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We’ve had this discussion before. You know, the one about eliminating jargon from your patient interactions. It’s just so hard to do. All that thinking about how you can make your patient understand what you’re trying to say. So I decided to let “Google” help me to help you.
I “googled” AR. There were 525,000,000 results. Everything from accounts receivable to AR-15 rifles to Arkansas. Our AR…the optical one? I gave up after the first 15 pages of results. So, the first thing that won’t pop into your patient’s brain when you say AR coating is Anti-Reflective. Call it something else. Glare-reducing is a good one. It accurately describes the problem and its solution in a couple of simple words. Just don’t start referring to it as GR. There are 268,000,000 results for that one.
There are 394,000 results for progressive lenses and 989,000 for progressives. I took the time to look it up and so will your patients. There is no simple one or two-word description for progressive addition lenses. The concept and the technology are just too complicated for that. However, there are some key phrases to consider when offering these lens designs to your patients. |
Phrases like:
Designed to help your eyes focus smoothly at multiple distances
or
Individually designed to incorporate your prescription and your visual needs.
Be wary of trying to describe a progressive addition lens as “making a smooth transition from distance to near vision.” If your patient wants Transitions® progressive addition lenses, it may start to sound like an Abbott and Costello routine, a la “Who’s on first?”
Patient: I want those transitional lenses.
You (smiling, because you’re the smart one): You mean Transitions®?
Patient (smiling): Yeah, transitions.
You (smiling, because this is going to be a good sale): Great! Your doctor has also recommended progressive lenses.
Patient (confused): Ok, isn’t that what I just asked for?
You (still smiling): No, you asked for Transitions®.
Patient (not smiling and thinking you’re an idiot): No, I asked for those transitional lenses. The ones with no lines and I want them to get dark in the sun.
You (still smiling, but it’s getting forced): I’m sorry. I wasn’t doing a very good job of explaining these different technologies to you. Let’s start over.
Sound familiar? It should, because that scenario has played itself over and over again when we resort to jargon rather than using descriptions that patients can understand. Manufacturers spend millions of dollars designing and distributing patient-friendly literature to help you with these important touch-points, yet most of us either refuse or forget to use them.
The newest addition to our family of jargon is “high definition”. There are about 343,000,000 Google results for that phrase, including something called high definition wallpaper. Silly me, I thought that was something for my office walls. How cool would that be? An Optician’s office with high definition wallpaper.
A search for high definition lenses resulted in a paltry 4,690,000 places for your patients to find information. You need a simple and direct explanation of how digitally surfaced lenses differ from conventionally surfaced lenses. Talk to your patients about precision and clarity and the benefits of staying on the cutting edge of lens technology. Tell them that it’s the difference between the old TV and the new flat-screen TV. Just make sure they understand that it’s not the lens itself, but how the lens is produced for their individual prescription that makes the real difference.
Is it a coating or is it a treatment? What’s the difference? Coatings come off. Treatments don’t. Old technology glare-reducing (ok, anti-reflective, but only because we’re friends) coatings were applied to lens surfaces usually by dipping them in the necessary chemicals. The newest and most durable treatments are applied with enough force to actually bond with the lens surface. Effectively creating a single surface, resistant to the chipping and peeling of years past. These treatments are best described to your patients by using the names their manufacturers gave them, even the in-house varieties from your local lab. Most of these treatments come with some sort of certificate of authenticity. If you choose not to give said certificate to your patient, keep it as part of their record so everyone knows what treatment was used.
Resistant or -Proof? What’s the difference? If you don’t tell your patients what the difference is someone else will and the chances of your patient being mislead or outright lied to are pretty high. Ophthalmic lenses are neither scratch-proof nor shatterproof. No matter that I found a website describing plastic lenses as both economical and shatterproof. Yes, these were lenses for magnifiers and projectors, but they look like eyeglass lenses and your patient can’t tell the difference. Tell your patients that whatever-resistant lenses are less likely to do whatever and that whatever-proof lenses will never do whatever. Nothing is scratch-proof and nothing is unbreakable. We’ve all seen evidence of that.
When a new product or a new technology hits the market, get all the information you can and study it. Your patients are doing just that when they start the buying process and the amount of information and mis-information is astounding. Use your lens, frame and laboratory representatives to help you develop ways to effectively communicate these new products and services to both staff members and patients. Take the time to read trade publications and both print and online education courses. There are a multitude of venues you can take advantage of to become the best informed eyecare professional in town.
You owe your patients an accurate and honest explanation of every bit of technology they are receiving. And as I have said so many times before, take the time to listen to your patients concerns to help them navigate an increasingly complex variety of options.
Remember, NO JARGON. Talk regular. It’s not an easy task, but you and your patients will benefit from your efforts with increased patient satisfaction, reduced buyers remorse and those very valuable patient referrals.
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