Our exclusive Myopia Masterclass series delivers business strategies to master 10 crucial practice management-focused steps to a thriving myopia specialty. Here, we cover Step Two: Educating Parents and Patients About Myopia Management.
It’s hard to think of a better conversation that optometrists can have with the parents of young myopic patients than to tell them that there are finally treatments available to slow the progression of their myopia.
“For 20 years, we could talk about taking a break from reading and screens and go outside, but that’s all we could do,” says Jeff Goodhew, OD, owner of Abbey Eye Care, an optometry practice in Oakville, Ontario, which specializes in myopia management.
“Now, it’s so nice to be able to tell parents we can really slow down your child’s prescription change and actually have a significant impact on the final prescription. Parents are primed. They’ve always wanted to do something, and we’ve always said there’s really nothing we can do. They’re excited to know that there are products to help their kids. They’re ready to hear this conversation.”
But when do you start that conversation with parents—and how do you broach the subject about the serious vision conditions that can develop later in life if myopia is left untreated? How do you ensure that what you are telling them is heard and acted upon?
“Informing parents and patients about myopia management should be approached as a longitudinal educational process that builds both understanding and clinical urgency,” suggests Dwight Akerman, OD, MBA, FAAO, Dipl. AAO, FBCLA, FIACLE, global ambassador for the International Myopia Institute. “When myopia is framed as a progressive disease with long-term ocular health implications, patient engagement and adherence improve meaningfully.”
Here, we uncover how some practitioners are specifically putting that suggestion into action, from myopia progression simulators to targeted educational materials and myopia champions in practice.
Concisely Define Myopia
“You have to let parents know that now that this child has myopia, it’s almost always associated with a longer than normal eye, and it almost always increases every year. As it does, the eyes lengthen. As the eyes lengthen, tissues get stretched, and tissues that stretch beyond their original size lead to increased risks of various conditions such as retinal tears and detachments, cataracts, glaucoma, etc.,” says Thomas Aller, OD, suggesting how to succinctly describe myopia to parents.
Being concise is important, otherwise parents can become overwhelmed with information, which can become daunting to the optometrist as well.
“You really have to refine what I call your ‘elevator pitch’,” says Dr. Goodhew. “Parents can be shocked that their child is myopic and needs glasses, then, all of a sudden, you’re launching into all of these novel therapies to slow down their prescription change. Parents are overwhelmed, so you could spend 15 minutes of counseling following a 15-minute exam, and the next thing you know, you’re running behind. You can’t afford to have that conversation with the next myope. Since we started this 10 years ago, we tightened that conversation with the parent to three or four minutes.”
To do so, Dr. Goodhew’s practice relies on resources beyond the in-office consultation to reinforce the conversation and drive the message home. Among these are a digital flip book on Abbey Eye Care’s website that covers everything a parent needs to know about myopia and how to slow its progression.
“When myopia is framed as a progressive disease with long-term ocular health implications, patient engagement and adherence improve meaningfully.”
Dwight Akerman, OD, MBA, FAAO, Dipl. AAO, FBCLA, FIACLE
Use External Resources to Inform Parents
Even for practices that don’t have their own internal resources, there are plenty of external sources of information about the dangers of unchecked myopia progression and the treatments available to stop it. Among these are myopia calculators, which practitioners agree are among the most effective tools to illustrate for parents how their child’s myopia is likely to progress.
“Using any of the risk calculators, you can plug in that patient’s current prescription, age, and ethnicity, and then you can show on a graph that this is where your child is likely to end up,” says Dr. Aller, describing the simplicity of using a myopia calculator and its effectiveness at motivating parents to embrace myopia management, either right away or even during subsequent appointments. “Maybe they’re not convinced by that, but if they come back a year later and see they are following the path that was predicted, that would be a very strong argument.”
While Dr. Goodhew offers a myopia calculator directly on his website, there are others available online for free from several sources, including BHVI and Myopia Profile.
Similar printouts of myopia progression projections can be generated by in-house biometers for those practitioners equipped with one in their practice.
Myopia Simulators for Non-Myopic Parents
Parents who are not myopic themselves might need a demonstration of what it’s like to see the world through their child’s eyes. Myopia simulators can do the trick. One way to achieve this is with an actual pair of glasses ranging from +4 to +6 diopters that parents can try on to see how blurry things look to their child.
There are also plenty of videos online that demonstrate what it’s like to be myopic. Simply search for “myopia simulator” on YouTube or elsewhere. Companies that offer myopia control treatments offer online myopia simulators as well, including CooperVision, Hoya, VSP, and others.
“We have a couple of myopia champions who know a lot about myopia management, and we can hand the parent and child off to that technician, and they can answer more questions.”
Jeff Goodhew, OD, ABBEY EYE CARE
Handoff to Your Myopia Champion
It’s likely that parents and patients will require information about myopia management beyond the doctor consultation and the internal and external resources provided. That’s the job for the ‘myopia champion,’ the staff member thoroughly educated about myopia management who can save the doctor time by answering the parent’s questions.
“We have a couple of myopia champions who know a lot about myopia management, and we can hand the parent and child off to that technician, and they can answer more questions,” says Dr. Goodhew. “It’s worth the investment to create some myopia champions because parents have a ton of questions. Sometimes they call back, sometimes they email, and the myopia champion can handle that versus putting stress and strain on the doctor.”
Informing parents and patients about what myopia actually is, the long-term ocular health implications, and the various treatment options to slow its progression, takes a multi-tiered approach. Combine the optometrist’s initial and follow-up consultations, simulators and videos that illustrate how myopia affects vision, as well as internal and external resources that both predict progression and inform patients and parents with an educated staff who can support the doctor by answering questions, and you’ll encourage most of your myopes to get on board with the available treatments.
“Effective patient communication integrates clinical evidence with clear, outcome-oriented messaging that translates risk into relevance,” Dr. Akerman says. “Practices that prioritize structured education strategies tend to achieve higher treatment acceptance and sustained compliance.”
COMING NEXT MONTH: Stay tuned for Step 3 of Insight Media’s Myopia Masterclass Series: Educating Self and Staff.This installment highlights staff training strategies and key educational resources required to support patient communication and workflow integration.
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