Leading Off
TIPS, TRENDS & NEWS YOU CAN USE
Vision Council Report Can Aid ECPs in Dispensing Eyewear
The “Hindsight is 20/20/20: Protect Your Eyes From Digital Devices Report,” from the Vision Council, can be used by eyecare practitioners to provide specialized eyewear to patients who suffer from digital eyestrain (ocular dryness, neck/shoulder/back pain, headache and blurred vision).
Specifically, the report, which can be downloaded for free at the Vision Council website, includes consumer-friendly education on digital eyestrain, blue light exposure and the benefits of the latest lens technologies, such as blue light-blocking lens materials and AR lenses.
72.5% of adults are unaware of the potential dangers of blue light to eyes.
THE VISION COUNCIL
Essilor Enhances ECP University Website
Essilor of America has upgraded its ECP University website to offer a program to prepare those for the American Board of Opticianry Basic Certification Exam; a Dispensary Manager Training Program that allows all materials to be digitally operated, with each participant receiving a tablet for mobile, travel-friendly use; and a streamlined pricing system.
ECP University affords education for the growth and creation of eyecare practices through in-person and online training. For additional information, visit www.ecpuniversity.com.
Vision Expo East Announces Medical Education Offerings
Vision Expo East 2015, held March 19-22 at New York City’s Javits Center, will include several medical education courses to reflect the growth of medical eye care in optometric practice.
The education will include a three-hour Ocular Wellness Program, supported by Alcon, an eight-hour Sports Vision track, a 16-hour Glaucoma track, nine hours of Imaging Technology courses, 11 hours of Systemic Disease education, AMD courses and nine hours of pharmacology courses. For information, visit www.visionexpoeast.com.
Tips for Your PRACTICE
■ Ask yourself every morning, “What are the three most important things I need to do today to help me create the success I desire?” Then, exclusively focus on these actions. — Jon Gordon, www.jongordon.com/blog, Jan. 7, 2015
■ Attitude probably determines one’s success or failure in any enterprise, so perform an attitude check. — Esther Spina, www.estherspina.com, Dec. 4, 2014
■ Investing money in customer service efforts results in more revenue and profit vs. investing the same amount of money in sales efforts. — David Meerman Scott, www.webinknow.com, Nov. 11, 2014
■ Leaders who create a rigid step-by-step path, or try to make alterations sans a strong base of principles and values demotivate an organization and preclude it from establishing the deep-rooted system needed for long-term, lasting and sustainable transformation. — Jeff Sutherland, www.scruminc.com, Nov. 3, 2014
■ Being the least expensive is a refuge for people who don’t have the ability to create something worth paying for and don’t have the guys to point to their service or product and say, “This isn’t the cheapest, but it’s worth it.” — Seth Godin, www.sethgodin.typepad.com, May 30, 2014
■ To overcome a practice hurdle, invite other doctors to lunch, or organize a call to explore the idea of knowledge-sharing on a regular basis. — Denise Brosseau, denisebrosseau.wordpress.com, April 4, 2013
St. Valentine’s Day: Why Was an Optometrist at the Massacre?
Experts weigh in on a fateful day during Prohibition
Jennifer Kirby, senior editor
On the morning of Feb. 14, 1929 in Chicago, Ill. 30-year-old O.D. Reinhart H. Schwimmer (also spelled Reinhardt) was found dead in a garage used as a front for the liquor business of the city’s North Side gang. Five members of the North Side gang and a mechanic were found next to him, all riddled with bullet wounds, victims of what has become known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.”
Chicago authorities concluded the deceased were sprayed with shotgun and Thompson submachine gun fire, likely from two men dressed as policemen and two others wearing civilian attire. Dr. Schwimmer was the only victim still wearing a hat — a mystery, considering the violence of the attack.
The event was purportedly arranged by Chicago South Side gang leader Al “Scarface” Capone to exterminate North Side gang leader George “Bugs” Moran (who, incidentally, was absent) over the city’s racketeering and booze territories. So, what was an O.D. doing at the garage that fateful morning?
COURTESY OF BILL HELMER
Though not a gang member, Dr. Schwimmer appears to have “loved the cache he got” from being around the gang, says John J. Binder, author of “The Chicago Outfit” (Arcadia Publishing, 2003) and was considered the North Side gang’s mascot, says Richard J. Shmelter, author of “Chicago Assassin: The Life and Legend of Machine Gun Jack McGurn and the Chicago Beer Wars of the Roaring Twenties” (Cumberland House Publishing 2008). In fact, after inheriting a thriving optometry practice from his father Michael, Dr. Schwimmer ran it into the ground due to his gambling and carousing with the gang, says William J. Helmer, co-author of “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre: The Untold Story of the Gangland Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone” (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006).
On the day of the Massacre, Dr. Schwimmer likely “stopped by the garage to have coffee with his mob buddies,” on his way to visit his mother, says Mr. Helmer.
The lessons? Don’t neglect your practice; be careful of the company you keep; and of course, always visit mom first.
RESEARCH Notes
■ Autologous serum drops (50%) appear a safe, effective long-term treatment for dry eye disease (DED), particularly in severe DED patients who have tried all conventional treatments, says December’s Cornea.
■ Recommending stringent rest (five days) for patients ages 11 to 22 immediately post-concussion provided no added benefit regarding neurocognitive or balance outcomes, though it did provide an increase in post-concussive symptoms and a slower resolution of symptoms, says the Jan. 5 issue of Pediatrics.
■ Using a combination of high-resolution analytical techniques, researchers discovered that tiny bone mineral spherules with cholesterol-containing cores exist in all examined sub-RPE deposits, possibly enabling clinicians to diagnose and treat AMD earlier, reveals January’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
■ Preservative-free sodium hyaluronate 0.1% and fluorometholone 0.1% drops appear to improve DED signs and symptoms post-cataract surgery, reveals December’s Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
O.D. Notebook
Associations & Meetings:
■ The American Academy of Optometry has named Dean VanNasdale, O.D., Ph.D., of the Ohio State University College of Optometry, Inaugural Career Development Awardee. He could receive as much as $100,000 for his project to identify pathological changes in the retina linked with diabetes and associate those changes with early functional vision loss.
■ AOAExcel has chosen Compliancy Group, LLC, as a business partner to facilitate compliance tracking. Its tracking solution “The Guard” will be available to AOA members, and Compliancy Group will offer AOA members access to its monthly educational webinar series. Visit www.excelod.com/hipaa-compliance.
■ The American Board of Optometry’s Board Certification exam is free to optometrists who are active U.S. Armed Forces service members, current reservists or who have prior military service via G.I. Bill reimbursement. Details are forthcoming through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
■ Optometry Cares – The AOA Foundation and the AOA have announced the availability of Healthy Eyes Healthy People State Association Grants. Access the application for the grants, which are worth up to $5,000 and were made possible through Luxottica, at www.aoa.org/HEHP.
■ Prevent Blindness has named Ed Green, retired CEO of The Vision Council, the 2015 recipient of the Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Award. The award is for outstanding leadership and dedication in vision and eye health.
■ Think About Your Eyes has joined forces with All About Vision to provide consumers with accurate, up-to-date data about vision health and its affect on overall well-being via content licensing and sharing.
Company News:
■ ACCU-LENS INC. has renewed its Platinum Level Sponsor with the Scleral Lens Education Society, a non-profit that teaches contact lens practitioners the science and art of fitting all scleral lens designs.
■ Alden Optical has begun an e-mail series called “Scleral Fitting From A to Zen,” which includes 12 case reports featuring the company’s Zenlens. The series will be archived in Contact Lens Spectrum and the Alden Optical websites. (PentaVision publishes both Contact Lens Spectrum and Optometric Management magazines.) In related news, Alden has renewed its platinum level sponsorship of the Scleral Lens Education Society.
■ Clompus Consulting Group LLC has launched a digital service to help ECPs, dentists and attorneys communicate with potential patients using their own voice. For more information, visit www.clompusconsulting.com.
■ CooperVision has named Gary Orsborn vice president of Global Professional & Clinical Affairs. Mr. Orsborn has close to 30 years of experience in the contact lens industry and will be responsible for developing and managing CooperVision’s clinical and professional affairs strategy.
■ Essilor of America has announced the winners of its Independent Distribution Division (IDD) Annual Laboratory Awards, which recognize independent distributors that have achieved top sales performance in specific Essilor product categories. A complete list of winners can be found at http://news.essilorusa.com/releases.
■ Google has closed the doors on its Glass Explorer Program and is working on future versions of the wearable device. Glass will no longer be part of GoogleX labs, but rather its own entity, the company reports.
■ The Cassini Total Corneal Astigmatism functionality, from i-Optics, was named the #2 Innovation in Oophthalmology from “The Ophthalmologist” magazine.
■ Luxottica Wholesale North America donated $50,000 to Optometry Cares – The AOA Foundation to expand access to ocular health and vision care to Americans.
■ The Vision Impact Institute, (VII) supported by Essilor, has named Maureen Cavanagh its president. VII raises awareness on uncorrected refractive errors and the benefits of vision correction via a database that includes scientific research and peer-reviewed studies.
■ Vision Source has launched “Optical Dream,” a web-based solution developed to provide sales training to each member of the optical and office staff. The user-friendly program leverages metrics, technology and teamwork to incentivize staff to learn strategies that have proven to be successful at many of the nation’s top practices.
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