Which progressive lenses do you usually dispense? I dispense a lot of Zeiss products such as Sola One HD, GT2, Sola Max and AO Easy. I like all these products for different reasons. Sola One HD is a nice lightweight lens with good optics. It is great for +/- 3.00 prescriptions. I will say that it drives the ophthalmic techs crazy that the lab makes conversion changes in the powers to match the free form technology in the HD lenses. I had to start making copies of the conversion read-outs from the lab and put them in the patient medical charts so that when the techs checked in the lenses they wouldn’t think that they were made wrong.

For Rx’s that don’t warrant as much I like GT2, which is a good general purpose lens. I also like AO Easy for low minus distance prescriptions. Sola Max seems to work well for patients with low to moderate plus distance powers. I also like Sola Compact Ultra for short corridors.

Which A/R Coating do you prefer?

In order of preference, Super High Vision by Hoya, Teflon by Zeiss/Sola, Crizal Alize by Essilor. I won’t sell any cheap house A/R’s because I think if patients have a bad experience with A/R they won’t ever want it again and will miss all the benefits.

What are your thoughts on MDs opening more dispensaries in the future?

Since I work for an ophthalmic practice I think it is a great idea! When I have a problem with a patient’s Rx, it is nice to be able to go to the doctor and find out what visual acuity is expected or if this is a short term or long term condition. In this way, the opticians may be better prepared to customize glasses to specific visual needs and educate the patient about expectations.

I think it is equally valuable to the ophthalmologist to have an optical staff that is aware of vision issues specific to post OP patients and eye diseases that the doctor is treating. I believe the patients will get better care than if they just got glasses in a more retail oriented environment where the focus seems to be more geared to selling and not so much on patient care.