Dec 01, 2004 For Immediate Release

For Information Contact Ellen Yu / Steven Clark Andover Communications (201)-947-4133 or elleny@eclipse.net

A new survey of 1500 ECPs supports the use of advanced diagnostic technology as a boost to both patient care and lens sales.

This is according to the results of a survey conducted by the PRIO Corporation to determine whether use of the PRIO tester – the FDA Class 1 medical device that measures a patient’s computer Rx - has any affect on these three components:

• ECPs’ likelihood to test their patients’ computer vision
• Percentage of patients found to need corrective lenses for computer use
• Overall sale of computer vision eyewear

The survey comes on the heels of a recent trade publication survey that found computer vision care to be by far the fastest growing specialty in eye care.

“We sent the survey to practitioners who use the PRIO tester and those who do not,” said Jon Torrey, President and CEO of PRIO Corporation. “We expected some differences, but frankly were surprised by the results.”

A total of 91% of the respondents who use the PRIO tester said they tested all or most of their patients for computer vision problems, compared to 77% of doctors who used other methods. Eighteen (18%) percent of the PRIO doctors said they tested all their patients, compared to just 5% of the non-PRIO doctors.

It was reported that 51% of the adult patients tested by the ECPs with the PRIO tester were found to need corrective lenses for computer use, compared to 38% tested by doctors using other methods (e.g. Cross Cyl, Snellen, NRA/PRA Midpoint).

“This would seem to indicate that the PRIO exam reveals computer vision problems not identified by traditional methods,” said Torrey. “We plan in future surveys to examine whether or not the increases in ‘needed corrections’ were for pre- and or emerging presbyopic patients.”

Impact on Sales

How does the use of technology impact on sales? According to the survey, 43% of the PRIO doctors’ patients actually purchased the computer eyewear recommended to them vs. 25% of patients tested with the other methods. When comparing the two groups, it was found that a net result of 2.7 times more computer lenses were dispensed by the PRIO group.

“Obviously, doing the exam and writing the computer Rx does not guarantee that the patient will fill the prescription, regardless of the test given,” said Torrey. “But the data from this survey show that the PRIO tester provides an effective way to convince patients to purchase the computer eyewear, when prescribed by the doctor.”

The survey also found that PRIO doctors recommend Near Variable Focus (NVF) or progressive lenses for their computer-using patients more often than non-PRIO doctors. With presbyopic patients, the PRIO doctors surveyed say they recommend NVF or Progressive lenses 60% of the time, as opposed to 50% for non-PRIO doctors. A total of 47% and 43%, respectively, among PRIO and non-PRIO ECPs recommended multifocal lenses for pre-presbyopic patients who use computers.

“ECPs continue to favor different methods to determine a computer Rx,” said Torrey, “Yet, this survey indicates that the ease of use of the PRIO tester facilitates more refractions and convinces almost three times as many patients of the benefits of computer-specific eyewear.”

PRIO® is a registered trademark of PRIO Corporation.