Alcon, the global leader in eye care and a division of Novartis, continues to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to providing Eye Care Professional (ECP) training, education and resources. In 2018, Alcon is significantly increasing its investment and more than doubling peer-to-peer hands-on multifocal contact lens trainings at its state-of-the-art Alcon Experience Center. At the same time, Alcon will also more than double its Multifocal Fit Training Road Shows, offering local opportunities for ECPs to build additional expertise in meeting the needs of their presbyopic patients.

Presbyopia affects nearly two billion people worldwide.¹ By 2020, there will be roughly 1,800 presbyopes for each optometrist, yet only a small percentage of optometrists (13 percent) are currently fitting most multifocal contact lenses.^2-4

“With the number of presbyopes continuing to grow, offering multifocal contact lenses to patients and learning tips and techniques to maximize success, meets a key patient need as well as offers real opportunity for practice growth,” said Dr. Rick Weisbarth, Vice President of Professional Affairs, Alcon US Vision Care. “Alcon believes in partnering with Eye Care Professionals, helping ensure patients have access to innovative and materially differentiated multifocal contact lenses that provide comfortable and clear, seamless vision – near, far and everything in between.”

Alcon has also developed a new multifocal fitting process that leads to increased first lens success. The new fitting guide calls for the addition of +0.25D binocularly to the manifest refraction before Add selection.⁵ This new fitting process has led to an 18 percent improvement on first lens fit success compared to the previous fitting guide.⁶ The unique design of Alcon multifocal contact lenses requires a unique fitting process, and using Alcon’s simple two-step initial fitting process leads to high rates (96%) of fit success with two lenses or less.^6,7 This new fitting guide may help ECPs improve efficiency when fitting Alcon multifocal lenses that share the same Precision Profile Design, in three different materials and in two different lens replacement schedules.

Additionally, to build patient awareness of multifocal contact lens options, Alcon is launching a revamped LoseYourReaders.com site to help consumers recognize the signs of presbyopia. The site will also include a doctor finder, allowing patients to find an ECP near them.

Visit www.alcon.com for more information on DAILIES TOTAL1^® Multifocal contact lenses, DAILIES^® AquaComfort Plus^® Multifocal contact lenses and AIR OPTIX^® AQUA Multifocal contact lenses.  

For more information on DAILIES TOTAL1^® Multifocal contact lenses, DAILIES^® AquaComfort Plus^® Multifocal contact lenses and AIR OPTIX^® AQUA Multifocal contact lenses, visit www.loseyourreaders.com.