Your Top Myopia Management Questions Answered

The World Council of Optometry has unanimously approved a resolution advising optometrists to incorporate a standard of care for myopia management within their practices. Eye care professionals across the country are already doing their part. Thousands of age-appropriate children* and counting are on the road to slowing myopia progression with the Brilliant Futures™ Myopia Management Program featuring FDA-approved* MiSight^® 1 day.

However, with the rising prevalence and severity of myopia,[1] we know that there is still much to be done.

To help their peers to start or grow myopia management in their practices, three Brilliant Futures™ certified ECPs—Dr. Brie Hevesy, Dr. Christina Locke, and Dr. Inna Lazar—shared their expertise with attendees at SECO 2021.

Here are some of the top questions they received:

After completing your Brilliant Futures™ certification, what is the best first step to get started?

Begin by looking at your established patient base. Identify who your age-appropriate myopic patients are that are either currently wearing contact lenses, currently using another myopia management modality, or currently wearing glasses. Then prepare to present information specific to each patient and parent depending on where they are in their myopia journey. – Dr. Inna Lazar, Greenwich Eye Care

What’s the best way to get my staff involved as we roll out Brilliant Futures™?

My biggest suggestion is just to make it fun! After the practice closes for the night, order pizza for the team and have them share their experiences with myopia to generate empathy and foster a commitment to helping kids through this program. Then watch the educational video CooperVision provides to give them a primer on the program. – Dr. Christi Locke, Thomas Eye

CooperVision suggests having a dedicated “Practice Champion” and I could not agree with this more! I’m so thankful for the help our champion provides day-to-day in making sure our patients and practice are supported with all things related to myopia management. – Dr. Inna Lazar, Greenwich Eye Care

What’s the best way to start a conversation with parents about myopia management?

Starting conversations early and often is what makes myopia management successful. My first step is always finding out the child’s lifestyle. If they spend less time outside or are highly academic, that’s a lifestyle that could contribute to the possibility of myopia progressing. The key is to be consistent in these conversations with the parents that are already in our practice. – Brie Hevesy, OD, Acworth Family Eyecare, Georgia

Parents love that MiSight^® 1 day is FDA-approved*. Once I share that information and more about the ocular benefits of MiSight^®, many of my patients’ parents are eager to enroll their age-appropriate child into the program. – Dr. Christi Locke, Thomas Eye

How do you get parents comfortable with their child wearing contact lenses?

When it comes to myopia management and MiSight^®, I stress two things: 1. We do not want to wait to try a contact lens until the child is more mature because the greatest progression happens when they are young. 2. A daily disposable lens is simpler and easier, so parents do not have to worry about whether their child is cleaning the lens properly or remembering to start a fresh pair every month. – Dr. Christi Locke, Thomas Eye

I’m struggling with how to set up a fee structure for Brilliant Futures™ in my practice. How did you determine yours?

I looked at the cost of the program to ECPs, plus what is included in the program and how much time I would be spending with patients at consultation and in follow up exams to determine what I would charge my patients to enroll in the program. – Dr. Christi Locke, Thomas Eye

Many of my patients’ parents are hesitant to start the program because of the cost. How have you overcome this hurdle?

I clearly lay out everything that is included in the program price – the consultation, regular monitoring of their myopia, replacement lenses if the prescription changes, free shipping directly to their home. Emphasize the value of what they’re receiving, that MiSight^® does two things, and that they are investing in their child’s present and future vision. With that, parents are more likely to enroll their child. – Dr. Inna Lazar, Greenwich Eye Care

I’ve started positioning cost as a monthly fee rather than providing the overall program price first. A monthly fee around $150 is much more digestible than an immediate $1,800 fee, for example. – Dr. Christi Locke, Thomas Eye

Prioritizing myopia management in your practice is more important than ever before with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s eye health[2] and the looming prediction that half of the world’s population could have myopia by 2050.¹

For more support for strengthening myopia management in your practice or becoming a Brilliant Futures™ certified provider, contact your CooperVision representative or visit https://coopervision.com/practitioner/myopia-management.

*Indications for Use: MiSight^® 1 day (omafilcon A) soft (hydrophilic) contact lenses for daily wear are indicated for the correction of myopic ametropia and for slowing the progression of myopia in children with non-diseased eyes, who at the initiation of treatment are 8-12 years of age and have a refraction of -0.75 to 4.00 diopters (spherical equivalent) with ≤ 0.75 diopters of astigmatism. The lens is to be discarded after each removal.