Top 2 Trends Ophthalmology Practices Must Tackle in 2026
While numerous challenges loom on the horizon, two trends stand out as particularly urgent for ophthalmology practices to address. The decline in LASIK procedures, coupled with the rise of alternative refractive surgeries, presents both a threat and an opportunity for revenue growth. Meanwhile, missed appointments and patient attrition are eroding lifetime patient value at alarming rates, especially for chronic eye conditions that require consistent monitoring.
Let’s examine these two critical trends and explore what forward-thinking ophthalmology practices are doing to turn these potential challenges into competitive advantages.
Trend 1: ICL Surgeries Are Promising Profits as LASIK Demand Falls
The refractive surgery landscape is undergoing a significant transformation that ophthalmology practices can no longer afford to ignore. LASIK volumes in the United States have dropped by 15%, signaling a clear shift in patient preferences and treatment options. However, this shift doesn’t mean the end of profitable refractive surgery. In fact, far from it. Overall, refractive surgery volumes remain stable as lens-based procedures surge in popularity.
This shift represents one of the most important 2026 ophthalmology healthcare trends because it fundamentally changes the patient qualification equation.
As one MD shared with ASCRS EyeWorld,
“In years past, we only qualified 70-75% of patients for LASIK. With new lens replacement technology, more than 90% of people qualify for something.”
The boost in treatable patients opens new revenue streams for practices willing to adapt.
The numbers tell a compelling story. Another ophthalmologist reported,
“We are down 4% with LASIK, but for other procedures, like custom lens replacement and ICLs, our numbers are way up.”
This trend isn’t isolated. It’s happening across the country as patients and physicians discover the benefits of implantable collamer lenses (ICL), refractive lens exchange (RLE) and custom lens replacements.
Why This Trend Matters for Your Ophthalmology Practice
For practices that have built their business model primarily around LASIK, this shift presents an existential threat. However, for those ready to evolve their service offerings and marketing strategies, it represents a tremendous growth opportunity. The key lies in understanding that lens-based procedures often serve different patient demographics and require distinct approaches to patient education and acquisition.
Advanced lens technologies are making better vision accessible to patients who previously had no surgical options. This includes individuals with thin corneas, high prescriptions or other characteristics that made them poor LASIK candidates.
By expanding service offerings to include ICL and other lens-based procedures, practices can capture a larger share of the refractive surgery market while building stronger, more diversified revenue streams.
Financial implications are also substantial. Lens-based procedures typically command higher price points than LASIK, and the expanded patient qualification criteria mean practices can convert more consultations into procedures. For practices that are strategic about their approach, this trend can actually accelerate growth rather than hinder it.
Capturing this opportunity demands a seamless patient experience that makes booking consultations effortless and ensures eligibility verification happens at the point of scheduling, so patients connect with the right provider from the start. For practices that are strategic about their approach, this trend can actually accelerate growth rather than hinder it.
However, capturing this opportunity demands a strategic shift in how practices approach patient acquisition and conversion. Start by targeting marketing efforts to the patient demographics most likely to pursue ICLs and other lens-based procedures. Consider typically younger patients with active lifestyles who may have been told they weren’t LASIK candidates. Then capitalize on that marketing investment by eliminating friction in the booking process with scheduling tools that meet the demands of younger patients.
Top-earning practices are embedding direct online booking links for consultations directly within their marketing campaigns, allowing interested patients to schedule immediately while their interest is piqued, rather than forcing them through phone tag or callback requests. Here’s an example of what top-performing ophthalmology practices are doing to increase ICL conversion rates by 76%.
Trend 2: Missed Appointments Lead to Higher Ophthalmology Attrition Rates
While shifting procedure preferences create strategic challenges, the second critical trend among 2026 ophthalmology healthcare trends threatens the very foundation of practice profitability: patient retention.
Missed follow-ups and skipped exams are driving higher-than-normal attrition rates, particularly for chronic and preventative eye care treatment.
The statistics paint a concerning picture. Forty percent of Millennials are likely to switch their eye doctor in the next few years, demonstrating how younger patient populations view provider relationships differently than previous generations. Even more alarming, 60% of patients with diabetic retinopathy are lost to follow-up per year. This trend not only impacts practice revenue but also compromises patient outcomes for these sight-threatening conditions.
Going beyond missed appointments, the attrition problem also poses fundamental questions about patient engagement and lifetime value. When patients fail to return for routine monitoring of conditions like diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma or macular degeneration, patients miss out on critical care and practices lose out on the associated revenue from those visits and long-term profits across that patient’s care journey. The compounding effect of patient attrition significantly erodes the return on investment for patient acquisition efforts.
Why This Matters for Your Practice
One Board Certified Optometrist explains the challenge clearly:
“Stressing the importance of routine ocular disease and vision monitoring may work for some individuals, but for others, personal touches can significantly increase patient retention and encourage them to want to return.”
Clinical necessity alone isn’t enough to ensure patients keep their appointments. The patient experience, communication strategy and convenience factors all play critical roles in retention.
The implications of this trend are particularly significant given the growth potential in ophthalmology demand overall. With a 24% projected increase in total demand for ophthalmology care and cataract surgeries expected to jump from 4.2 to 5.6 million procedures, practices should be positioned to capture this growth. However, if the back door is open, with patients leaving as quickly as they enter, practices will struggle to scale growth.
What makes patient attrition especially challenging is that it often occurs silently. Patients don’t typically call to announce they’re switching providers or that they’ve decided to skip their follow-up appointments. They simply don’t show up, and without proactive engagement systems, practices may not notice the problem until quarterly reports reveal declining patient volumes and revenue. It’s time to reconsider your reactivation strategy, find out how.
See the Top 5 Trends Impacting Ophthalmology Practices
While ICL procedure growth and patient attrition represent two of the most pressing challenges for ophthalmology practices in 2026, they’re far from the only trends shaping the industry.
Financial pressures continue to tighten margins, with costs rising across the board while payments decline. The ongoing debate around surcharging adds another layer of complexity to revenue cycle management. Meanwhile, AI advancements show major potential for delivering efficiency at scale, and rising healthcare costs continue to dent profits.
Each of these 2026 ophthalmology healthcare trends carries significant implications for how practices operate, market their services, and maintain profitability. The common thread connecting all these trends is the need for practices to be proactive, strategic, and willing to evolve their approach as the healthcare landscape shifts.
Download the comprehensive 2026 guide to discover all five critical trends impacting ophthalmology practices in 2026 and the proven strategies top-performing practices are using to stay ahead.