Optometrists accept WCO Myopia Management Standard of Care Pledge challenge

February 16, 2023, is a date to bookmark. The WCO will be holding its second global virtual event on myopia management, “Advancing the Standard of Care,” on that day. Eye care providers will have the opportunity to hear directly from patients and optometrists working in research and clinical practice on how they have integrated myopia management into their practices. Sessions are planned in different time zones to accommodate all schedules. Registration is available online.

To date, about 26,000 optometrists and 63 global eye care organizations have risen to the occasion and accepted the World Council of Optometry (WCO) Myopia Management Standard of Care Pledge challenge to embrace the 3 pillars of management of myopia.

This is a joint effort by WCO and myopia management category leader CooperVision to adopt the management of myopia as a standard of care, according to a WCO press release.

The WCO and CooperVision introduced the standard of care resolution in April 2021, which defines an evidence-based standard of care comprised of the following main components outlined in their press release:

• Mitigation: Educating and counseling parents and children, during early and regular eye exams, on lifestyle, dietary, and other factors to prevent or delay the onset of myopia.
• Measurement: Evaluating the status of a patient during regular comprehensive vision and eye health exams, such as measuring refractive error and axial length whenever possible.
• Management: Addressing patients’ needs of today by correcting myopia, while also providing evidence-based interventions (e.g., contact lenses, spectacles, pharmaceuticals) that slow the progression of myopia, for improved quality of life and better eye health today and into the future.

Sandra Block, OD, MEd, MPH, FAAO, FCOVD, the WCO president-elect, underscored the importance of this initiative. She said, “The response in just over a month since we launched the challenge has been impressive. Myopia has reached epidemic levels and we know that myopia can lead to eye health issues that reveal themselves in adults. It is our hope that early diagnosis of myopia and management can help reduce the long-term eye health complications. Taking the pledge sends a clear message that organizations and eye care professionals understand the seriousness of myopia as a public health threat and that they are taking active measures to manage that threat. We are encouraged to see that so many are actively taking the pledge.”

Eye care professionals can learn more and take the pledge on the WCO website. In addition to the pledge, the WCO provides a myopia management online resource, which includes practical tools and information for optometrists.