From now on, you no longer have to wait months for an ophthalmologist appointment and drive an hour to get there. Afflelou launches the teleconsultation cabin in thirty of his stores in France.
“We realized more than 3 years ago when we started working on this service that the majority of customers who came to our stores did not have a prescription,” he continues.
The group has 200 stores in desert medical areas where it takes 3-6 months to get an appointment with an ophthalmologist. Before launching this service, the optician carried out a test in 5 stores for 8 months and carried out 2,000 teleconsultations. The stores are equipped with an autorefractometer, a device for remotely measuring the optical characteristics of the eye and detecting myopia, astigmatism or hyperopia.
The patient is free to choose his optician
This telecommunications is a service independent of the commercial activities of the opticians. It takes place in a dedicated area of the store and the patient is free to choose the optician from which they will buy their glasses or contact lenses. The technology of the consultation terminals is provided by a service provider, specifies Anthony Afflelou. “We don’t have any direct links with ophthalmologists,” he adds.
76% of respondents to a Harris for Afflelou survey who wear corrective eyeglasses say they have trouble getting an appointment with their ophthalmologist. And almost the same proportion believes that teleconsultation is a good solution. And this in order to reduce the waiting time for an appointment.
Source: BFM TV
