The contact lens follow-up factor: A conversation with Drs Brianna Rhue and Diana Canto-Sims – Part 1

Diana Canto-Sims, OD, has a question for you. "How many of your contact lens patients are slipping through the cracks because you don't have a follow-up system?" she asks. "How much revenue are you losing every year simply because you're not following up with your contact lens patients because you don't have time?"

To answer these questions, Canto-Sims spoke with Brianna Rhue, OD, FAAO, FSLS, cofounder of Dr. Contact Lens, a system that integrates with electronic medical records to automate the contact lens sales process.

To read Canto-Sims' complementary article that details contact lens management options, click here.

Current industry challenges

Canto-Sims and Rhue agreed that maintaining consistent patient communication can be a struggle, with contact lens follow-up often falling through the cracks. are struggling with patient communication, often confusing patients. For example, Rhue stated that patients aren't leaving practices for their contact lens needs because of cost, but rather due to conversation complexity and confusion.

System benefits and features

The system provides several key functionalities:

• Automatically uploads prescriptions from EMR
• Tracks orders
• Identifies nonorders
• Enables patient reminders for reorders

Implementation and success stories

Implementation typically takes about 2 weeks, with the process becoming faster due to AI implementation. Notable success cases include one practice making $5863 within 2 hours of implementation, with another practice preparing their patients by sending emails before going live and generating over $94,000 in 1 week.

Business Impact

The system aims to:

• Make practices more effective
• Help retain patients from moving to online retailers
• Guide practices through the process evolution
• Measure and demonstrate real success

Financial Implications

Currently, many practices are operating at around a 70% capture rate, meaning they're doing 100% of the work but only capturing 70% of sales, with 1 in 3 patients walking away. The system helps practices not just collect data but monetize them effectively for their own benefit.