The Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) and the Illinois Optometric Association (IOA) are hosting a campus-wide celebration of optometry in Illinois as well as the college’s 140th anniversary during Optometry’s Meeting® in Chicago. Read the rest of this entry »
Over 200 hours of accredited CE make Optometry’s Meeting® a must-attend event
May 25, 2012
Continuing education (CE) is always a prime reason to attend Optometry’s Meeting®, and 2012 brings you many new topics and formats from which to choose. Read the rest of this entry »
HHS wants to delay ICD-10 deadline until 2014
May 25, 2012The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is proposing to delay until Oct. 1, 2014, the compliance deadline for the use of International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition (ICD-10) diagnosis and procedure codes on insurance claims and other health care-related transactions. Read the rest of this entry »
Michigan Optometric Association rejects vision plan effort to limit full-scope optometric care
May 24, 2012By an overwhelming 6 to 1 margin, the Michigan Optometric Association (MOA) voted on May 9 to reject a plan backed by vision plans and their representatives seeking to gain control over how optometric care will be delivered in the state health insurance exchange now being created. Instead, MOA doctors support moving toward integrating vision and eye health coverage and assuring the seamless delivery eye health care by optometrists. Read the rest of this entry »
ODs net $2 million in Medicare eRx incentives
May 24, 2012The Medicare Electronic-Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program issued bonus payments totaling $2,304,808.70 to optometrists during its second year, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Optometrists who qualified for payments through the program during 2010 received an average of $2,462.40. Read the rest of this entry »
ODs exempt from eRx penalties
May 24, 2012Optometrists, like many other health care professionals, can earn Medicare payment bonuses for prescribing pharmaceuticals electronically; however they will not be subject to Medicare payment reductions for failure to e-prescribe (eRx), according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Read the rest of this entry »
PQRS incentives to optometrists top $3 million
May 23, 2012The Medicare Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) issued more than $3 million in incentive payments to optometrists during 2010, according to latest in a series of reports on the program from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Read the rest of this entry »
CMS targets medical ID theft
May 23, 2012The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is launching a drive to help keep health care practitioners from becoming victims of identify theft. Read the rest of this entry »
AOA, ASCO launch Workforce Study Survey
May 23, 2012This month the AOA and the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) will be distributing a survey to more than 4,000 optometrists across the nation to capture optometric workforce trends. Read the rest of this entry »
AOA leaders among U.S. representatives at international meeting on standards
May 22, 2012
U.S. delegates at the ISO meeting included, first row from left, Neil Roche, Charlie Campbell, M.D., Jeff Endres, and Allen Krisiloff; second row from left, Bill Brown, O.D., Ph.D., Dick Whitney, Ken Frederick, and Karl Citek, O.D., Ph.D.
AOA Commission on Ophthalmic Standards (CmOS) representatives Karl Citek, O.D., Ph.D., and William Brown, O.D., Ph.D., joined delegates from around in the world this spring at a week-long meeting of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 172 (TC172) Subcommittee 7 (SC7) on Ophthalmic Optics and Instruments.
The ISO network develops and publishes international standards and includes 163 countries. Drs. Citek and Brown represented the United States.
“Standards serve two primary purposes,” said Dr. Citek, who chairs the CmOS. “First, standards define requirements and set tolerances for manufacturing of products. This ensures that patients receive quality products that will perform as intended. Second, standards act as guidelines for practice. This ensures that doctors perform techniques and procedures that are consistent with the current level of care necessary to treat patients with particular conditions.” Read the rest of this entry »
