October 1, 2024
By David Anderson, OD, and Taylor Sprague, OD, FAAO
Photo Credit: Getty Images
One major challenge with presenting myopia management to patients and their parents is the price tag that comes along with treatments. Our job as optometrists is to convey the value of myopia management. By explaining the benefits in ways that parents can relate to, we hope to create an understanding that their child’s vision and long-term ocular health are worth investing in. This actually applies to all products and services that we provide. We focus on the best available visual and ocular health options, and we present our recommendations based on science-backed data and the patient’s specific needs.
While the options may always be clear to us as eye care professionals, patients are often limited by the cost. One of the main questions a parent asks in the exam room is, “How much will this cost?” That’s often followed up with questions about using their vision insurance or medical insurance to help pay for myopia management treatments. During our conversations with parents, we explain that myopia management is outside of their traditional coverage, leaving all treatments as out-of-pocket costs. To help make this conversation easier, we’ve created brochures that outline pricing for different myopia management treatments, and we encourage parents to read through them in the exam room to get a better understanding of our payment structure.
As with other areas of optometry, I think “planting seeds” is a big part of myopia management. While parents may not want to invest in treatment right away, by presenting the value and giving them information to take home, they may be more ready to move forward at the next visit. — Dr. Taylor Sprague
It can work well to have pricing laid out in a document so the staff can talk through pricing with the parents by following along. By having this information written down, parents can then take it home for further consideration if needed.
Different Options for Different Treatments
With three different myopia management treatments — low-dose atropine, soft multifocal contact lenses, and orthokeratology — the conversations regarding cost are tailored to each specific option. For starters, we always explain to parents that we charge a global myopia management fee that covers follow-ups for the first year. Then, after the first year, we typically charge on a per-visit basis. From there, the conversations vary depending on which treatment option we think is best for each patient.
Since the doctors are the only ones who are trained to educate parents on atropine treatment, we often have the conversations with parents about the average cost per bottle through the compounding pharmacy. However, our staff members will present the fees for myopia management follow-up visits. For the contact lens options, our technicians are fully equipped to present the costs for fitting fees and contact lens supply. They also see the patient back for insertion and removal training.
If we have done our job well by conveying the importance of these treatments, the cost presented by the staff should seem worth it to the family.
Staff Education Makes All the Difference
One big thing that we do to help our staff feel empowered to have these discussions with parents is to provide consistent training and education about what services and products we are using to help our patients. In the case of myopia management, we continue to teach them about the lenses and treatments and how they work.
We also constantly share our patients’ successes with the different treatments, highlighting the ways that their progression has slowed or, many times, even stopped. Helping our staff see the direct benefits of these treatments helps them become champions for us, and they can readily discuss this with parents using past experiences involving successful patient stories.
Help Parents Understand the Value of Myopia Treatments
We believe the key steps to helping patients and parents make the best decisions for their eyes start in the exam room. Providing clear education about the benefits of myopia management treatments and our concerns if the parent opts out usually helps with any fee concerns that parents may have.
When presenting fees and costs, always consider not just what it costs but what it provides. Use the value-add mindset when discussing things with patients. In other words, what is the value of a lifetime of reduced health risk, what is the value of a lifetime of better vision when waking in the morning, what is the value of having every corrective option available? All of this can be worth so much more than the fees we charge; we just must make sure these parents can understand what the value of their child’s future vision can be. — Dr. David Anderson
While we always focus on the health and vision benefits, we often use direct parallels in health care, such as braces for children’s teeth. Typically, parents understand the fees involved with orthodontics and that dental insurance doesn’t cover the cost of braces or the follow-up care needed for their child. By using this comparison, it helps parents understand the future benefits for their child’s eyes. We always want our families to realize that myopia management isn’t just assisting children to see right now, but it’s also helping prevent vision complications down the road.
Emphasize the Value by “Planting Seeds”
As with other areas of optometry, “planting seeds” is a big part of myopia management. While parents may not want to invest in treatment right away, presenting the value and giving them information to take home and germinate, they may be more ready to move forward at the next visit.
When presenting fees and costs, always consider not just what it costs but what it provides. Use the value-add mindset when discussing things with patients. In other words, what is the value of a lifetime of reduced health risk? What is the value of a lifetime of better vision when waking in the morning? What is the value of having every corrective option available? All of this can be worth so much more than the fees we charge; we must make sure parents understand what the value of their child’s future vision can be.
If you are confident in your treatment plan, it is always easier to convey the need for and importance of such treatments. Spend the time to become educated, understand the benefits you are providing to your patients, and embrace the future of eye care with myopia management. We truly are making a difference in our patients’ lives — not just now but far into the future. If you do not fully believe this, parents will have a hard time believing they need to spend the money to help their children.
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Dr. Anderson is a graduate of The Ohio State University College of Optometry and has been a partner at Miamisburg Vision Care for nearly 20 years. Since becoming partner, he has more than tripled revenues, while operating a practice that has grown to include 20 staff and six doctors. He has shown the ability to manage at a high level during his tenure on the Board of the Ohio Optometric Association, while successfully passing several new laws to benefit Ohio optometrists during his year as President of the OOA. He continues to serve on multiple committees at the state and national level, maintaining strong connections with leaders in all aspects of the industry. Now, he is taking his leadership experience and operations skill set to Optometric Management Group, a large group with over 15 locations in Ohio, as Chief Operations Officer.
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Dr. Taylor Sprague is a 2020 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Optometry. After graduation, she completed a residency in Binocular Vision and Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Optometry and is passionate about children’s vision care. She has been an associate optometrist at Miamisburg Vision Care for the last three years, and her special clinical interests include strabismus, amblyopia, and myopia management. She enjoys both domestic and international optometric service work and has provided eye exams at free clinics around Ohio and also in Jamaica. |
