Based on new data, a report from the Contact Lens Institute (CLI) indicates higher contact lens retention rates are well within the reach of eyecare practices, with corresponding long-term wear and widespread patient satisfaction to boot.  

“This practical research substantially builds on prior studies, digging deeper into why current contact lens patients choose to continue wear. By exploring a range of advantages and detractors, everyone involved in the care spectrum, from doctors to techs to administrative staff, can better understand their role in facilitating success,” said Stan Rogaski, CLI’s executive director. “Even modest adjustments to some everyday in-practice behaviours can disrupt the dropout cycle.” 

The report, ‘Disrupting the Dropout Dilemma: Practical Steps to Keep Patients in Contact Lenses’, is based on CLI-commissioned research conducted in August 2024 among 401 US adults, split equally between new (<2 years) and long-term (≥2 years) soft contact lens wearers. More than a dozen interrelated factors regarding their contact lens habits, experiences and perceptions are addressed in the report, including: overall high satisfaction with contact lenses, which soared from 67% of new wearers to 86% of long-term wearers – affirmation that investing in new-wearer education and outreach pays dividends; leading contact lens satisfaction drivers, with comfort, vision, freedom from glasses and convenience ranking highest for new and long-term wearers alike; and top detractors to wear, observing that new wearers are considerably more sensitive to all factors, a sign of the critical need to provide an elevated level of support for neophytes.  

The report data are presented via 14 at-a-glance infographics, ideal for training newly hired members of the practice team, said CLI.