Review of Optometry articles from November 2002

Review of Optometry archives from November 2002

Bifocals may increase falls in older adults. (In the News).
November 15, 2002... Bifocals may increase falls in older adults. Researchers in Australia studied spectacle-wearing seniors (age 63-90) and found that those who wore bifocal or multifocal glasses were more than twice as likely as those who wore other types of...

The FDA has approved Alcon's customized wavefront-guided laser system. (In the News).
November 15, 2002... The FDA has approved Alcon's customized wavefront-guided laser system. LADARVision is the first system to receive FDA approval for customized LASIK surgery using a wavefront measurement device and an excimer laser.

Scientists in Japan have found that rats fed a diet high in monosodium glutamate (MSG) suffered vision problems and had thinner retinas than other animals. (In the News).
November 15, 2002... Scientists in Japan have found that rats fed a diet high in monosodium glutamate (MSG) suffered vision problems and had thinner retinas than other animals. No need to throw away your chopsticks yet: The amount fed to rats was proportionally...

HIPAA: another deadline coming; you have five months left to comply with the privacy standard rule. (News Review).
November 15, 2002... The deadline to apply for an electronic filing extension under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act has come and gone. But whether you think you're already in compliance, or if you've filed for a one-year extension by the...

Amniotic membrane lens may save damaged corneas. (News Review).
November 15, 2002... Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., have successfully reproduced amniotic membrane contact lenses which can therapeutically treat damaged or diseased corneas. The development team, led by Nashville surgeon Ming Wang,...

Glaucoma study: IOP really does matter. (News Review).
November 15, 2002... Following on the heels of the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study, a new landmark glaucoma trial now confirms in practice what eye doctors have long preached: Lowering intraocular pressure unequivocally slows or possibly prevents glaucomatous...

Loss of PureVision puts pinch on B&L. (News Review).
November 15, 2002... First, Bausch & Lomb got stung with a pricey patent infringement lawsuit involving PureVision contacts. Then its new CEO Ronald Zarrella announced the company would close plants and eliminate 450 jobs to help return the company to...

FDA cracks down on unauthorized cosmetic lenses. (News Review).
November 15, 2002... The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to consumers that they risk corneal ulcer, conjunctivitis, corneal edema and other possible complications from wearing contact lenses, including decorative contact lenses, without a prescription...

Congress considers Contact Lens bills. (News Review).
November 15, 2002... In a historic move, the AOA and American Academy of Ophthalmology are working together on contact lens legislation. The primary goal in creating the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (HR5657) is to combat another proposed bill, the Contact...

How you doin'? 'Mezzo, mezzo'. (Editor's Page).
November 15, 2002... Guy walks into a bar. "How you doin'?" he asks his buddy. "How you doin'?" the buddy shoots back, and so it goes as they exchange the same greeting around the bar. You've seen the commercial. Lots of people asking "How you doin'?" Nobody...

No such thing as a free lunch: I'm through with providing pro bono to boneheads. (Chairside).
November 15, 2002... We all provide free services from time to time. Now, sometimes we feel that with managed care and relative values and all that junk that EVERY examination and service we offer might as well be free. Also, most of the public doesn't understand...

Letters & E-mail.
November 15, 2002... Texans Weigh In On Puerto Rico It was with great disappointment that I read the headlines about the "civil war" among O.D.s in Puerto Rico ("Puerto Rico O.D.s Waging 'Civil War'," News Review, August 2002). I think responsible...

Does your practice hit the mark? Benchmarking is ideal for measuring performance, but with certain caveats. (Management Review).
November 15, 2002... Benchmarking is an excellent practice-management tool. It's as important to managing your practice as a binocular indirect ophthalmoscope is to performing a comprehensive exam. Here's why: An accurate benchmark allows you to measure your...

The storm on your doorstep: tough economy spells tough times for optometric practices. (State of Optometry Report: Introduction).
November 15, 2002... In his first State of the Union Address, former President Gerald Ford summarized his thoughts in one telling, ineloquent line: "The State of the Union is not good." That was 1975, when the confluence of scandal in the White House, high...

Making it big in a stormy economy: here's how these five practices prosper in today's rough financial times. (State of Optometry Report: Income).
November 15, 2002... A few years after optometrist David Cockrell opened his practice in Stillwater, Okla., he decided to visit large optometric offices on both coasts to see what his future would hold. This Oklahoma O.D. figured back then in the mid-1980s that...

Few scripts walk, but optical takes a tumble: the optical dispensary is still the bread and butter of most practices. However, there's less bread to go around. (State of Optometry Report: Ophthalmic Dispensing).
November 15, 2002... How's your optical dispensary doing? Well, if two of every three patients you examine get their glasses from you, you're just about meeting the national average (the rest either don't need glasses or get contact lenses). In other words, few...

Trying to hold steady in the storm: a slowing economy and increased competition are putting pressure on contact lens practice, but opportunities lie ahead. (State of Optometry Report: Contact Lenses).
November 15, 2002... If you're trying to grow the contact lens portion of your practice, these are not such happy times. Like other aspects of practice, the economy has affected contact lens dispensing. Jobson Optical Research reports that contact lens sales...

An Rx pad in every office: virtually all optometrists are now TPA certified. Naturally, their treatment of eye disease is increasing steadily. (State of Optometry Report: Therapeutics).
November 15, 2002... In 1998, three in four optometrists were certified to prescribe to therapeutic pharmaceutical agents (TPAs). Now, just four years later, nearly all optometrists--about 99%, according to Review of Optometry's annual Ophthalmic Product Research...

Treating ocular hypertensives cuts POAG risk in half. (Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS)).
November 15, 2002... ABSTRACT PURPOSE: To compare the effect of treatment with topical medications versus no treatment of ocular hypertension patients. PATIENT SELECTION: A total of 1636 participants with no evidence of glaucoma, age 40 to 80 years, with...

Decrease IOP to decrease visual field damage. (Advanced Glaucoma Intervention Study (AGIS)).
November 15, 2002... ABSTRACT PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between IOP and progression of visual field damage over six or more years of follow-up in patients with advanced glaucoma. PATIENT SELECTION: To be eligible, patients were 35 to 80 years of...

Reduce IOP by 30 percent for normal tension glaucoma patients. (Normal Tension Glaucoma Study (NTGS)).
November 15, 2002... ABSTRACT PURPOSE: To assess the effect of lower IOP on patients with Normal Tension Glaucoma. PATIENT SELECTION: Patients diagnosed with normal tension glaucoma, showing documented progression of visual field defects, or new disc...

Medications minimize field loss just as well as surgery. (Collaborative Initial Glaucoma Treatment Study (CIGTS)).
November 15, 2002... ABSTRACT PURPOSE: To assess the effect of topical medications versus trabeculectomy followed by ALT if indicated. PATIENT SELECTION: Patients who were newly diagnosed with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) were included in the study....

The use of injections in primary eye care: nearly half of all states allow optometrists some authority to provide injections. Here are basic step-by-step explanations to perform some of them. (Optometric Study Center).
November 15, 2002... Topical or oral medications are not always the most efficacious delivery systems for medications. And in some circumstances, the relatively delayed absorption of topical and oral medications is contraindicated for a particular condition, such...

Corneal melt hints at systemic disease: concerns about potential vasculitis warranted comanagement with other providers. (Case Report).
November 15, 2002... A 49-year-old white male presented with a painful red right eye and foreign-body sensation. He reported that the onset was four days earlier and that vision in that eye decreased each day. The patient's systemic history was significant for...

Progressives Partnership Training Program available. (Centered on your Practice Success: Advertisement).
November 15, 2002... Progressives Partnership Program trains practitioners to serve as fitting specialists CIBA Vision has launched a unique training program for U.S. and Canadian eye care professionals interested in fitting Focus Progressives and Focus...

Progressives lenses fetch rewards: presbyopic contact lens wearers bring in annuity. (Centered on your Practice Success: Advertisement).
November 15, 2002... Jeffrey C. Fogt, O.D., of Defiance, OH, claims a passion for bifocal and multifocal contact lenses. In the 14 years he's been fitting these lenses, "I've fit more than 50 different brands of bifocal and multifocal lenses, both soft and gas...

Increase confidence; expand your market: hands-on mentoring helped O.D. motivate hyperopic patients. (Centered on your Practice Success: Advertisement).
November 15, 2002... Anne Louise Goulet, O.D., Portland, ME, had been fitting the DAILIES Progressives lens successfully with myopes. But she kept to that niche because "in earlier attempts to fit the lens with hyperopes, I almost felt like we caine up against the...

Reap ten times what you sow. (Centered on your Practice Success: Advertisement).
November 15, 2002... Patti A. Richard, O.D., North Andover, MA, detailed the success she's been having with DAILIES Progressives lenses. "In one recent week, I fit 15 patients with DAILIES Progressives. They often come in husband and wife pairs, or they bring...

Attention computer users. (Centered on your Practice Success: Advertisement).
November 15, 2002... Kevin Snipes, O.D., Louisville, KY, has found a solid place for Focus Progressives in his practice--among computer users who need multifocal correction. Other multifocal or bifocal lenses often leave these patients unimpressed because of...

Profit on Focus/DAILIES Progressives versus monovision. (Centered on your Practice Success: Advertisement).
November 15, 2002... There are a number of ways a practice can profit from Focus Progressives and DAILIES Progressives lenses versus monovision. In addition to greater profit potential from the lenses themselves (see below), higher fitting fees typically can be...

DAILIES Progressives provide crisp vision and comfort. (Centered on your Practice Success: Advertisement).
November 15, 2002... Suzanne Offen, O.D., F.C.O.V.D., Westfield, NJ, has found the positive changes that DAILIES Progressives have brought to her practice. Just as DAILIES changed the spherical market, DAILIES Progressives are adding options for presbyopic...

How to handle globe subluxation: here's what you should do when a patient's eye comes out of the socket. (Comanagement Q&A).
November 15, 2002... Q: A staff member was instructing a female patient on insertion and removal of her contact lenses, when I heard a scream from the adjacent room. I rushed over to see that the patient's left eye prolapsed out onto her cheek. What should I have...

Passive verification: what's it mean? A new contact lens law could have nationwide implications. (Cornea & Contact Lens Q&A).
November 15, 2002... Q: I've heard the term "passive verification" used in reference to verifying contact lens prescriptions. What does this mean, and what does it require of the vendor filling the prescription? A: The term passive verification applies...

Dilated exam spots macular lesion: would this explain patient's loss of central vision, or does she just need a new Rx? (Retina Quiz).
November 15, 2002... A 78-year-old-white female presented with lass of central vision in her right eye for several months. She assumed she needed new glasses, so she came in for an evaluation. Her medical history was significant for arthritis and hypertension, for...

OHTS compels us to heed all risks: consider narrow retinal arterioles in your glaucoma (or OHTS) risk factor profile.
November 15, 2002... A 55-year-old black male presented with ocular hypertension and a significant history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). His initial evaluation was unremarkable, but his systemic history may reveal a predilection for the...

Antiepileptic drug and glaucoma: research has recently described a complication in a new anti-seizure drug.
November 15, 2002... Because the eye has a rich vascular supply, it is very susceptible to toxic reactions from high serum concentrations of systemic drugs. Adverse ocular reactions are often unpredictable, and for many, no direct cause-and-effect relationship has...

More Multifocals. (Product Review: Contact Lenses).
November 15, 2002... Bausch & Lomb's SofLens Multi-Focal contact lenses are now available in the United States. The SofLens provides presbyopes with better binocularity and crisp vision at all distances, B&L says. They also claim that it is remarkably easy to fit....

C-VUE is for contacts. (Product Review: Contact Lenses).
November 15, 2002... The new C-VUE Multifocal contact lens from Unilens Corporation USA is a cast-molded, polymacon, center-near design. C-VUE blends near and intermediate zones into a spherically corrected design, the manufacturer says. It's available in...

From A to Z. (Product Review: Contact Lenses).
November 15, 2002... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Con-Cise Contact Lens Co. approval to market the Menicon Z lens for 30 days of continuous wear. In clinical trials, 317 patients successfully wore Menicon Z lenses for up to 30 days, Menicon...

Presbyopic photochromics. (Product Review: Ophthalmic Lenses).
November 15, 2002... Adaptar Transitions Gray in Airwear is Essilor of America's latest polycarbonate, photochromic offering. This progressive lens is available in five graduated designs for each stage of presbyopia. Essilor says the lenses are 43% lighter and 35%...

Large lenses. (Product Review: Ophthalmic Lenses).
November 15, 2002... Bristol Consulting & Development Inc. now offers larger sizes for its Bristolite high-performance polycarbonate single-vision, aspheric lenses. The lenses, which the company claims are the thinnest, lightest and flattest on the market, are...

Tough stuff. (Product Review: Ophthalmic Lenses).
November 15, 2002... SOLA International will now make Teflon EasyCare Lens Coating available on SOLA and American Optical single-vision and progressive lenses in CR-39 resin and polycarbonate. Teflon EasyCare coating is comparable to premium hard coats in terms of...

Continuous Tint. (Product Review: Ophthalmic Lenses).
November 15, 2002... Continua Tintable, from Vision-Ease Lens Inc., is a line of value-priced ophthalmic lenses meant to replace the company's Allegra lens line. Vision-Ease says the lenses are up to 25% thinner, 50% lighter and 50% flatter than standard plastic...

Prescription for protection. (Product Review: Ophthalmic Frame Board).
November 15, 2002... The new EXTS Titanium frames from Titmus Optical Inc. feature a stainless steel hidden rim that attaches to a titanium chassis. EXTS are lightweight and meet current ANSI standards for impact protection as well as ISO endurance and bridge...

Nike goes to the Max. (Product Review: Ophthalmic Frame Board).
November 15, 2002... Marchon's Nike Vision has introduced Nike Max Rx prescription impact- and shatter-resistant polycarbonate lenses that enhance straight-ahead visual performance. The company says that its atoric front-surface design and custom-manufactured back...

Get "G"iggy. (Product Review: Ophthalmic Frame Board).
November 15, 2002... Guess Eyewear has a new unisex optical grouping in G Combinations. Three styles are designed with metal fronts, thin handmade temples, spring hinges and flexible nose pads. * The GU113 is a sharp, square look in size 49/18-138 and colors...

Siren song. (Product Review: Sunwear).
November 15, 2002... Siren is the newest frame in Costa Del Mar's Island Collection. These frames, designed for women, provide full coverage and feature Megol nose pads, nickel-silver spring hinges and fully adjustable wire core temples. Call 1-800-447-3700, or go...

Revo-lution. (Product Review: Sunwear).
November 15, 2002... Luxottica Group has added another feature to its Revo line: polarized photochromic lenses. These lenses feature the glare-cutting advantages of polarized lenses and the light-adjusting benefits of photochromics. Five styles are available in...

The Wizard of optical tools. (Product Review: Dispensary Equipment).
November 15, 2002... Breitfeld & Schliekert added the Screw Wizard to its line of optical tools and repair parts. The Screw Wizard fits on a hand-drill unit. The Screw Wizard Cap surrounds a diamond wheel that protects the lens from damage. The Screw Wizard...

It's Mini-Me, baby! (Product Review: Dispensary Equipment).
November 15, 2002... The Optisource Mini-Me is a compact tinting system that allows any size optical to apply tints, scratch-resistant and UV coatings to lenses. Occupying an area of 10 inches by 10 inches, the Mini-Me sits directly on a heating element and reaches...

OP sunglasses for kids. (Product Review: Dispensary Equipment).
November 15, 2002... Polycarbonate UV400 lenses are standard in the these three new OP sunglass styles for children: * The Aloha Girl is a plastic almond-eye-shaped frame available in size 55/14-130. Colors are blue, brown and rose. * The unisex Zero...

A Cole catalog. (Product Review: Merchandising).
November 15, 2002... REACTION Kenneth Cole has released its first sun and eyewear catalog. The full-color catalog is divided into a sunglass section and an ophthalmic eyewear with sun clips section. Colorful tints, double gradients, rimless designs and molded...

Get the goods on ClearVision. (Product Review: Merchandising).
November 15, 2002... The ClearVision 2002 catalog features more than 300 frame collections from Kenneth Cole New York, REACTION Kenneth Cole, IZOD Eyes, Jessica McClintock, OP, Fisher-Price, Save the Children and ClearVision house brands are featured in the 96-page...

Meetings & conferences.
November 15, 2002... December * 12-16. American Academy of Optometry's annual meeting, San Diego. CE hours: 200+. Contact Michele Ghosh, American Academy of Optometry, 6110 Executive Blvd., Suite 506, Rockville, MD 20852; call (301) 984-1441; fax (301)...

Is vocational class bad for patient's eyes? (Diagnostic Quiz).
November 15, 2002... History A 19-year-old black male presented to the emergency clinic 30 minutes after he said he felt a foreign object go into his left eye. The patient said he was a bystander in his vocational technology class while another student was...

Vision videos. (Product Review).
November 15, 2002... Three new patient videos from Vistakon are available as part of its "Acuvue Eye Health Advisor" patient education program. * Tips on Wearing and Caring for Your Contact Lenses" explains basic eye anatomy, what to expect during an eye exam...