Comanagement

The earlier patients are prepared for surgery, the better the outcomes will be

Ocular surface disease is chronic, and collaborative care is key to treatment success

Despite the pandemic, ODs have the ability to energize patients about eye health

Chad Overman, OD, and Ernie Bowling, OD, MS, FAAO, FNAP, review the importance of telemedicine in optometry. Increased quality of care, access to care and education, and larger patient bases are some of the many benefits discussed.

Dad joke? Perhaps. But the 2020 reference to vision presents certain opportunities to ODs

Treating inflammation on anterior service proves to be effective post-surgery

The introduction of micro-invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) has helped to successfully treat glaucoma patients. Take a look at why MIGS may be a useful treatment option prior to late-stage glaucoma.

At the Rosenberg School of Optometry at the University of the Incarnate Word, fourth-years get hands-on experience in care for patients pre- and post-surgery, preparing them for real-world comanaging relationships.

Study groups can help their members via group discussion and sharing. If you’re looking to form or join a study group, find out what leads to success.

Genetic testing is becoming more successful and is expanding in scope. Understand how the process works and how to guide your patients through it. Find out what is involved and how to manage genetic testing…plus access a list of resources for you and your patient.

A comanaging MD discusses what five traits should be part of any OD-MD comanaging relationship. Setting patient expectations on both ends is the underlying framework.

What is this age-defying modern technology that a young, nonmedical professional is applying to her face? It is a YAG laser combined with an intense pulse light (IPL).

As primary-care optometrists, we are the gatekeepers for baby boomers inquiring about cataract surgery. Today’s patients have treatment options available not only to address their lifestyle complaints but to provide them with better vision and possibly reduced dependence on glasses or contact lenses.

Patients don’t have to wait for 2020 to achieve 20/20 vision at near without spectacles or contact lenses. Rather, the advancements we have seen just in the past few years should be enough to help manage their expectations.

Before the new year gets too far along, let’s take a brief look at the happenings in the pages of Optometry Times during 2016.

I am again reminding you that optometry has a renewed purpose in the management of our cataract and refractive patients.

A U.S. patent was granted to Gholam A. Peyman, MD, in June 1989 for a method of modifying the corneal curvature of the eye. The surgical procedure involved cutting a flap in the cornea, pulling the flap back to expose the corneal bed, ablating the exposed surface and then replacing the flap. The current procedure of laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) was not FDA approved until 1999.

Treating and managing chronic glaucoma can be rewarding as an optometrist. The frequency of office visits to monitor this chronic disease provides ODs an opportunity to develop a close relationship with their patients while providing medical eye care.

Researchers have found a significant correlation between depression and visual field loss in patients with glaucoma, according to a study in Ophthalmology.

In a recent wave of drug price increases that can only be explained by pharmaceutical manufacturers’ desire for profit maximization and which doctors and patients may call price gouging, the drug price war has been brought to the doorsteps of many eyecare providers. As optometrists are increasing their practice of medical optometry, patients are now calling their doctors about prior authorizations and unaffordable drug copays.

Cataract surgery is one of the most successful surgeries performed in the United States. By 2020, it is estimated the number of people having cataract surgery will double, and by 2030 it will triple. The optometrist’s role in comanaging these patients will be of critical importance. Developing and maintaining your post-operative clinical care skills is imperative.

When a colleague or a patient utters the phrase “intelligent design” (ID), it is challenging for me to not roll my eyes as far back as some patients’ contact lenses get lost up there. Honestly, if we really think about it, the design of the ocular system is far from intelligent.