Blog:  Time to revisit contact lens clinical care? 

The ‘conservative’ approach to contact lens aftercare will be challenged at BCLA UK as part of a drive to minimise drop-outs and maximise patient success.

As part of the two-day event – which is being held across two cities for the first time this year – Professor Philip Morgan from the University of Manchester will examine the ways in which patients are cared for immediately after being fitted with contact lenses.
The session will look at how much the industry has evolved in recent years but how the aftercare offered is much the same as it was decades previously – suggesting it’s time for an overhaul of the way eye care practitioners structure their service.
Professor Morgan said: “The evolution of the contact lens world over the past three decades has been remarkable, with dramatic improvements in material biocompatibility, better lens designs, simplified lens care systems and flexible and convenient modalities of wear.  

“However, our approach to the aftercare examination remains conservative, with our general mode of practice rooted in the early, difficult years of contact lens fitting.  Perhaps it is time to rethink our approach to contact lens aftercare. 

“Current evidence in relation to key aspects of contact lens aftercare, such as refractive status, vision, comfort, complications, patient education and compliance will be examined. 

“A revised and flexible approach to contact lens aftercare scheduling will be considered from a clinical perspective; further to this, we will explore the importance of keeping in contact with our lens wearers in the early weeks after contact lens fitting to minimise drop-outs and maximise patient success.”  

BCLA UK will be split over two cities for the first time this year, with the first session being held on Monday, 4 June at Conference Aston in Birmingham and the second scheduled for Sunday, 10 June at IET Savoy in London.
Registration is now open for BCLA UK, which will feature a series of hand-on workshops, lectures and discussions to prepare eye care practitioners for the future.  BCLA UK is open to both members and non-members – the member rate is £99 plus VAT and £199 plus VAT for non-members. 

Register here for BCLA UK