Optometrists if you are looking to get the continuing education (CE) you need at a reasonable price, network with your peers, and find out what’s “new” in your profession…you definitely need to attend Optometry’s Meeting®. With more than 200 hours of CE (and more than 30 free hours), it’s a bargain! The Exhibit Hall will be sectioned by category (contact lens, pharmaceutical, optical, etc.) for your convenience, and each section will have a theater with specific education and hands-on product demos! Optometry’s Meeting® networking events are a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and colleagues. Be sure to bring your staff for plenty of great opportunities as well! Read the rest of this entry ?
Archive for January, 2011
How soft contact lenses came to the U.S.
January 21, 2011
Chemistry professor Otto Wichterle works in his lab in the late ‘50s or early ‘60s.
Most readers know that the gel material used in the development of soft contact lenses was developed by chemistry professor Otto Wichterle of Prague, Czechoslovakia, in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
What many readers do not know is how the patent for the material was transferred to Bausch & Lomb in the United States.
Rumor has it that Robert Morrison, O.D., pioneer contact lens specialist and optometrist to European royalty (that story must wait for another day), was the one who sold the patent rights for the gel to Baush & Lomb. This is not the case.
To learn the facts of the patent’s transfer, visit www.aoafoundation.org/archives-museum-of-optometry/historical-
gems/.
Grateful VISION USA patient responds
January 21, 2011“Received my letter today, approving me for a free eye exam… I have scheduled my appointment for Nov. 18 with Dr. Lisa Wiseman. Over the past 10 years or so, I have been wearing non-prescription drugstore reading glasses, as I have been unable to afford an eye exam and the proper glasses I so desperately need. Needless to say, I am extremely grateful to your organization for providing this service. To low-income people such as myself, your organization is truly a blessing. Thank you so very much for approving my application.”
Sincerely, Susan A., Ohio
Wyoming ED enjoyed life filled with family, friends, outdoors
January 12, 2011
Dan Lex, Wyoming Optometric Association executive director
Wyoming Optometric Association Executive Director Dan Lex, 63, passed away Dec. 1.
Lex was born in Pierre, S.D., on Nov. 30, 1947, and received his degree in business administration and economics from Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., in 1969. He and his wife of 39 years, Kathryn, moved to Cheyenne in 1974.
Lex was the executive director of both the Wyoming Optometric Association and the Wyoming Quality Health Care Foundation.
He served on numerous national committees through the AOA and in various board positions for the International Society of Optometric Executives, including president of that organization. Read the rest of this entry ?
Incarnate Word optometry school named in honor of major donor
January 12, 2011The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) received a major gift of $11.5 million from Sandra and Stanley Rosenberg. The generous gift is significant as it is one of the largest gifts in the country ever given by a Jewish family to a Catholic institution of higher learning.
To mark this auspicious occasion, the university named the Sandra and Stanley Rosenberg School of Optometry in their honor.
The naming of this professional school will make it the only named school of optometry in the United States. Read the rest of this entry ?
Medicare again holds off on PECOS ordering/referring deadline
January 12, 2011Medicare, for the second time, is holding off on plans to reject claims for health care products or services ordered by health care practitioners who have not enrolled as providers through the government health plan’s Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS).
Medicare carriers and payment contractors around the nation were ready to begin rejecting such claims on Jan. 3, 2011. However, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) is allowing additional time to clear a backlog of practitioners attempting to enroll as providers through PECOS. In a bulletin last month, the agency also cited a need for additional time to address other issues associated with the system. Read the rest of this entry ?
AOA adds Wells Fargo Practice Finance to wealth of member benefits
January 7, 2011
From left, Jeff Connon, vice president, Business Development Manager; AOA President Joe Ellis, O.D.; Rhonda Meyer, vice president, Regional Manager; Paulette Pierce, finance specialist; Lori Tulkoff, vice president, Marketing Manager; AOA President-elect Dori Carlson, O.D.; and Allison Farey, president, Wells Fargo Practice Finance.
The AOA announced an agreement with Wells Fargo Practice Advancement Group to become the preferred provider of investment capital, planning tools, educational resources, and expert support for AOA members. The agreement was part of an effort by the AOA Clinical and Practice Advancement Group whose mission is to help optometrists achieve their practice goals.
The affinity relationship through the AOA’s Member Advantage Program will offer a range of financial products to AOA members for practice acquisition, start-up and expansion projects, along with commercial real estate financing. AOA members will benefit from preferred rates, along with customized financing and payment terms based on each practice’s monthly budget requirements.
“Through this agreement, Wells Fargo Practice Finance has shown a great commitment to working closely with optometric professionals to ensure long-term success is achieved,” said AOA President Joe Ellis, O.D. “We are pleased that AOA members will have full access to Wells Fargo Practice Finance’s premier client service and financial guidance for years to come.” Read the rest of this entry ?
AOA Vision Rehabilitation Section to offer CE
January 7, 2011The AOA Vision Rehabilitation Section (VRS) will again be offering the continuing education course “Reducing the Risk of Age-Related Vision Loss” to state associations in 2011.
The National Eye Institute reported in 2004 that in the United States, more than 3 million people are affected by blindness or low vision, due to cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, glaucoma or injury, and this number is expected to exceed 5 million by 2020.
“Reducing the Risk of Age-Related Vision Loss” is a two- or three-hour Council on Optometric Pratitioner Education (COPE)-approved course developed by the AOA VRS that includes education regarding the science of ocular nutrition and several case-based examples of current comprehensive treatments (nutritional, medical, and vision rehabilitative) highlighting age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. Read the rest of this entry ?
Ky. optometrist develops iPhone app to predict glaucoma risks for patients
January 6, 2011Update: The “P.R.E.D.I.C.T” iPhone glaucoma risk calculator app reported on earlier this year is now fully functional and operable on the Android smart phone systems as well as iPad tablets.
“We are excited for this next step in providing this app for more users to allow the clinicians to continue to use technology and evidence based treatments simultaneously,” said Austin Lifferth, O.D., the app’s creator.
Austin Lifferth, O.D., partnered with a software engineer to create an iPhone app that estimates patients’ risk for developing glaucoma.
Previous story: After going through the regular hassle of hunting down his risk calculator, Kentucky practitioner Austin Lifferth, O.D., decided he needed a new way to estimate his patients’ risk factors for glaucoma and ocular hypertension.
Dr. Lifferth contacted software engineer Zachary Smith, and they partnered to create a new iPhone/iTouch “app” called “P.R.E.D.I.C.T” (Patient Risk Estimator Directing Individual Care and Treatment). Read the rest of this entry ?
APHA Vision Care Section celebrates achievements
January 5, 2011
Stacy Lyons, O.D., chair of the APHA’s Vision Care Section, presents Outstanding Paper or Project Award to John Whitener, O.D., MPH, and Sandy Block, O.D., MEd.
The American Public Health Association (APHA) concluded its 138th Annual Meeting and Exposition in Denver, where more than 12,000 public health professionals from around the world met to address the nation’s top public health challenges and more than 900 scientific sessions provided the most up-to-date public health research.
“The APHA Annual Meeting provides a unique platform for thousands of public health professionals to come together to share the latest research, discuss advocacy efforts, build new partnerships and address emerging health issues currently facing the nation,” said Georges C. Benjamin, M.D., executive director of the APHA. “This year, as the next phase of health reform implementation unfolds, public health professionals will be called upon to employ the practices shared and lessons learned during the Annual Meeting in states and communities across the country to ensure all Americans reap the benefits of this historic law.” Read the rest of this entry ?
