Optician articles from March 2008

Optician archives from March 2008

Reticular pigmentation and equatorial drusen.(Features)(Brief article)
March 28, 2008... Honeycomb degeneration DESCRIPTION Reticular pigmentation and equatorial drusen are age-related, benign, peripheral retinal degenerations that are frequently seen together and have no association with retinal breaks or detachment. They...

P pages.(Brief article)
March 28, 2008... Birmingham Optical, Ocuco, Seiko and Braemar are collaborating on a mini tour of Scotland in April, entitled Technology on Tour. There will be a hands-on demonstration of the Nidek AFC-210 Fundus Camera, along with the new retinal screening...

Briot adds compact lens edger.(P pages)(Brief article)
March 28, 2008... Briot has added to its edging technology with the launch of the compact Briot Alta XS which Buchmann described as combining an easy to use frame scanner with semi-automatic blocking. Partnering the Briot Alta NX edger, with a sleek design...

News.
March 28, 2008... The results have been released for the Brixton Hypertension Pilot Project, a scheme to increase awareness and detection of hypertension in young African and Afro-Caribbean males. A total of 283 patients were screened, 63 per cent of which...

Call to extend pressure screening.(News)
March 28, 2008... The co-lead of a Brixton blood pressure screening service aimed at increasing awareness and detection of hypertension in young Afro-Caribbean and African males has called for the scheme to be rolled out nationally. Under the scheme,...

Clarlet customises single vision.(P pages)(Carl Zeiss Vision)(Brief article)
March 28, 2008... Clarlet Individual is a new customised, free-form single-vision lens by Carl Zeiss Vision, designed to provide clearer and sharper vision in all directions. 'The combination of individual "position of wear" parameters and an optimisation...

Surgeon urges IOL upgrades.(News)(Brief article)
March 28, 2008... Cataract patients may soon be able to pay to upgrade their intraocular lenses thanks to the campaigning of a Sunderland consultant ophthalmologist. Speaking to an audience of health chiefs, MPs and members of the Lords at the Strangers'...

Professional feesPart 2 - Fee and product pricing calculations.(P pages)
March 28, 2008... In the second article of this series, Martin Russ explains how to calculate fees using the CIBA Vision Professional Fee Template Whether you decide to implement professional fee-based pricing for contact lens wearers, eye examinations, or...

This sporting life.(Features)
March 28, 2008... You may be forgiven for thinking that you have mistakenly picked up a copy of Men's Health magazine and not Optician this week. A large proportion of this issue is concerned with sports vision, including the start of a new CET series,...

News.
March 28, 2008... Costco asks for dialogue with PCTs The warehouse retailer Costco has revealed that it wishes to open discussion with the 16 PCTs whose ophthalmic lists it's currently on. The announcement came after its appeal failed against Milton Keynes...

D&A supports retail trainees.(News)
March 28, 2008... Dollond & Aitchison has become the latest high-street retailer to participate in a national project to transform the UK's retail skills. It has agreed to give access to some of its training services and facilities to the proposed National...

News.(Brief article)
March 28, 2008... By Alex Thomas Many optical practices around the UK are noticing signs of a potential economic downturn, such as a decline in customer spending as well as decreasing numbers of patients. Roger Evans-Jones, owner of Evans-Jones...

Value of our skills is being undermined.(P pages)(Personal account)(Brief article)
March 28, 2008... * As a contact lens practitioner I have read the articles on pricing for professional time with great interest and I have for many years supplied my contact lenses with a lens charge plus a professional fee. I always impress on my patients the...

The autistic spectrum and eye examinations.(Features)
March 28, 2008... Andrew Millington blah blah blah An eye examination is a stressful situation for anyone but because of the potential for sensory overload we need to be especially careful when we examine someone on the Autistic Spectrum.1,2 Autism is a...

Taylor stands in for departing Coe.(News)(Brief article)
March 28, 2008... GOC deputy registrar Dian Taylor is to become acting registrar and chief executive of the Council following Peter Coe's retirement in July 2008. As reported in Optician, (News, March 14), Coe said he would retire from the post on reaching...

A testing speciality.(Features)
March 28, 2008... Alex Thomas reports on the sports vision work of Dr Michel Guillon, who is part of a Premiership medical team Pioneering eye-research scientist, Dr Michel Guillon has had a lifelong infatuation with sport. At school he played 'everything'...

J&J campaign pinpoints eye care.(P pages)
March 28, 2008... Johnson & Johnson Vision Care has launched a new consumer advertising campaign to promote the importance of having regular eye examinations and drive new customers to visit practitioners. Described by J&J as one of the largest of its kind...

High street at saturation point.(Features)(Report)
March 28, 2008... Most major retail chains are reaching saturation point, the potential for expansion in most towns is limited and the acquisition of one of the chains by a competitor or big product supplier is likely. These are among the findings of a major...

No faith in GOC consultation.(Other)(Brief article)
March 28, 2008... * The report on page 5 of your March 14 issue beggars belief. Does the GOC seriously believe that 89 per cent of 171 respondents from a profession of some 16,000 members is a true representation of the majority view. The eminent names on...

Dealing with Mr Angry.(P pages)
March 28, 2008... Paul Clapham gives advice to practices on how to handle complaints and build customer satisfaction The person who never made a mistake never made anything. Like most cliches this happens to be annoyingly accurate. The businessman needs to...

News.
March 28, 2008... Many optical outlets participating in an Optician news poll say there are signs that consumer credit crunch worries are starting to have an impact. Some practitioners have reported a decline in spending on frames and a decrease in the...

Other.(Column)
March 28, 2008... Given that this column only appears once a month it is difficult to reply immediately to those who may disagree with my comments. However, this is one occasion when I will respond to the challenges to my piece about the global problem of visual...

Contact lens potential.(Other)
March 28, 2008... Most results are in general decline, but there is some good news thanks to new contact lens fits and a rise in practice and per eye exam turnover F ebruary results improved on January, but still lagged results for 2007 in the main. New...

Rising to the challenge.(Features)
March 28, 2008... Optician has assembled a team to take part in this summer's UK Ironman 70.3 and raise funds for Vision Aid Overseas A seven-strong team, consisting of optometrists, dispensing opticians and Optician editor Chris Bennett, is already in...

Cut voucher prices and raise exam fee.(P pages)(Personal account)
March 28, 2008... * I have been an optometrist for nearly 30 years and in all that time the one constant has been the underfunded NHS examination supported by the cross-subsidy of dispensing. I may be cynical, but I feel this and future governments are unlikely...

Performance, vision and sport - a practitioner's guide.(P pages)
March 28, 2008... In the first of a new CET-approved series, sports vision specialist Geraint Griffiths introduces practitioners to the concept of performance vision in sport and explains how it can be incorporated into everyday practice. Module C8787, one...

P pages.
March 28, 2008... The latest sunglasses from Italian fashion name Pollini are over-sized and wraparound. The acetate designs are embellished by decorative elements and are inspired by Pollini's ready-to-wear collection. * DETAILS: www.elitegroup.it

News.
March 28, 2008... Top gear: The Porsche Centre in Guildford was the venue for Rodenstock's CET presentation about free-form lens technology. Those in attendance were also offered the chance to see the latest releases from Porsche Design Eyewear. Christopher Hall...

Club takes the road to Morocco with Club.(P pages)
March 28, 2008... Rodenstock customers have the chance to win one of 26 trips to the cultural city of Casablanca, Morocco in a loyalty scheme for its StarClub and Club members that runs until the end of November. A four-tier structure ensures small practices...

Daily disposablesare the answer.(Features)(Brief article)
March 28, 2008... * Optician of March 7 devotes no fewer than seven full pages to the problems of 'compatibility, compliance and safety' relating to supply and use of contact lens cleaning solution products. If anyone was in any doubt that this product category...

News.
March 28, 2008... I would like to thank Helen Pickford, Chairman North Wales ROC for her success in negotiating an agreement to uplift our cataract referral scheme fee for this year back dated to April 07 AND an agreement to automatically increase the fee in...

Murray Wells seeks CEO.(News)(Brief article)
March 28, 2008... Glasses Direct founder and executive chairman Jamie Murray Wells has embarked on a search for the company's first chief executive officer to manage the day-to-day running of the business. In a statement, Murray Wells told Optician that he...

US health agency probes Lasik's long-term effects.(News)
March 28, 2008... US health regulators are to review the long-term effects of Lasik surgery on patients. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched an inquiry following a number of concerns about patient satisfaction with the procedure, said...