ABB Optical Group’s quarterly Soft Contact Lens Retail Price Monitor, now in its tenth year, has become the industry standard to help eye care practitioners understand the dynamics of pricing soft contact lenses using annual supply discounts and manufacturer rebate programs, according to the company. The Q1 2014 Retail Price Monitor reflects ECP manufacturer price and rebate changes for the new year. Adjustments were made to the suggested retail pricing to reflect those changes, while maintaining profitable margins.

Every quarter, ABB Optical Group develops and distributes the Soft Lens Retail Price Monitor which is designed to provide independent eye care professionals with current information on the retail pricing of leading brands of soft contact lenses. This information is based upon private practitioners and leading online retailer’s current pricing, and enables all practitioners to establish retail prices that are competitive and maximize profitability.

Lynda Baker, ABB Optical Group’s Executive Vice President, recommends that all eye care professionals review their pricing using the Retail Price Monitor and take action immediately to adjust their retail pricing as needed. Many accounts take months to adjust their pricing and the lost revenue affects the bottom line quickly, says Baker. ABB Optical Group sales representatives are available to consult with accounts in developing the right pricing strategy for every practice’s unique profit margin goals for 2014.

For more information about obtaining a personalized Business Review or a copy of the new Q1 2014 Soft Contact Lens Retail Price Monitor, please contact marketingrequest@abboptical.com.

Three third-year students preparing for their careers in optometry have received scholarships administered through Optometry Cares–The AOA Foundation.

Recipients of the InfantSEE Scholarships are Steven Kleen from Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO) at Marshall B. Ketchum University, and Matthew Polster from Pacific University College of Optometry.

To apply for an InfantSEE Scholarship, students needed to write an essay describing, among other points, what they see as major challenges in providing optometric care to infants, how they would overcome those challenges, and how their clinical experiences have directly contributed to their development as future participants in the InfantSEE program. The InfantSEE Scholarships are provided through donations from Vision West, Inc.

Benjamin Foreman from Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University was awarded the 2014 Dr. Seymour Galina Grant, which is awarded annually in memory of the long-time AOA member.

Applicants for the 2014 Dr. Seymour Galina Grant were required to write a 1,500 word essay describing qualities that he or she developed through financial planning/work experience during and/or before optometry school that the individual believes will be most useful in a professional optometric practice. The Dr. Seymour Galina Grant is offered from the Galina Fund.

The British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) is inviting online submissions for its 2014 photographic competition, by the closing date of April 25, 2014.

The prestigious BCLA photographic competition culminates during the Association’s annual Clinical Conference and Exhibition and attracts entries from contact lens practitioners across the globe. As well as receiving the accolade of best photograph of the year and a great prize, all winning entries are subsequently published in the BCLA peer-reviewed journal, Contact Lens & Anterior Eye.

This year’s winner will be announced, along with the winner and runners-up in the BCLA Poster Competition, at 5pm on June 8th in the Exhibition Hall of the ICC, Birmingham, UK.

Visit www.bcla.org.uk for information and to make a submission.

OCuSOFT, Inc. has launched Retaine PM Nighttime Ointment for relief of severe dry eye.

Designed to keep eyes lubricated and comfortable while you sleep, Retaine PM is a preservative-free, oil-based formula. Retaine PM is packaged in a large, economical 5 gram tube which is 43% larger than traditional 3.5 gram tubes.

Retaine PM joins a growing line of Retaine brand eye care products, including artificial tears and nutritional supplements available through eyecare professionals. Introductory discount pricing is available to practitioners dispensing from their office, however, patients may also order online directly at www.ocusoft.com/retaine.

For more information, call (800) 233-5469 or visit www.ocusoft.com.

We thank Kate Suckler for this image and we welcome photo submissions from our other readers! It is easy to submit a photo for consideration for publishing in Contact Lenses Today. Simply visit http://www.cltoday.com/upload/upload.aspx to upload your image. Please include an explanation of the photo and your full name, degree or title and city/state/country.

The Follow-up Visit

The contact lens follow-up visit, or progress evaluation, is a vital one. We can’t legally write a new contact lens prescription without it, and for good reason. It is at this appointment that we confirm the patient’s good ocular health, vision, and lens fit, and make any adjustments, if necessary. In this day and age, with our keen lens-fitting acumen and new materials, the examination portion of this visit is often straightforward.

An equally-important purpose for this visit is the contact lens history. It not only provides an assessment of a patient’s compliance with his lens wear and care, it also gives us a foreshadowing of potential contact lens dropout—and directs our actions to prevent it.

At minimum, we need to ask questions about the following with regards to a patient’s contact lenses:

1. Vision
2. Comfort
3. Care
4. Wearing time

I will provide greater detail on the questions and their potential answers in future columns.

Eyelash Loss

I have made it a routine part of my practice to examine a patient’s eyelashes as part of their lid margin evaluation. Are the eyelashes plentiful or sparse? Are they in a regular pattern? Are they of normal color and texture and length? Is there debris (makeup or otherwise) about their root? What is the character of the skin they emerge from? The answers to these questions help build the ocular surface profile for the patient.

A 2013 study in the International Journal of Trichology investigated mascara induced milphosis (eyelash loss) in its users.

A total of 128 medical students who used mascara were included in this study from India. The authors of the study found that “eyelash fall” was observed in 19% of the subjects. Higher mean years of use of mascara influenced the loss of eyelashes. Itching of the eye prior to eyelash loss was observed in all subjects. A higher percentage of eyelash “falls” was observed in subjects who used water for removal of waterproof mascara (27%).¹

Although this study did not clearly define how eyelash loss was quantified, the published results are of interest and should be considered when evaluating milphosis/madarosis.

1. Kadri R, Achar A, Tantry TP, Parameshwar D, Kudva A, Hegde S. Mascara induced milphosis, an etiological evaluation. Int J Trichology. 2013 Jul;5(3):144-7.