Industry News 

A Statewide Organization’s Goal To Provide Vision Care For Its People

How can optometrists help patients who have no health insurance or vision coverage and cannot pay? In Oregon, all low-income children have access to vision insurance under the Affordable Care Act, but adults only have vision coverage under special circumstances. The Oregon Foundation for Vision Awareness (OFVA) was established with the goal to provide eye care services to low-income and indigent adults who are uninsured. Lena Walker, OD, OFVA president, and Amber Dunn, OD, discuss the importance of OFVA and the need for more statewide charitable organizations.   Click here to read full article. 

One year after COVID-19 and fighting for my vision

Struggling with symptoms including light sensitivity, pain and poor depth perception, Mark didn’t know what was wrong with his eyes. But his doctor of optometry did: the lingering effects of COVID-19. Together, they were able to work through a treatment plan to help Mark on his road to recovery.  

In March 2020, I was one of the first people diagnosed with COVID-19 in the state of Oregon. While new information is still being discovered about the disease to this day, one year ago, less than a week after the World Health Organization declared the pandemic, I was dealing with the virus and fear of the unknown. What I thought was allergies turned into a fever, lightheadedness, blurred vision, and more I had a severe case of COVID-19. When I was sick, getting through to the other side without being hospitalized was my only goal. A year after recovering, I’m working to heal the things that COVID-19 deteriorated.     Click here to read more

AOA produces video tutorial on YAG laser procedures

The American Optometric Association has produced a new video on YAG laser procedures from a patient perspective. HB 2541, recently introduced in the Oregon House of Representatives, will permit Oregon optometrists to perform this procedure.  Click here to view the video 

Know the building blocks for Vision Therapy

Have you been interested in building a vision therapy or neurorehabilitation specialty clinic in your practice? This month’s guest, Joanna Carter, OD, FCOVD, shares the must-have technology she uses in her practice to diagnose and treat patients and practice management tips for making vision therapy a financially rewarding subspecialty.   

Click here to listen to the podcast with Dr. Joanna Carter

Reading Readiness with Dr. Joanna Carter

Drs. Zilnicki & Licausi talk with Dr. Joanna Carter of Insight Vision Therapy about how vision affects reading.   This episode highlights how we assess the visual skills required to read, why some kids struggle to read and what we can do to help!

Click here to listen to Podcast with Dr. Joanna Carter 

 

Optometry Strong  -  Dr. Derri Sandberg  

Listen in as one of our very own takes on the fastest growing Optometric Podcast in the world! Dr. Derri Sandberg lets everyone take an inside look at her personal, professional, and organized optometric life with "Try Not to Blink's" hosts, Dr. James Deom and Dr. Roya Habibi. 

If you have a few minutes, check it out. Her remarks epitomize leadership in the optometric profession and lends national recognition to the Oregon Optometric Physicians Association! 

Click here to listen to Podcast with Dr. Derri Sandberg

The American Optometric Association declared its opposition to the ruling announced today by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to proceed with its discredited plan to impose a new paperwork and record-keeping mandate under the Contact Lens Rule.

For four years, FTC officials have been seeking to advance their plan to require doctors of optometry and ophthalmologists to secure and store contact lens prescription release acknowledgement forms, in spite of opposition from the AOA and other medical groups and bi-partisan patient health and safety leaders in Congress. The agency issued a press release earlier today to alert doctors that it had made this decision, without regard to the current national public health crisis. 

AOA challenges VSP plan to link doctor reimbursements to certain lenses and anti-reflective coating

The AOA is leading opposition to a new policy by VSP Vision Care to differentiate payments for certain lens products and anti-reflective coating set to take effect Sept. 1.

According to an AOA assessment, the VSP plan will unacceptably restrict choice and undermine doctor-patient decision-making. The timing is highly questionable as well, apparently driving harmful reimbursement cuts for VSP network doctors at a time when practices across the country are struggling to reactivate and recover from the economic meltdown brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.


ASCO - Association of Schools & Colleges of Optometry