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Optometry Recognized as "Best Career" for 2009

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT RECOMMENDS OPTOMETRY

■ U.S. News & World Report, a consumer magazine that provides national and international news regarding politics, business and finance, has named optometry as one of 30 unranked "Best Careers" for 2009.

The reasons, according to the magazine's contributing editor, Marty Nemko:

► Optometrists, on average, earn more than twice as much as opticians.

► They can do most of what ophthalmologists do (i.e. diagnose and treat eye disease) and perform minor surgery (in some states) by virtue of their Doctor of Optometry degree.

► The required training is shorter — year-wise, than that of the surgical ophthalmologist.

► Aging baby boomers requiring eye care make the job prospects strong.

► The profession offers a great deal of job satisfaction because optometrists can correct most vision problems via spectacles, contact lenses or relatively minor surgery.

► The AOA projects high growth in pediatric optometry.

"Optometry is a prestigious and rewarding profession, as it not only enables one to improve a patient's quality of life through vision correction, but also affords the clinician the opportunity to focus on subspecialties, such as sports vision, contact lenses, glaucoma and low vision, among others," says optometrist Andrew S. Gurwood, of Doylestown, Pa." Would I recommend it to a perspective candidate? Yes. I have enjoyed it immensely. I would recommend it based on the fact that most new graduates that I have spoken with are living well and seem happy with their decision to enter the profession.

But given the current economic climate, will the commercial and private practices that regularly hire new O.D.s continue to do so?

"The economy is a double-edged sword that makes hiring hard to predict," Dr. Gurwood says. "The tested fact is, relative to other professions, O.D.s seem to make a profitable living with the advantage of having the flexibility in their schedule to enjoy it."

Among other healthcare jobs listed: audiologist and veterinarian.

CooperVision.com Relaunches

CooperVision recently relaunched its corporate Web site, www.CooperVision.com, which offers intuitive navigation and a search function that allows visitors to find information more quickly, says the company. The site offers a wealth of information on a number of topics including eyecare conditions, fitting tips and tools and product background. In addition, the company has enhanced its practitioner-only Web site, www.MyCooperVision.com, which provides account information, news and new modules that enable you, the practitioner, to customize and manage your online experience.

PARCA Sends Healthcare Reform Letter to President

LETTER REQUESTS LEVELING THE HEALTHCARE PLAYING FIELD.

■ The Patients' Access to Responsible Care Alliance (PARCA), which is comprised of 12 organizations, including the American Optometric Association (AOA), has sent a letter to President Obama, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Daschle and Congressional leaders, such as Ted Kennedy (D-Mass), urging the support of legislation that would prevent insurance and managed care companies from excluding non-MD/DOs from participating in their plans. PARCA sent the letter hoping the issue is adopted as part of the new President's plans for healthcare reform.

"…Optometrists and our patients see the systemic costs of discrimination against providers by health plans," says Peter H. Kehoe, O.D., AOA president. "Such discrimination defies principle, is anti-competitive in nature, denies patient choice, restricts access to care, and, in general results in a weaker health delivery system with inferior outcomes."

In the letter, PARCA states: "As you go about the important work of improving the existing employer-based reimbursement system and work to establish new protections related to pre-existing conditions, patient health status, transparency and other important features of reform, we request that you lend your support to the adoption of appropriate legislative provisions that would prevent existing healthcare plans, as well as any new federal plan, from discriminating against classes of healthcare providers with respect to plan participation, indemnification, and reimbursement based on the class of health provider and the provider's licensure or certification…"

Doing so, PARCA says, will increase access to and affordability of quality U.S. healthcare services.

PARCA is a coalition that represents the interests of millions of patients and non-MD/DO healthcare providers. The coalition is committed to quality, cost-effective care and ensuring that patients have options in the delivery of such care. As such, its purpose is to provide federal policy makers with access to information from all areas of the healthcare community, in order to assist in the formulation of responsible, well-rounded healthcare policy, PARCA says. Visit: www.accessparca.com for more information.

Here's Help in the Search for Optometrists

TECH TIP

■ While optometric practice home pages frequently use terms such as "eye care," "contact lenses" and "designer frames," a recent sampling of 20 private practice Web sites from the EyeCarePro database revealed that only three actually used the word "optometrist" on their home pages. "You know you're an optometrist but unless you use the word ‘optometrist’ on your home page, the search engines won't know you're an optometrist," says Daniel Rostenne, a search optimization specialist for EyeCarePro, a web site provider for optometric practices. "And if the search engines don't know you're an optometrist, that makes your site pretty hard to find when someone is searching for an ‘optometrist,’ doesn't it?"

Three Minutes to a Better Practice

WEEKLY MANAGEMENT TIP

■ Readers of OM tell us that when it comes to their practices, two things are often in short supply: time and proven management advice. Our solution is "The Optometric Management Tip of the Week."

Written by Neil B. Gailmard, O.D., M.B.A., F.A.A.O., the "Tip" is a quick read — a weekly newsletter delivered to your e-mail inbox that addresses topics critical to the health of your practice. Subscriptions are available at no cost. To sign up, visit www.optometricmanagement.com.

It's About Cataract Surgery

Medical Management Services Group, a physician practice management company, introduced www.aboutcataractsurgery.com with the goal of providing "commercially unbiased patient education information in the areas of cataracts, cataract surgery, cataract surgeons, lens implants and cataract surgery centers," says the Web site. The site includes an overview of cataracts, questions to ask a cataract surgeon and a sections on presbyopia and lens implants.