Safety eyewear can be a money maker for your practice, but it's also your responsibility to educate patients on protecting their eyes
By Lindsey Aspinall Getz
EyeArmor OveRx eyewear from Live Eyewear fits over prescription styles
Thousands of people are blinded every year from work-related eye injuries. And, according to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), eye injuries alone cost more than $300 million per year in lost production time, medical expenses, and worker compensation.
Chances are you already have patients coming to your office who work at jobs requiring protective eyewear. Why make them get it at the local hardware store when you can provide expert eyecare?
SAFETY SAVES
It's a duty to remind patients about eye safety, says Jeffrey L. Weaver, OD, clinical care director of the American Optometric Association. "Whether it's on the job, at home, or playing sports, it is our responsibility to inform patients of the importance of protecting their eyes," he says. "That starts with finding out their history. Are they engaging in risky activities?"
According to Prevent Blindness America, the most common causes for eye injuries at work are:
■ Flying objects (bits of metal or glass)
■ Tools
■ Particles
■ Chemicals
■ Harmful radiation
The truth is, safety eyewear saves eyesight, and that's not something to be taken lightly. Randy Downing, senior safety rep at TXU, a mining division in East Texas, says he's witnessed many pairs of eyes saved by the proper protection.
"One time a hydraulic fluid sprayed into one of our guy's face and safety glasses saved his eyes," he says. "There have also been situations where flying metal chips have hit workers' glasses, but their eyes were protected."
Safety glasses, like the AOSafety eyewear shown above, should always be worn on the job
These types of stories don't always have a happy outcome. "Unfortunately, people who have already had an eye injury are easier to reach," says Terry V. Hulvey, optician and owner of Colonial Optical in Harrisonburg, Va. "We talk a lot about how important it is to keep any object out of the eye—even dust."
GET STARTED WITH SAFETY
Most industrial companies require OSHA-approved eyewear. Reaching out to these companies is an easy way to garner a patient base.
■ Recognize the market. Many ECPs ignore this segment. In fact, Casey Conrad, CEO of Heartland Optical in Lincoln, Neb., calls the market a "hidden gem," because he often gets business from local practices that send their patients to him.
"I think a lot of practices look at it as a hassle to sell safety eyewear," he says. "But my motto is 'why send anyone away from your business for any reason' If you send them away, often times they won't come back."
■ In-office education. Educating your existing client base can help sell eyewear to your established patients. Colonial Optical uses "accident videos" running in the waiting room to demonstrate the importance of safety eyewear. Patients get the message before they're even in the chair.
■ Medical advice. Be sure that your patients know they'll get better care by purchasing their eyewear through your office, instead of the local hardware store.
| CL! Safety While it's an urban myth that contact lenses can become fused to the eye if precautions aren't taken during welding, it isn't a legend that on-the-job protection is crucial for contact lens wearers. Here are just a few recommendations Prevent Blindness America makes for CL wearers in industrial jobs. ■ Both employees and visitors should be advised of defined areas where contact lenses are allowed. ■ A specific written management policy on contact lens use should be developed. ■ A directory should be developed that lists all employees who wear contact lenses. ■ Medical and first aid personnel should be trained in the proper procedures and equipment for removing both hard and soft lenses in both conscious or unconscious workers. ■ Employees should be required to keep a spare pair of lenses and/or a pair of up-to-date spectacles on the job so that functional eyesight is always maintained, even if a lens is lost. ■ Employees who wear CLs should be advised to remove contacts right away if redness of the eye, blurring of vision, or pain occurs. |
"The pairs your customers would pick up at the home stores are not prescription. Some patients would prefer to have prescription safety eyewear, but may not know it even exists," says Weaver. "Let your patients know that you can Rx their safety glasses. This could even increase the likelihood the glasses will be regularly used for protection."
■ Hardware. Weaver adds that the products at stores are often "one-size-and-style-fits-all" despite the fact that there are so many options in safety eyewear available.
| Pop QUIZ Take your best guess at some of these true or false workplace eye safety questions provided by Prevent Blindness America. For more information, visit www.preventblindness.org. 1. You can hold off replacing safety glasses that have scratches or pits. FALSE: Protective eyewear with scratched or pitted lenses or damaged frames are less resistant to impact and should be replaced. 2. Face shields alone offer enough protection. FALSE: A face shield provides adequate protection only when used in conjunction with the right safety glasses or goggles. 3. All eyeglasses sold in the U.S. are required to be impact resistant. TRUE: But there's a catch to this one. While all eyeglasses must be impact resistant, they are not all impact-proof. Industrial-type safety eyewear must meet more stringent standards than regular eyeglasses or sunglasses. |
"Today there are a lot of attractive safety frames out there. Often you can't even distinguish them from dress eyewear," he notes.
■ Other sales. "We get additional sales by hitting the consumers who don't need the safety eyewear," says Hulvey, who has between 75 and 100 safety eyewear accounts. Hulvey explains that once he has his foot in the door with an industrial company, he reaches out to everyone—even the secretary who might not need safety glasses, but needs regular, everyday eyewear.
"We offer a discount plan to everyone. That's really helped us through the whole year," he adds.
AT HOME TOO
Your patients can work a desk job and still be in the market for safety glasses. They just may not realize it. One of the biggest areas for sales that is surprisingly often ignored, is safety eyewear for the home.
"We really try to emphasize home safety," says Hulvey. "We are firm believers that everybody should wear these type of glasses when they are doing any potentially dangerous home project—even mowing the lawn."
"People don't think much about it, but they can suffer from impact injuries from something like using a hammer and nail at home without wearing adequate protection," says Weaver. "It's easy for patients to get involved in what seems like a simple household chore without realizing the potential risks involved. It's up to us to remind them of those risks."
Hilco's A-2 style SG 105 (top) and PC264 from the Titmus Premier collection from Sperian both resemble everyday frames
In addition, Conrad notes that patients will pay extra money for safety eyewear that they can wear both on the job and at home, adding that today's safety eyewear is more fashionable than ever. "Patients don't mind spending extra on frames that have pop-off side shields that they can take off after work," he says.
Second-pair sales are also possible. Some of your safety eyewear consumers may want a separate pair for home. "Once we get our foot in the door to a company that enforces strict use of safety eyewear, it's our responsibility to remind the customer that they need protection at home as well," says Hulvey. "It works hand-in-hand. They know their safety eyewear works at their job, so they get a pair for home and we get additional sales. It's a very big plus." EB
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