Presenting AR Coating

The doctor can play an important role in presenting AR coating. The discussion of AR should begin in the exam room and be seen as an opportunity to educate patients on the benefits of AR. Lifestyle information can be gathered verbally, or you may want to ask your patient to complete a questionnaire. Either method can be used as a lead-in to presenting information about AR coating, or any other premium lens product such as high index materials or aspherics. AR coating could be written on the RX, and it should be worn on all personal eyewear worn by the office staff.

After the exam, the patient should be introduced to the optician where the doctor explains which lens options were discussed with the patient. If the patient has selected high index lenses AR coating is especially important since high index materials reflect more light than conventional lenses. Refer to the graph on this page. Many practitioners coat the back surface of sunglass lenses to minimize reflections when the sun is located to the side or behind the wearer�s head. AR coated photochromics can improve light transmission at night while reducing back surface reflections.

Use demonstration kits when presenting AR coating to your patient and be sure to keep the kits out and visible. The cosmetic benefits of AR can be easily demonstrated by placing two plano lenses in an attractive frame, one AR coated and the other not. Place the frame on yourself and point out the cosmetic appeal of the coated lens. An especially effective method of demonstrating improved contrast enhancement of AR coated lenses is to hold a partially coated lens over printed material. The coated portion of the lens will produce a sharper crisper image.