IcareLabs Blog

While it has been many years since I have dispensed glasses, the memories of troubled patients are still fresh in my mind. I had the blessing of being trained under a master optician back in the days when this still meant something. I wish I could remember half of what he shared with me.

Through this training early in my career, along with hundreds if not thousands of calls working with dispensers over the last 18 years I've been with IcareLabs, I feel I have become pretty good at troubleshooting issues with a pair of glasses.

Much like a complex recipe, troubleshooting seems challenging from the outside. However, when broken down into individual steps it becomes effortless. In comparison with cooking, following each step in sequence makes even the most complex dishes seem easy.

Last month we asked for some input from our readers, both customers and prospects, on what content they would like to see in our newsletters. We had some good responses; one request was on fixed/variable progressives. While we have dug into this in the past it might be time for a refresher.

Never in the history of optics have your patients had so many options to choose from. With hundreds of progressive designs, multiple photochromic options, and a vast array of materials it is easier than ever to fill their needs.

The other day I had the pleasure of reading a very good article featured in 20/20 written by Palmer R. Cook, OD. He dug very deep into Chromatic Aberration and the effects it has on patients.

Part of my job here at IcareLabs is assisting our customers with trouble shooting problem patients. Often the issue is clarity or blur when not looking through the optical center. Lenses work great while looking straight ahead but with even minimal eye movement the clarity goes away. We always look at Rx, base curve, and lens design. This is the lowest hanging fruit.

Over the next year we will try to post a few articles geared towards those who are new in the industry or maybe those looking for a little refresher. We will simply title these our "Optics 101 Series".

To create a good pair of glasses that offer the best optics, fit, and comfort all start with the frame. Frame choice is the foundation that can either make or break the satisfaction for your patient.

The main goal of opticianry is recreating perfect 20/20 vision for your patient. The second goal should be doing this with the thinnest, lightest lenses possible. This will give your patient added comfort and good cosmetics. We are going to break this down into 5 parts of how to give your patient the best overall satisfaction, comfort, and performance of a pair of glasses.

While the subject of base curves comes up multiple times a day in my discussions with our customers, I have avoided writing about it for years for three reasons:

1. It is a complex topic that confuses many.
2. It is not seen as important to others.
3. It gets misunderstood by the majority of the rest.

Similar to religion and politics, it's a subject that can destroy friendships. The correct base curve is always a battle of which of 3-key factors is the most important: optics, fit, or cosmetics. But, it does not have to be this way.

When ordering your uncut lenses there are several things you can do to help ensure the best cut out and avoid costly redos. One of the most important frame measurements is the ED, yet we consistently see this has the most confusion on how to get the correct measurement. This blog will show you the correct way to measure a frame's ED.

Kodak Lens is now offering free weekly webinars to all ECPs. These webinars are informative and fun while helping teach you about the Kodak Lens portfolio, sales strategies, Kodak Lens branding leverage, and how the Practice Plus program can benefit your optical dispensary.

Plus you can be entered to win a free pupilometer through the end of March 2021!

Remakes have been, continue to be, and probably will always be a sad part of our industry.
Depending on who you ask, remakes range from 5% to 15% nationally. Remakes are not only
costly and thus frustrating, but they're also a massive negative to your patient.

Let’s remember that your patient is actually a customer. Most importantly they are a customer that you would like to return to you over and over through their lifetime. Remakes for any reason cause your customer to spend the time that they  most likely do not have to come back to your office with any problem, only to be followed up with another return visit to pick up their “fixed” pair of glasses.

Remakes also take up your and your staff's valuable time. The time that could be spent bringing in new business is being spent making an old job right. Whether it is an Rx issue, non-adapt to a progressive, base curve problem, material adaptation, or a simple fitting error, redos cost us all money and time. Regardless if your lab charges for the remakes or not, the truth is this: just like a head-butt, no one wins with a redo.

With all of this in mind let’s look at a few key ways to cut down on remakes.

Wearing masks has definitely been a task for everyone. The difficulty is patched up even more with those wearing glasses. Fogging issues can be a real and ever severe problem for eyeglass wearers while utilizing the protection of a mask. I personally fall into the glass wearing, category so when IcareLabs started researching this FogAway product I was super excited!

We had tried a couple of other tricks and even a few over the counter products and nothing worked well on lenses with AR coatings. I have to admit that I was a bit suspect, but I was willing to try anything to quit dealing with my glasses fogging up.