contact lens management

Contact Lens Resources

Bookmark these websites for a wealth of helpful information.

Gregory W. DeNaeyer, O.D., F.A.A.O.

Staying abreast of contact lens complications, new designs and how to fit them properly can be challenging. Fortunately, a number of organization websites exist to educate students, practitioners and patients alike about these topics.

Practitioner sites

I recommend you visit these five websites:

(1) www.aocle.org. This is the Association of Contact Lens Educators (AOCLE) website. The AOCLE was founded in 1974 and is comprised of 22 North American schools and colleges of optometry. Examples of the site's educative resources:

► Newsletter. This contains information on annual meetings, contact lens residencies, job opportunities, industry information (programs and products), informative articles, etc.
► Annual workshop. Hosted by a different school each year, members meet to exchange ideas and share new teaching modalities regarding cornea and contact lenses. Industry representatives are also active participants.
► Resources section. This includes a members directory, residency programs, related links, a clinical library, the Healthy Soft CL Habits Guide for wearers, etc.

The GPLI website offers several educative resources, such as the GP Click ‘n’ Fit interactive tool.

(2) www.gpli.info. This is the GP Lens Institute's (GPLI) website. The GPLI was founded in 1985 by the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association (CLMA) to educate contact lens practitioners about the use of GP lenses in clinical practice. Examples of the site's educative resources:

► GP Click ‘n’ Fit interactive tool. This allows you to practice fitting, and evaluate fluorescein patterns on virtual patients. You can practice changing the base curve and diameter while observing the resultant fit changes. Also, a narrator comments on the fit to help you make progress.
► GPLI Toric and Spherical Lens Calculator. With this tool, you enter the patient's keratometry values and refraction, and the calculator provides recommended lens design parameters, including lens power, base curve radius, overall diameter and peripheral curve values.
►GP Lecture Series. These are pre-recorded web-based lectures with auto-play slides.

(3) www.sclerallens.org. This is the Scleral Lens Education Society's (SLS) website. Founded in January 2010, the SLS is a non-profit organization 501(c) 3 that provides education on scleral lenses in the management of corneal irregularity and ocular surface disease. Membership is free and available to all eyecare professionals. Examples of the site's educative resources:

► National workshops and lectures. The SLS sponsors and hosts these on scleral lens use and fitting. Events are listed on the SLS home page.
► Resource page. This includes recorded webinars, uploaded scleral lens lectures, posters, papers and links to scleral lens-related articles.
► Quarterly newsletter. The SLS provides a quarterly newsletter that includes case reports by SLS Fellows. (O.D.s, M.D.s and FCLSA Fellows who have proven themselves in scleral lens fitting can apply for SLS Fellow status, entitling them to a listing on the site as a Scleral Fitter. This listing is accessible to the public. Guidelines for Fellowship are listed on the website's members' portion.)

(4) www.orthokacademy.com. This is The Orthokeratology Academy of America (OAA) website. Founded in 2002, the OOA enables its members to learn and interact with other members regarding ortho-k. Membership is open to any licensed professional interested in ortho-k. Examples of the site's educative resources:

► Annual meeting. This features a boot camp for ortho-k beginners, intermediate courses and a live wet lab.
► News and updates. Currently, this page discusses a plan to create a myopia prevention and control protocol and enables you to link to www.MyopiaPrevention.org, a website for both patients and eyecare practitioners.
► Featured ortho-k podcasts. These include panel discussions, current trends, new technologies, practice management, events and meetings. It's designed for clinicians, researchers and educators.
► Information on obtaining membership and Fellowship. Members may include O.D.s, M.D.s, researchers, educators and opticians. The Fellowship Program is available to OAA members who have a year of performing ortho-k under their belt.

(5) www.contactlensupdate.com. This is relatively new web-based organization devoted to being a “one-stop shop” for practitioners. The website is organized by the Centre for Contact Lens Research of the University of Waterloo, Canada, and the Brien Holden Vision Institute in Sydney, Australia. Both organizations say the site will feature articles from the experts, highlights from contact lens meetings, clinical images and videos of complications, educational tools, links to related sites and a means of tailoring the site to each user. Although the site is under construction, it currently offers a “Useful Links” section and a “Resource Library,” which houses a photographic scale for a range of contact lens-related conditions.

Patient resources

I recommend you refer your patients to these three websites:

(1) www.contactlenssafety.org. This site provides consumer information regarding contact lenses. It was developed this past year by the American Optometric Association's Cornea and Contact Lens Section with contributions from the American Academy of Optometry's Cornea, Contact Lenses & Refractive Technologies Section. The site's content is comprised of non-biased and evidence-based answers to commonly asked consumer questions or concerns. The site's categories: Lens Types/Replacement and Wearing Schedules/Safety, Contact Lens Care, Care for Lens Cases, Contact Lens Wear in Various Environments and Purchasing Contact Lenses. Under Lens Types/Replacement and Wearing Schedules/Safety, for instance, the question, “What's the danger in wearing contact lenses longer than the prescribed time?” is included. The visitor then clicks on the question for the answer. The contributors to contactlensupdate.com: Christine Sindt, O.D., Loretta Szczotka-Flynn, O.D., Ph.D., Edward S. Bennett, O.D. and Thomas G. Quinn, O.D.

(2) www.contactlenses.org. This site is for GP-wearing patients. Run by the CLMA, it offers five categories: About GP Lenses, Your Vision Needs, GP Bifocals, Testimonials and More Info. Under Your Vision Needs, for example, there's information regarding myopia, astigmatism, keratoconus and presbyopia, among other vision issues, as well as education for parents and the benefits of wear for teens. Other site features: Consumers can e-mail questions that aren't specifically addressed on the site, a GP professional eyecare provider locater is available, and practitioners may sign up for a listing on the GP locator through the GPLI website.

(3) www.nkcf.org. This is the National Keratoconus Foundation website. A program of the Discovery Eye Foundation (www.discoveryeye.org), which funds research, education and advocacy related to sight-threatening eye diseases and their treatments, the site educates the public through the following categories: About Keratoconus, Treatments, Resources, Research and a Newsletter. Under Resources, for instance, the patient can access the NKCF forum, KC Link (an interactive, worldwide list-serve for people who have keratoconus) video interviews, presentations, discussions from keratoconus specialists, etc.

As contact lens practitioners, we must keep up with the latest contact lens products and research to provide the best care for our patients, while also remaining competitive. The practitioner and patient sites outlined here can help you accomplish these crucial practice goals. OM