News from the AOA's Blog

In honor of March’s Save Your Vision Month, the AOA encourages Americans to prevent workplace eye strain and eye injuries.

Whether using a computer or a sledge hammer to get the job done, the AOA reports that visual discomfort, eye strain and eye injuries in the workplace are not only common, but cost billions in lost productivity each year.  Research indicates that 2,000 workers each day in the United States sustain job-related eye injuries requiring medical treatment. Perhaps even more concerning is that safety experts and doctors of optometry agree that 90 percent of all eye and vision injuries could be prevented with simple safety steps such as wearing properly designed and fitted protective eyewear.

 Go Easy on the PDA

According to the AOA’s American Eye-Q® survey, nearly half of all Americans (46 percent) spend five or more hours per day using a computer or a personal digital assistant (PDA).  And while technology can easily improve the efficiencies of one’s life, prolonged use of electronic devices may lead to symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) such as eye strain, dry eyes, headaches, fatigue, blurred vision and inability to focus. 

In this digital era, no one expects Americans to simply stop using these devices. Instead, the AOA recommends following these simple steps which can make big changes to ease vision strain:

 Give It A Rest: Remember the 20-20-20 rule. At least every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break and look at something 20 feet away.

• Size Up: Smaller screens on hand-held devices usually favor tiny type that challenges your vision. Instead of bringing the screen closer to the eyes, increase the font size so the device can be used at a distance that is more comfortable for your eyes.
• Sharpen Up: Better resolution offers greater clarity and usually more comfort. Adjust the brightness of the screen to a comfortable intensity, neither too bright nor too dim.
• Reduce Glare: Hand-held devices present challenges in various lighting conditions. When possible, try to make sure lighting is not directly behind the head or in front. The AOA recommends users try to reduce glare, which may ease reading and can make a bigger difference than increasing the font.

Thanks to the AOA Congressional Advocacy Conference, Optometry will have an immediate chance to be heard on Capitol Hill on the massive Medicare physician payment cut set to take effect March 1.  

Hundreds of optometrists and students traveling to the nation’s capital this week to build new support for AOA-backed legislation before Congress will also be calling for a swift correction of the 21% cut in reimbursement to ODs and other Medicare physicians and a long-term solution to the continuing payment uncertainty.  

Congress’ failure to enacted long-term Medicare payment reform or even to extend the 60-day “patch” approved in December has allowed the payment cut to take effect, and led the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to place a temporary hold on fee-for-service claim processing. In a statement last week, CMS instructed carriers to delay processing claims for services provided for the March 1 – 10 period. 

The AOA Congressional Advocacy Conference, Optometry’s largest annual Federal advocacy event, had been aimed at bolstering AOA’s year-long effort to make patient access / provider non-discrimination safeguards a foundation for any health care bill to be voted on by Congress. With the Medicare payment meltdown about to be felt by doctors across the country, the message that participating optometrists and students will be taking to the U.S. Capitol will include a demand for Medicare payment fairness.

 March is the AOA’s annual Save Your Vision Month. This year’s observance is focused on “healthy vision in the workplace,” reminding employees of the importance of regular eye care and safety. New patient education pieces discuss the effects of prolonged computer and hand-held device usage has on the eyes and tips for preventing eye strain and visual discomfort; a second brochure highlights the proper selection and usage of eye safety wear for work and home environments. Read the rest of this entry ?

A young visitor to the Minnesota Optometric Association’s ‘Your Eye Health’ exhibit is about to learn what vision is like with cataracts.

The Minnesota Optometric Association’s (MOA) interactive “Your Eye Health” exhibit, developed in conjunction with the prestigious Science Museum of Minnesota, is now being featured at the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota (CMSM) in Mankato, Minn. Thanks to a 2009 Healthy Eyes Healthy People® grant, the four-panel exhibit will be on display at the CMSM’s transitional location, in Mankato’s Madison East Shopping Center, through May 2010. Read the rest of this entry ?

The AOA Paraoptometric Section announces the newest addition to its series of education modules. “Fitting Soft Toric Contact Lenses” is now available to paraoptometric professionals. The education module is provided through an education grant from SpecialEyes. Soft contact lenses are the most widely prescribed contact lenses in the United States. They boast immediate and long-term comfort for the wearer and provide excellent vision for the myopic and hyperopic patient. Read the rest of this entry ?

The names and National Provider Identifier (NPI) numbers of 800,000 health care practitioners, eligible to order or refer items and services under Medicare, is now available online, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Optometrists are eligible to order and refer items and services in Medicare. However, as of April 5, 2010, the CMS plans to require eligible physicians to have a “current” enrollment record, which means an enrollment record in the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) database that Medicare began using in 2003. Read the rest of this entry ?

One of New Mexico’s largest and best-known health insurers has called off plans to dissolve its optometric provider network and “carve out” vision care coverage, after determining the action could have effectively left thousands of state residents without adequate access to medical eye care, according to the New Mexico Optometric Association (NMOA). Read the rest of this entry ?

The new 2010 editions of the AOA PQRI Webinar and AOA PQRI Eye Care Measures chart are both now available on the AOA Web site PQRI page (www.aoa.org/pqri.xml).  Read the rest of this entry ?

InfantSEE

In the fall of 2008, the AOA received a federal appropriation in the amount of $430,348 to provide increased awareness of the InfantSEE® program.  Through the pilot project, administered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), findings revealed a growing need for early vision examinations in infants.  The pilot project was designed to test how localized advertising, media outreach and public relations efforts affected the numbers of infants receiving assessments. Read the rest of this entry ?

 The AARP included an interview with AOA Associate Director of Clinical and Practice Advancement Group Mary Beth Rhomberg, O.D., on its Driver Safety homepage (www.aarp.org/drive) last month. Read the rest of this entry ?