How to Set Up a Dry Eye Clinic

The first place to start when setting up a dry eye service is to invest in the right equipment to help capture information easily and create robust diagnostic data to form the basis of your management plan. At the very least, we would suggest the use of a high-quality digital slit lamp, but a modern camera-based diagnostic tool is perfect for streamlining the process. Any such tool should allow ECPs to accurately capture tear film instability data, while providing clearly presented metrics that are simple for the patient to understand. Some tools (for example, IDRA from our distribution partner SBM Sistemi) have an accompanying smartphone app, which allows patients to monitor their dry eye symptoms at home.

Once you have this diagnostic information, you need a host of management options to offer the patient – not only for different types of dry eye, but also for different budgets. This armamentarium begins with a range of simple products, such as gels, drops, and emulsions, all the way up to services, such as punctal plugging for aqueous deficient dry eye patients. But there are also specific treatment options that we offer through our distribution partners including the Tearstim IRPL device and Activa heat and massage mask for managing evaporative dry eye conditions.

The TearStim from ESW Vision emits energy in the form of painless light pulses and heat, and is applied to the skin below the eye. The aim is to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system supplying the meibomian glands, increasing the secretion from the glands and contributing to restoring their normal activity. In addition, the quality of the secretion is improved and the lipid layer of the tear film is stabilized.

The Activa Home Eye Mask by SBM Sistemi, which is usually offered as an in-practice treatment, uses a fully automated procedure to heat and massage the eyelids. The device generates heat of approximately 42 degrees for 15 minutes while applying a micro-vibration-based massage to aid meibomian gland expression.

Education and awareness

An important step to consider before launching a dry eye clinic is developing your practice team’s knowledge and understanding around dry eye disease so they are confident to speak to patients about the service. Training content is accessible via Essilor’s Leonardo platform 24/7; we also conduct CPD-accredited sessions on dry eye disease at various national and local events around the country throughout the year.

The next step is to educate the patients to help them recognize the signs and symptoms they may be experiencing and understand that more can be done to manage them. This goes a long way to keeping patients compliant with your dry eye management plan. Having confident conversations on dry eye disease with patients, promoting what you can offer on social media, and getting other local practitioners, such as GPs and pharmacists, on board with the services and products are all wonderful ways to start.

Launching the service

I would begin a dry eye clinic by asking all patients to complete a short questionnaire, so they can stop and think about the symptoms they may be experiencing and start the dry eye conversation. I’d also offer a screening service – either as part of the pre-testing stage or within the examination room – to rapidly identify those patients with symptoms and steer them into the dry eye clinic if required. Essilor offers marketing materials to support practitioners in-store, along with digital content for use on social media and ECP websites to promote dry eye services.

Dry eye disease can be debilitating for many different patient demographics, and it’s up to us as professionals to educate, assess, and offer the best management of symptoms for our patients to keep their eyes healthy and comfortable.

Visit the EssilorLuxottica stand M215 at 100% Optical  to speak to the team and find out more about setting up a dry eye service. For more information visit ecp.essilor-pro.com