The Inside View With Andrew S. Bruce, LDO, ABOM, NCLEM, FCLSA

Eyecare Business connects with EB board member Andrew S. Bruce, LDO, ABOM, NCLEM, FCLSA, for The Inside View—a video series dedicated to exploring overarching conversations taking place across the eyecare industry. Here, he shares his insights on the evolution of opticianry education alongside advancing lens technologies and how a change in perspective can help communicate the value of contact lens dispensing to patients.

The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.

My name is Andrew Bruce and I'm a licensed dispensing optician from Washington State with a master's in both ophthalmic optics and contact lens technology. I've had the pleasure of practicing for over 25 years, and now I have turned to education and industry consulting, so I have a whole new direction that I am exploring in my later years, which is so much fun. I'm excited to be here discussing some optical-related issues with Eyecare Business today.

EB: How should opticianry education evolve to keep pace with rapidly advancing lens and contact lens technologies?

I think what it comes down to is educating opticians to focus less on memorizing products and more on memorizing and understanding the science behind the products and the ways these products do what they do so that we can do what we do, which is providing patients with the best possible vision. It just makes sense, the way technology is evolving so rapidly, that it's going to continue to advance in all areas of optical operations. Those changes are inevitable. But providing opticians and other eyecare professionals in our industry with knowledge of how and why things work, and then keeping them updated and current with ever-changing technology, is going to be easier to do.

I also think providing education on how opticians need to be good communicators is essential. Obviously communication is a major part of what we do, as is being able to connect with our patients in the very short time that we have to be able to develop that trust with them. Developing that relationship that puts them at ease and puts them in a position where they feel comfortable accepting and agreeing with our recommendations so that we can recommend the best eyewear solutions is so important to getting to the right fit. So, educating opticians as to how to find out more about the patient's total eyewear needs—not necessarily just their daily pair, but what other tasks do they undertake throughout the day so that we can then recommend their total eyewear needs, whether it be contacts and glasses, or multiple pairs of glasses and bringing up the topic of contact lenses—is really invaluable.

Also, increasing contact lens education amongst opticians to make sure they are well trained and educated when it comes to guiding our patients through the contact lens process is equally important. We can show patients how to insert, remove, and care for their contacts and educate them as to the different options that are available to them. Oftentimes, the eye doctor doesn't have a great deal of time in the exam room to discuss everything and quite often opticians have more time. So it's important that we take the time to say, "Hey, did you want to talk to your doctor about contact lenses today? Is that something you've ever considered?" Because if we don't bring it up, the patient may make the false assumption that they're just not an appropriate candidate for contacts because we have not advised them otherwise.

EB: How can the industry better communicate the value of specialization in contact lenses and dispensing?

I think first and foremost, we need to switch the focus from price to value. A lot of patients have a tendency to focus on, well, how expensive is it? And how expensive are daily disposables going to be? But before we get into the discussion of price, we need to educate patients about the value of a daily disposable in terms of the benefits to their lifestyle, how they're so much more convenient, and how they are the healthiest contact lens modality out there for their long-term ocular health. That way, when we finally get to the topic of price, there are so many things that take higher priority in terms of the patient’s perception over and above price. We don't want price to be the first thing they consider.

We also need to make sure that the consumer is educated about the fact that contact lenses and eyeglasses are medical devices. They need to be fitted and fabricated by highly trained professionals. They're not just commodities that can be purchased anywhere. And unfortunately, that is a common misconception amongst today's consumers. Consumers already appreciate the value of the doctor, but we also need to really expand and increase their awareness of the value of opticians. And that is happening: Recent Contact Lens Institute research showed that consumers are starting to recognize the value of the optician at a significant level, relatively close to that of the doctor when it comes to guiding them through the contact lens process. But we still have some work to do. We still need to continue to reinforce the fact that working with a highly trained professional—an optician who is there to guide them through the optical process, whether it be with glasses, contacts, glasses and contacts, whatever—is beneficial because we are trained and dedicated to making sure that the patient sees the best they possibly can.

And that is our role. If we explain to our patients why we're doing certain things, if we explain why we're taking position of wear measurements for compensated freeform lens designs, if we explain why it's important that the patient comes back for a follow-up after they've tried their trial lenses for several days, then they understand why there are additional charges for what we're offering. They'll understand why different establishments offer different products and different types of eye care. And ultimately this will reinforce the value of the private independent practice and help the consumer understand the value of working with highly trained eyecare professionals.