Most Astigmatic Patients Would Try Daily Disposable Lenses On Doctor’s Recommendation

According to a recent study commissioned by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care’s Vistakon division, the vast majority of astigmatic patients would try daily disposable contact lenses if they were recommended by their doctors.

The study involved 94 doctors and 333 astigmatic patients as part of an In Market Assessment (IMA) for the company’s new daily disposable lenses for astigmatism. All participants were asked to specify their reason for selecting 1-Day Acuvue Moist for astigmatism, with up to five choices provided. The list featured health, convenience, comfort, vision and brand trustworthiness. The difference was that doctors were asked to mark all reasons affecting their decision to prescribe the lens, while patients had to pick one reason.

When the results were analysed, it turned out that health was the highest-ranked reason by doctors, whereas convenience topped the list for patients. More importantly, 91% of patients said they would try daily disposable contact lenses if their doctors recommended the products.

The findings were announced at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA). According to W. Lee Ball, one of the report authors, the study shows how important it is to understand what benefits astigmatic patients value most when considering daily disposable lenses. New products and technologies are embraced when doctors adopt a patient-centric approach and explain to their patients what would be the most beneficial choice in their particular case, doing so in a simple way that stresses value, Ball added.