Contact Lens Reorder Reminders: Keeping Patients With Your Practice
Contact lens patients need regular supplies and periodic exams to renew their prescription. Many end up reordering from online retailers or letting their prescription lapse. Practices lose the sale and sometimes the patient relationship.
Why this keeps happening
A few things make it stickier than it looks:
- Patients forget when supplies run out. Without a reminder, the reorder happens wherever is convenient.
- Online sellers are convenient. Price and convenience compete with the practice.
- Prescription expiry is easy to miss. Patients may not realize they need an exam to renew.
- Tracking supply timing is manual. Practices may not know when each patient's supply will run out.
What you give up
What you lose by leaving this alone is quieter than a line item, but it shows up every week.
Without reminders, patients reorder elsewhere and may delay exams. The practice loses revenue and the chance to see patients regularly.
Moves that help
What practices that take this seriously tend to do:
Time reminders to supply length. Send a reminder a few weeks before supplies are expected to run out.
Remind about prescription expiry. Prompt patients to book an exam before the prescription expires.
Offer easy reordering. A link or reply option to reorder.
Consider annual supply options. Some practices offer year-long supply with shipping.
Use optical management tools. Many practice systems and patient communication platforms automate these reminders.
Track one number for a month. Let that number tell you whether the process is working.