The 2011-2012 VRS Council was installed by Mark Wilkinson, O.D., at the Annual Business Meeting on Friday, June 17, 2011.
Dawn K DeCarlo, O.D., will serve as chair; Pamela R. Oliver, O.D., chair-elect;. Kara C Gagnon, O.D., vice chair; Maria Richman, O.D., secretary; Brenda Montecalvo, O.D., senior member-at-large; David C. Lewerenz, O.D., member at-large; and Jerry P. Davidoff, O.D., immediate past chair. Read the rest of this entry ?
The AOA Contact Lens & Cornea Section (CLCS) installed its new council and announced the recipients of its Student and Resident Essay Travel Grants and Awards at Optometry’s Meeting®.
The 2011-2012 CLCS Council was installed by Kevin Alexander, O.D., Ph.D., at the Annual Business Meeting.
The council includes LaMar G. Zigler, O.D., chair; Randy F. Fuerst, O.D., chair-elect;. Glenda B. Secor, O.D., vice chair; Tom Quinn, O.D., secretary; Jeffrey J. Walline, O.D., council member; Bruce R. Hankin, O.D., council member; and Christine W. Sindt, O.D., immediate past chair. Read the rest of this entry ?
The AOA and other physician groups are now mobilizing their grassroots advocates and boosting direct advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill in preparation for what some experts in the nation’s capital are calling a potential Medicare payment “perfect storm” looming on the horizon.
In the coming months, Congress and the Obama administration will be forced to make important decisions on a number of plans that call for drastic changes to federal health care spending, which could mean a series of massive cuts in Medicare payments to ODs and other physicians.
While the AOA has been feverishly working to avert a nearly 30 percent cut set to take effect in 2012, the recently-approved debt ceiling deal and the health law’s Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) also pose serious threats to Medicare physician reimbursement in the near future.
Knowing what is at stake for patients and providers, the AOA continues to work closely with key champions on Capitol Hill to highlight the important role that optometrists play in protecting the health of America’s seniors and also in stretching federal health care dollars by helping to prevent more costly interventions down the road. Read the rest of this entry ?
From left, Donald Siegel, O.D., Mark Andre, and Harvard Sylvan, O.D., present “Seeing is Believing: A Live Multifocal Workshop.”
As many Optometry’s Meeting® attendees discovered, seeing really is believing when it comes to fitting multifocal contact lenses. A CooperVision-sponsored course in the Discovery Theater this June in Salt Lake City demonstrated that fitting multifocal lenses is not difficult.
Mark Andre, Don Siegel, O.D., and Harvard Sylvan, O.D., presented “Seeing is Believing: A Live Multifocal Workshop,” which included the fitting of presbyopic patients with little or no previous multifocal experience.
“I have to admit that although I have been in practice for many years I still have reservations about fitting patients with soft multifocal contacts,” said Joe Martin, O.D., a course attendee. “It just seems to take too much time and the visual outcomes are often disappointing. So the live fitting of patients in the Discovery Theater drew my interest as the description indicated that the session would demonstrate that fitting multifocals is not time consuming or complicated.” Read the rest of this entry ?
Dr. Smithson
Outfielder Bryce Harper is being widely heralded as baseball’s next great star. With perhaps unprecedented natural ability (as well a brash and colorful personality), many believe he could become a major sports phenomenon, on a par with Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, or Michael Jordan.
If he does, he will almost certainly focus new attention on the importance of good eyesight for athletes, according to Keith Smithson, O.D., team optometrist for the Washington Nationals.
An eye examination, contact lenses, and sports vision training provided by Dr. Smithson this past spring are being credited with re-charging the young power hitter’s career just as it appeared to stalling. Read the rest of this entry ?
Dr. Hawthorne has practiced nearly 20 years and continues to provide quality eye care services.
After carefully weighing the pros and cons of other health professions while a sophomore in high school, Hilary Hawthorne, O.D., knew optometry was the perfect fit for her. Now, nearly 20 years later, she continues to provide quality eye care services for patients who refer family and friends alike to her practice, Community Eye Center Optometry, in South Los Angeles.
Q: What is it about the profession that makes you so passionate about it? In other words, what motivates you?
A: I believe one’s motivation comes from within and is fed by one’s environment, experience and values. One of the reasons I chose to practice the profession of optometry was I learned from AOA members that it was built on ethical principles by people who believed in its vision. I am thankful for their commitment to optometry, as this set a precedent for me and ultimately contributed to my own motivation to protect and defend optometry. Read the rest of this entry ?
Kevin Sharp volunteers by helping at Opening Eyes 2011 in Michigan.
Americans have discovered a penchant for volunteering. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 60 million Americans volunteer annually. Volunteer-ing makes people feel good about themselves and their contributions to their communities.
In recent years, an increasing number of employing organizations have begun encouraging and supporting employees in their volunteer efforts. The organization and the individual stand to gain numerous benefits from employer supported volunteerism.
The benefits of volunteering for an individual are many. Volunteerism matches an individual with a need in the community. It offers the volunteer an opportunity to make a meaningful and long-term difference within the community — an experience that is often very rewarding and sometimes life-changing. Read the rest of this entry ?
As millions of children head back to the classroom, parents are looking for every opportunity to help them be successful in school and in life. On the new edition of Healthy VisionTM with Dr. Val Jones, top national experts discussed how early identification of vision problems and different types of vision correction can impact a child’s self esteem, confidence and performance.
According to the AOA, one in four school-age children suffer from an undetected or untreated vision problem. While most school vision screenings can and do catch some types of vision problems, they do have their limitations. AOA president Dori Carlson, O.D., a guest on the program, said studies show that upward of 75 percent of children who have a learning-related vision problem are missed during school screenings and other studies show that upward of 40 percent don’t get follow-up care afterward. Read the rest of this entry ?
Edited by Chuck Brownlow, O.D., Medical Records consultant
Question: I’m currently being audited by a very large national insurance company. They say my records do not support the codes that I’ve reported. What can I do?
Answer: I don’t mean to be blunt, but if the insurer’s auditor is correct and your records don’t support the codes you’ve billed, chances are you will be paying money back to the insurer. This is becoming more common in health care, partially because all health care providers are much more interested in providing care than in learning the rules for billing for that care. Most providers have done an excellent job in providing patient care and in keeping up to date with changes in diagnosis and management of patients’ conditions. Unfortunately, many have not done a very good job of learning the rules for reporting that care to insurers, including the accurate choice of codes for their services. Read the rest of this entry ?
Accessing reliable drug and disease information at the point of care can be challenging for health care professionals.
Epocrates, Inc., the leading provider of point-of-care reference solutions for more than 1.3 million health care professionals worldwide, develops mobile products that include eye care-specific drug and disease information.
Epocrates was recently ranked in the top 10 on the world’s 50 Most Innovative Companies list in 2011 by Fast Company magazine as a result of its mobile drug reference tools that help medical professionals make more informed decisions. Read the rest of this entry ?
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Dori’s 20/20 Tour Maino’s Memos
