact lens material for themselves, yet still prescribing it at a substantially lower rate for patients, we have to ask why,” said CooperVision’s senior director of professional and academic affairs for North America, Michele Andrews. “This new finding adds to our recent study on silicone hydrogel 1-day prescribing. It points to eyecare professionals’ (ECPs’) misunderstandings about how patients perceive cost and comfort, leading to missed opportunities to recommend the best contact lens option.”
CooperVision’s findings were based on proprietary research among more than 450 ECPs and 1,500 consumers in Japan, the United Kingdom and United States, detailing attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours.
In the US, 96% of ECPs agreed that if costs were equivalent they would choose silicone hydrogel over hydrogel for their 1-day patients. Yet 74% of US consumers said they expected their ECP to recommend the healthiest option regardless of cost, and 82% of US consumers were likely to follow the advice of their ECP no matter the cost.
