Review of Optometry articles from February 2003

Review of Optometry archives from February 2003

Supreme Court to consider AWP law: without an any willing provider law, Kentucky HMOs could boot out O.D.s. (News Review).
February 15, 2003... The U.S. Supreme Court has begun hearing a case which may determine whether health-insurance companies are free to handpick the physicians they can include in their provider network. If the highest court upholds a Kentucky any willing...

Herpes simplex virus. (In the News).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... Prophylaxis of herpes simplex virus is effective, but not cast effective, says a new economic study from the University of Texas Health Science Center. One year of preventative drug treatment of ocular HSV costs $8,532. And even for patients...

CIBA Vision. (In the News).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... Rick Weisbarth, O.D., has been promoted to vice president, professional services, of CIBA Vision North America.

Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. (In the News).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... Researchers in the Netherlands have refilled the crystalline lenses in presbyopes with a soft polymer. All the lenses restored the ability for accommodative changes. "Refilling the lens during lens surgery for cataract could enable restoration...

Ocular Sciences Inc. (In the News).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... Procter & Gamble has signed Ocular Sciences Inc. to manufacture and sell Cover Girl Colors cosmetic disposable contact lenses.

Michigan expands scope of practice: drops glaucoma consult, adds orals. (News Review).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... A new law amplifies Michigan optometrists' scope of practice. The legislation makes three important changes to the way that O.D.s in the state can treat disease: * Removes the proviso that the optometrist--upon suspicion that a patient has...

Hyperopia linked to ocular hypertension, says Beaver Dam Eye study. (News Review).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... Hyperopia may be associated with a risk for ocular hypertension, according to new findings from the Beaver Dam Eye study. The study's lead author, Tien Yin Wong, M.D., Ph.D., says he was "quite surprised" by the link. Previous studies...

HHS to hold national conferences on HIPAA. (News Review).
February 15, 2003... If you still don't have the foggiest notion what the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is except that you'll get in big trouble if you don't follow it to the letter, some upcoming seminars may help. The U.S. Department of...

Even without PureVision, B&L sales, profits gain. (News Review).
February 15, 2003... Despite the lack of domestic sales of PureVision contacts, Bausch & Lomb posted a 13% rise in revenue in contact lens sales in the last quarter: B&L earned $32.4 million, or 60 cents a share, in the last quarter, vs. a loss of $8 million,...

New method could spare children with rentinoblastoma from enucleation. (News Review).
February 15, 2003... Enucleation and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) have been the traditional therapies for children with intraocular retinoblastoma (RB). However, clinical trials are exploring other methods of treatment that will salvage the globe and avoid the...

'H' is for HIPAA, and for headache: why fix health care when HIPAA is much easier? (Editor's Page).
February 15, 2003... Rich Kirkner If anyone still cares about such a thing, our nation's health-care woes are well documented. Forty one million uninsured and growing every day, medical doctors going on strike over crushing malpractice costs, employers...

Back to the future, just like old times: welcome to the new year. Now please dress like a grown-up. (Chairside).
February 15, 2003... 2003. That just sounds weird, but it is on the front of my appointment book. We all know that means it's real. For you high-tech types, an appointment book is that thing in which you record patient appointments, because you know the...

VSP is on our side! Is not! Is too! (Letter's & E-Mail).(Letter to the Editor)
February 15, 2003... While your article "VSP Plans Changes That Spark O.D. Ire" (December 2002) may have been accurate, it certainly wasn't unbiased. Regarding the VSP changes, you left out a few things. Let me state from the outset that I am not only a...

A VAR: decoder of technobabble; a value-added retailer can help solve the mystery of buying computer gear. (Technology Review).
February 15, 2003... Not long ago optometric-specific software was non-existent. You had to be a computer genius to buy hardware without getting ripped off. Since the late 1990s, however, software specific to our profession has proliferated, and hardware has become...

Going for the goals: this hard-working doctor sets her sights high, but still keeps her feet on the ground. (Profiles in Excellence).(Biography)
February 15, 2003... Was one of your New Year's resolutions to sit down and write a list of goals for your career and your life? Louise Sclafani, O.D., is the kind of person who actually has a written list of personal and professional goals. Not only that, Dr....

How to cure the HIPAA headache: ready or not, here it comes. Here's what you need to do to get compliant for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. (Cover Story).
February 15, 2003... With so much information out there on how to be compliant under the federally mandated Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, those hefty how-to HIPAA manuals make War and Peace look like a quick read. As the April 14...

Navigate all the angles gonioscopy: here's a clinical review of a procedure that many doctors don't consider routine. (Diagnostic Procedures).
February 15, 2003... Gonioscopy is a procedure that many doctors don't consider routine. Understanding when it's indicated and what you're looking for can take much of the mystery and difficulty out of this procedure. Here, I'll discuss the indications for...

Hold the Caffeine, pass the fish: certain kinds of nutrition may contribute to dry eye. But other types of nutrition can help it. (Dry Eye Report).
February 15, 2003... Do fish ever get dry eyes? Of course not. All joking aside, our dry eye patients could reap the benefits of our marine friends by trying--in addition to our standard therapy with artificial tears and punctal plugs--a nutritional approach to...

New remedies for the ravages of dry eye: the recent approval of cyclosporine heralds a landmark--but by no means the only--new treatment for this prevalent condition. (Dry Eye Report).
February 15, 2003... Because dry eye is a chronic disease for which there is no cure, management is often prolonged and difficult. This can be challenging and even frustrating for practitioners. Patience and a thorough understanding of the disorder are crucial for...

A new era in comanagement.
February 15, 2003... Refractive surgery has broadened the scope of optometric practice in a very significant way. When conventional LASIK was first approved, your responsibilities as comanaging doctors expanded. As a result, you were called upon by your patients...

Review of Systems, Part II MS and the eye: know the warning signs; optic neuritis is often a precursor of multiple sclerosis. Here's a look at these disorders and your role in diagnosing patients. (Patient Care).
February 15, 2003... Every week some 200 people--slightly more than one person an hour--are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society reports. They join approximately 400,000 other Americans who have MS. Their resultant disabilities...

Surgical update, part II the fallback options when IPO won't drop: despite advances in medications, some glaucoma patients still require surgery to preserve their vision. Here's a look at some of the procedures available. (Optometric Study Center).
February 15, 2003... With continued advances in drugs in recent years, we can successfully manage many glaucoma patients with medical therapy. Still, medical treatment does not always succeed in lowering IOP, and some patients will require surgery to preserve their...

Phakic IOLs: the LASIK alternative; here's an option for those who want refractive surgery. (Research Review).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... At one time LASIK was the only option available to refractive surgery candidates. We thought we could refer every potential refractive surgery candidate for LASIX, but as more patients had this procedure, the more scrutinizing we became. ...

The confounding red eye patient: floppy eyelid syndrome can mimic other conditions. Here's how to diagnose. (Comanagement Q&A).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... Q A 55-year-old male presented-with a six-month history of a mildly red, irritated left eye, keratitis and some GPC. Two doctors diagnosed him with dry eye and gave him artificial tears. Mother gave him an antibiotic. On inferior gaze, he...

Does CL wearer have Sjogren's? (Cornea & Contact Lens Q&A).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... How do you know whether a patient has simple dry eye or a systemic disease?. Q A 39-year-old female patient recently became contact lens intolerant, and complains of severe dryness even when she doesn't wear her lenses. She also has a "dry...

Multiple findings confound Dx: is retinal lesion or reflective membrane responsible for the patient's visual decline? (Retina Quiz).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... A 70-year-old Hispanic male presented complaining of a gradual decline of vision in his right eye during the past two months. At his last exam 18 months earlier, visual acuity was 20/20 O.U. His ocular history was significant for having had...

Patients' meds affect comfort: drugs for systemic conditions may lead to dry eye. Here's what we can do about it. (Therapeutic Review).
February 15, 2003... Dry eye syndrome is probably the most common ocular disorder among our patients, yet we are just grazing the surface when it comes to understanding its etiology. The Classification Study Group of the National Institutes of Health defines...

Illuminating lenses. (Contact Lenses).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... CIBA Vision claims its new Freshlook Radiance cosmetic contact lenses can illuminate both light and dark eyes without changing their natural color. The lens design features an inner starburst pattern with a charcoal outer ring for definition....

Resolving AR. (Ophthalmic Lenses).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... Resolution lenses from Optima now have a new AR coating, Cerium58, that the company says resolves coating and durability issues that have long been a concern with AR coatings. Optima's Optical monitor measures optical thickness throughout...

Express yourself. (Office Design).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... The Expressions collection of office furniture and freestanding displays from Eye Designs features wood displays with elegant curves and details. Call 1-800-346-8890 or go to www.eyedesigns.com.

Rack 'em. (Product Rewiew).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... A variety of new trial lens racks from Gulden Ophthalmics, including trial lenses, are available. Skiascopy, hyperopic/myopic, confirmation and retinoscopy racks are available in kits or in pieces. Each rack is modular so that you can modify it...

Topography made easy. (Diagnostic Aids).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... The new Easygraph topographer from Oculus Inc. weighs just 1.5lbs and can be mounted to your slit lamp. A keratometer is built in for real K readings. The Easygraph runs on Microsoft Windows-compatible software with keratoconus software as an...

Mystical magnification. (Low Vision).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... Enhanced Vision Systems' Merlin auto-focus desktop magnifier now has VGA (video graphics array) capability, which the company says allows users to integrate the Merlin with any computer monitor. There's no longer any need to use computer and...

Predatory behavior. (Ophthalmic Frame Board).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... The Predator Sport Nylon Rectangle (RB4023), the latest offering from Luxottica's RayBan label, is a wrap-style frame with 8-base curve lenses. It's available with either polarized or multi-layer red mirror lenses. Color combinations include...

Elaborate Occhiali. (Product Review).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... Marchon's Fendi Occhiali collection features four new metal frames for women: * F555 features rhinestone logo treatments on each temple, and is available in colors lilac, bronze, palladium or golden glimmer. Sizes are 50/17-130 and...

O.D. finder. (What's New on the Web?).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... The AOA's new Doctor Locator Web site is now available to AOA members and the public. Patients can search for an optometrist in their area using multiple search criteria or lust their zip code. Users can also search by doctor's name, practice...

Web builder. (What's New on the Web?).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... ByteEmDoc, a division of Williams Consulting Group, offers Web site solutions to eye care practices looking to reach e-health consumers. They'll help you use your Web site to offer appointment scheduling, product information and more. Services...

Geometric group. (Product Review).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... Calvin Klein by Marchon introduces three new frames for women. The new frames are based on geometric concepts. Two stainless-steel rimless frames, CK285 and CK289, feature rectangular lenses with discreet logos at the temple tips. Color choices...

Is illness keeping patient's eye open? (Diagnostic Quiz).(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... History A 29-year-old white female presented for an ocular health evaluation four weeks after she had been admitted to the hospital for Guillain-Barre syndrome. She contracted the disorder after a bout with influenza. The patient...