EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Issue link: https://digital.eyeworld.org/i/115557
112 EW FEATURE February 2011 Cataract/IOLs, femtosecond cataract March 2013 An update continued from page 111 Patients choosing premium IOLs vs. monofocal IOLs Dr. Stonecipher said the majority of his patients are choosing premium lenses over monofocal. "For me, the premium IOL channel, or astigmatic lens or astigmatic treatment, is about 65% of my practice," he said. However, he explained that this is due to the fact that he has a "very refractive-oriented practice." Since Dr. Stonecipher has been doing LASIK and refractive procedures for so long, he said many people come to him to get rid of their glasses, which often means the next step in cataract surgery is a premium IOL. He said his patients tend to ac- cept the extra cost more willingly because they're expecting an excellent refractive outcome. He said he does do some monovision, which he does not charge extra for. Dr. Stonecipher said he explains many of the different options for patients online through his website, www.lensdefinedvision.com. He said it is designed for patients to listen to him talk about the various lens options to allow them to better educate themselves on what they want. "The final line that you have to look at is the patient has to understand what you can accomplish," he said. Dr. Vold said he is still waiting to sort out how his practice will move forward with femtosecond laser use, but so far, patients seem interested and there is a demand for the technology. He estimated that his practice currently is treating 50% of patients with a standard monofocal package without using the laser. He estimated that around 20% of his premium lens patients opt for the distance package, around 15% choose the presbyopic package, and 15% choose the package for astigmatic treatment. He said there have been some recent changes with the laser, and it has improved since his practice first started using it in August 2012. "There's no reason for people to pay extra money if you can't get any better results," he said. Additional consent forms necessary In addition to spelling out specific costs and what will and will not be covered by Medicare beforehand, Dr. Stonecipher said he has a separate consent form for patients to sign when the femtosecond laser is being used. "We felt that the laser was such a different channel that it's a completely different consent," he said. Dr. Vold said his practice has an extra consent form as well. EW Editors' note: Dr. Stonecipher has financial interests with Alcon (Fort Worth, Texas). Dr. Vold has financial interests with Alcon and OptiMedica (Sunnyvale, Calif.). Contact information Stonecipher: stonenc@aol.com Vold: svold@cox.net