While daily disposable contact lens fits have increased over the past decade,1 frequent replacement contact lenses remain a vital part of a contact lens practice, offering an excellent option for patients and practitioners.1,2 In fact, recent data that surveyed eye care professionals across 17 global markets found monthly replacement contact lenses represented one-third of all soft contact lens fits.1
When selecting a go-to monthly replacement lens for clinical practice, it’s important to note: Biofinity® is the most trusted brand of frequent replacement contact lenses on the market,*3 providing wearers a comfortable and high-performing lens.4 For the practitioner, the Biofinity® family offers an expansive parameter range covering 99.96 percent of prescriptions 5 in addition to a wide portfolio of options to meet a variety of patients’ needs.6
For Dr. Dave Anderson, the Biofinity® family is a foundational cornerstone of his Ohio-based Miamisburg Vision Care practice. In this Q&A, Dr. Anderson shares insight on the benefits of monthly replacement lenses and his experience with Biofinity® in practice.
When is a frequent replacement contact lens the best choice for a patient?
Dr. Anderson: In a world of daily disposable contact lenses, sometimes it’s easy to forget about other great lens options and materials for our patients. In fact, there are times that a planned or frequent replacement contact lens may be the best option. Some obvious reasons are parameter availability and fit. If there is a desire to wear contact lenses, I often tell patients, ‘I have options for you.’ Biofinity® has such a huge parameter range5 that allows nearly all patients the ability to wear contacts. For patients with astigmatism, Biofinity® toric lenses are an excellent option.
Another time to consider a frequent replacement lens is for part-time wear. I know many think part time means a weekend wearer, but sometimes it could be someone wanting to wear a lens for 1-2 hours every day for working out or other activities where glasses are cumbersome. It truly seems wasteful to wear a contact lens for 1 hour a day and then throw it away. For these patients, I offer a frequent replacement lens. One key tip is to better understand what part-time wear means to patients.
From a practitioner standpoint, what are the potential benefits of monthly lenses and what percent of your patients are in this modality?
Dr. Anderson: While the health and safety benefits are quite clear with a daily disposable contact lens,7-10 there are benefits for patients to wear a monthly lens. One clear area where a monthly lens is quite beneficial is durability. Many daily lenses are quite thin, and handling lenses can be a challenge for some patients. Another monthly contact lens benefit is based on the environment. There are many great programs that help lessen plastic’s impact on the environment, but the reality is, a daily lens wearer requires 706 more lenses for their year supply compared to a monthly lens wearer. These represent a small percent, but keeping a monthly lens in mind allows you to help many more patients than a “one lens for all patients” approach. (Note: As part of CooperVision’s net plastic neutrality initiative, Biofinity® lenses are net plastic neutral, along with clariti® 1 day, MyDay®, and MiSight® 1 day).†‡11
What do you feel are the advantages of Biofinity® lenses, and does this lens family represent a good choice for ECPs as a foundational cornerstone of their practice?
Dr. Anderson: Biofinity® lenses have many clear advantages over other monthly lenses, namely the parameter range. Being able to fit a range from +15.00 to -20.00 diopters and astigmatism as high as -5.75 diopters makes this lens family a true workhorse for nearly all patients.
Additionally, Biofinity® offers a wide range of options for patients, including sphere and toric, in addition to Biofinity® XR, Biofinity® multifocals and Biofinity Energys®. Biofinity® provides ECPs an option for almost everyone,5 regardless of their visual needs.
Can you share examples of how Biofinity® lenses meet the needs of your patients despite their various visual and lifestyle demands?
Dr. Anderson: One thing that I truly love about the Biofinity® family of lenses is that they offer options even when a patient’s vision needs change. For example, I can keep a patient in a comfortable lens material4 even if their prescription changes, whether they are a patient new to presbyopia who requires near help or someone who struggles with night vision if their astigmatism increases. Biofinity® allows me to make a change anytime a patient has a new need, but the familiarity of the lens remains.
How important are parameter options in contact lens selection, and how do Biofinity® lenses stack up when it comes to available parameters?
Dr. Anderson: Biofinity® has the widest range of options for nearly all parameters.§5,12 This is very important when I tell patients about their potential vision options. With every patient, I discuss glasses, laser correction, and contact lenses. With Biofinity®’s wide range of powers, I can tell nearly every patient that yes, “Even you can wear contact lenses.”
Learn more about Biofinity® contact lenses and find more learnings and resources at CooperVision’s Online Success Center.
Dr. Dave Anderson practices at Miamisburg Vision Care in Ohio. He is a 2004 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Optometry. He is a past president of the Ohio Optometric Association (OOA) and continues to serve on many committees at the state and national levels. He is currently a preceptor for an Advanced Practice Extern site for OSU College of Optometry and has been an investigator in clinical trials for contact lenses and ocular pharmaceuticals.
