News from the AOA's Blog

The AOA Sports Vision Section’s (SVS) Sports Vision University (SVU) program provides a comprehensive overview of the many aspects of sports vision in four-hours of Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE)-approved education, available for optometrists and students of optometry.

The SVU course will be presented at two state association meetings and four schools/ colleges of optometry this year.   

“There is a huge market of athletes who have visual needs that could be addressed with sports vision services,” said Steven Hitzeman, O.D. “These services include protection, correction, contact lenses, altering the visible light transmission to increase contrast of visual stimuli, and enhancing the visual skills that are important for that sport. There is a need for these services, no matter the level of the athlete – professional, college, high school, club sport or recreational activities.” Read the rest of this entry ?

More than 200 media outlets have covered the AOA and 3D @ Home Consortium meeting this week.

To view NY1′s coverage of the subject, visit: http://www.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/technology/135670/doctors–3d-experts-team-up-to-advance-the-technology.

The AOA and its 36,000 members announced its partnership with the 3D@Home Consortium, a group of more than 45 companies, to improve the understanding of 3-D/S3-D viewing as a safe and appropriate technology for all viewing audiences. The parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), stating their intent to share data and jointly promote vision health utilizing stereoscopic 3-D displays.

The cooperative relationship will be a conduit for the exchange of the most current information and research. Both the AOA and the 3D@Home Consortium acknowledge vision and eye health may enhance consumers’ abilities to view 3-D/S3-D images, and ultimately increase their use of such technology. The two groups will collaborate in the development of common interest strategies, exchange of ideas, and shared best practices. Read the rest of this entry ?

The SVS issued a special thank you to all SVS volunteers in 2010 who helped to make this program a success.

The AOA Sports Vision Section (SVS) will be conducting free vision evaluations July 29-31 for athletes competing in the 2011 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic Games in New Orleans, La., thanks to a generous sponsorship grant from Vistakon®, Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

The program, co-chaired by Steven Hitzeman, O.D., and Stephen Beckerman, O.D., provides volunteers the opportunity to establish testing protocols, gather data, and aid in identifying the best types of sports vision evaluation equipment. In addition, it is an excellent opportunity to receive hands-on training and experience in the latest sports vision evaluation techniques.

The AAU Junior Olympic Games is the largest national multi-sport event conducted annually for youth in the United States. More than 4,000 Junior Olympic athletes have received free vision evaluations from the SVS in the last 15 years. Read the rest of this entry ?

The AOA Contact Lens and Cornea Section (CLCS) Student Membership Grant program is generously sponsored by CIBA Vision. Through this sponsorship, all current AOSA members become CLCS members FREE. No additional application process is required.

The CLCS membership will provide students with a Certificate of Membership, timely clinical education through the monthly CLCS e-Newsletter, innovative educational programming at Optometry’s Meeting®, educational resources through the AOA Web site and staff, a national referral network, and eligibility to receive awards at CLCS-related events at Optometry’s Meeting®.

Students can start taking advantage of their FREE CLCS membership by visiting the CLCS Web page at www.aoa.org/CLCS.xml.

For more information, contact Member Services Representative Angie Zielinski at 800-365-2219, ext. 4224, or by e-mail at ALZielinski@aoa.org.

Some AOA members have expressed concern about Eyeglasses.com listing optometrists on its Web site without getting approval from the doctors to use their names. When this issue first arose, the AOA’s attorney contacted Eyeglasses.com and requested that member optometrists’ names be removed from its Web site. Eyeglasses.com contacted the AOA by telephone and indicated it thought many doctors viewed this listing as free advertising, and it considered this a free service to the doctors. Eyeglasses.com indicated it would note clearly on its Web site that the “eyewear practices” are not affiliated with Eyeglasses.com. Also, Eyeglasses.com, in response to the AOA’s request, added a sentence to its Web site that allows doctors to be removed from the directory if they so choose. As a result, some doctors have removed their names from this Web site.  Read the rest of this entry ?