The Great Mask Conundrum

To wear or not to wear, that is the question. When it comes to masks, this question has been asked a lot. In fact, it’s recently become a highly contested and deeply divisive political issue—today, about 67% of Americans say they always wear a face mask when they leave home, leaving 33% who do not.

Even national guidance can be a bit confusing. For example, on Sept. 1, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) released recommendations to retail and service personnel not to push the point if the consumer shows anger or makes threats regarding mask wearing.

In optical, however, consumers remain by and large compliant. According to The Vision Council, 64% of consumers surveyed in July say they voluntarily wear masks, while another 25% indicate they will comply if mandated by either the doctor’s office or state and local government. Only 7% say no, they won’t wear a mask, no matter what.

REPEAT, REPEAT

To find out more about patient compliance, we checked in with a few optometric practices across the country. All agreed that the “no-not-ever 7%” isn’t an issue for them because patients are told ahead of time—and often more than once—that they can’t enter their practice without a mask. It’s this message that is critical in order to keep the practice’s doctors and staff safe.

Monica Larimore is optical coordinator at Eagle Vision & Eye Clinic, a five-doctor practice in Longmont, CO. “We have a screener at the locked front door,” she explains. “But even before that, when they make an appointment, we make it clear we’re going to ask them to wear a mask, take their temperature, ask questions, and sanitize their hands. The screeners, the masks, the Plexiglas, the shields...it’s all the new normal.”

CONSISTENT COMMUNICATIONS

It’s all about setting boundaries and being consistent. As Adam Ramsey, O.D., owner of Socialite Vision in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, puts it, “Doctors need to know they have to be the captain of their ship and set the rules and boundaries. They have to be upfront and clear, and you can’t waffle. People respect that.”

All agree it’s also about making sure staff is trained in what to say upfront before the patient even attempts to enter. Why the word “attempts”? Because many practices continue to keep their front door locked.

That’s not an option in most chain locations, however. So, what can chain and mall locations do? “With many crazy reactions around the country,” explains optician and Sterling Optical franchisee Gary Kaschak in suburban Philadelphia, “my strategy, should any customer become belligerent, is to call mall security and let them handle it.”

If there’s one problem, says Dr. Ramsey, “it’s with people trying to find reasons to take the mask off once they’re inside. ‘I can’t breathe with it on’ or ‘I can’t talk with it over my mouth.’ That’s where you have to be consistent.”

There is, in fact, a silver lining to mandating masks. “We see new patients coming in because we are being safe,” says Dr. Ramsey. “For the one or two patients we lose because of the masks, we gain many more because we enforce it.”