The next Chief Executive Optometrist, an exclusive program from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and The Vision Care Institute, LLC (TVCI), will be held at The Wharton School, Steinberg Conference Center in Philadelphia on December 11-14, 2008. The program offers optometrists the business skills necessary to maximize the earning potential from their practices and take their practices to higher levels of success, according to TVCI. The curriculum combines cutting-edge business strategies and tactics from renowned Wharton professors, with case studies and best practices from both Fortune 500 companies and optometry industry experts.
     Tuition for the program is $3,500 and includes lodging and meals. Registration information is available by calling 1-800-255-3932 (U.S. or Canada) or +1-215-898-1776 (worldwide). Apply online at http://executiveeducation.wharton.upenn.edu. (Go to Open Enrollment, HealthCare.)

Increasing its commitment to raise funding and awareness for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Bausch & Lomb (B&L) has created a print advertising campaign that will launch in time for Mother's Day 2008. The campaign features real people who have gone head-to-head with breast cancer and come out the other end - either as survivors or as relatives who have lost loved ones to the disease.
     B&L has committed to raise up to $400,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure through sales of its ReNu MultiPlus solution and an online campaign at www.ReNuCares.com. B&L will donate $1.00 for every ReNu coupon redeemed and/or unique code entered online, with a minimum guaranteed donation of $300,000.
     B&L will also be teaming up with the optometric community in this initiative. By supplying leading eyecare professionals throughout the country with in-office displays, $2.50-off coupons and pink plastic lens cases for patient giveaways, the company hopes to activate its core constituency in fighting the disease.
     B&L's campaign will launch in the May issues of Redbook, Cookie, O, The Oprah Magazine, Self, People and Health magazines and run through August 2008. The initiative will culminate in October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with online giveaways of a limited-edition Bausch & Lomb Pink Crystallized Swarovski Elements Contact Lens Case featuring Susan G. Komen for the Cure's hallmark ribbon design.

Grow|cms, practice management software designed by eye care professionals for eye care professionals, recently interfaced with House Calls, a TeleVox product. This partnership now allows grow|cms users to deliver personalized messages to their patients, according to the company.
     House Calls, an appointment reminder system, uses natural voices and can deliver messages to patients at any time of the day, early evening or even weekends. Per information provided by grow|cms, this integration allows grow|cms users to benefit from a reduced number of no-show appointments and to minimize extra work for the staff, helping to ensure repeat business for the practice while maintaining the patient's personal data within grow|cms.
     Grow|cms has interfaced with Frames Data, Labzilla, Optifacts and CyberEyes, as well. For more information on House Calls or grow|cms, please visit www.televox.com or www.growcms.com.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) announced that VSP Vision Care has signed on to become a three year National Strategic Partner. "The ADA is delighted to have VSP join us in helping to further our mission to educate people with diabetes about the importance of regular eye care," said R. Stewart Perry, Chairman of the Board, American Diabetes Association.
     As a National Strategic Partner, VSP will support the following ADA programs and initiatives:
- Winning at Work, which provides resources employees need to live healthier lives whether they are working to prevent diabetes or to manage diabetes.
- Diabetes EXPOs, one-stop shopping for everything related to diabetes, healthy eating and active living.
- Feria de Salud, which reaches thousands of local Latinos/Hispanics at an outdoor community event with the important message that they may be at risk for diabetes.
- Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes which raises funds to help find a cure for diabetes.
- "Ask the Eye Doctor" On-line Chat Series which offers opportunity for users to ask professionals questions in real time.
     "This collaboration with the ADA is key to educating Americans about the value of regular eye care in managing diabetes," said Jim Short, O.D., VSP Board Chairman.

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UltraVision, a contact lens technology company based in the United Kingdom, announced the initiation of a two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), Cambridge, United Kingdom. The KTP is a UK government led initiative, aimed at providing benefits to both industry and academia through a mutually beneficial partnership involving knowledge transfer and skills development.
     The partnership has appointed Abigail Holland as their Associate. Abigail, an optometrist, will work on the latest silicone hydrogel innovations being researched at UltraVision's R&D facility in Cambridge and oversee a clinical trial based at ARU investigating various technological aspects of UltraVision's HydroWave silicone hydrogel lens. 

Laura Osnes, star of Broadway's Grease, officially launched the World Sight Day Challenge at Vision Expo East on April 11. "My father is an optometrist, so I grew up appreciating his role in giving sight, and I know how important good vision is to our quality of life," said Laura.
     A highlight of the launch was Laura's performance of "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from the production in which she stars. Laura won the role on the NBC talent competition series, "Grease, You're the One That I Want." Her father, Russ Osnes, an optometrist from St. Paul, Minnesota, joined her at the launch where the pair sang. The launch was sponsored by Marchon Eyewear, Inc.
     The World Sight Day Challenge invites optometrists to donate their eye exams fees to Optometry Giving Sight on World Sight Day (October 9, 2008) to help fund projects which will provide vision care, local training and infrastructure development in countries that lack basic eye care services. Optometrists can register for the Challenge at www.givingsight.org or by calling 1-888-OGS-GIVE.

Alcon, Inc. announced that the company plans to build a facility in Singapore that will manufacture pharmaceuticals to be distributed throughout most of Asia. The company plans to break ground in 2009 with the plant being fully functional in 2012. Alcon expects to employ more than 150 employees within three years after commencing production. By building this plant, Alcon says the company will be able to more efficiently and cost-effectively distribute pharmaceuticals in the high-growth countries in Asia. 

CooperVision continues its support of the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired-Goodwill Industries of Greater Rochester (ABVI-Goodwill) through the Share the Vision program. Over the past year, CooperVision has donated more than $17,000 to the program, which helps support residents of the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region who lack access to professional eye care services.
     The Share the Vision program is designed to help promote the importance of maintaining good eye health, and to enhance preventive vision and eye care services offered to those in need throughout the community. Currently, more than 61 local optometrists are signed up to participate in Share the Vision. On a quarterly basis, CooperVision donates two percent of its contact lens sales from participating practices to ABVI-Goodwill. Local eyecare practitioners interested in joining the program should contact Karen Napondano of CooperVision at (800) 341-2020. Participation is free, but practitioners must be enrolled.

This study examined the time needed to reach corneal stability after discontinued daily wear of soft contact lenses and to identify corneal topographic and pachymetric changes during this period.
     The researchers prospectively studied the eyes of 21 consecutive soft contact lens wearers evaluated for keratorefractive surgery. Each eye was examined once immediately after lens removal, 3 and 7 days later, and weekly thereafter. At each visit, manifest refraction, keratometry, corneal topography (EyeSys Corneal Analysis system, EyeSys Laboratories, Houston, TX) and pachymetry were performed. Incidence of associated corneal warpage and changes in corneal curvature and thickness during corneal stability time were determined.
     Of the 42 eyes examined, 26 corneas showed no significant change after the initial evaluation (stable group). The minimum stability time was three days in the remaining 16 eyes (unstable group), 7 of which had significant evidence of abnormal topography. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences between two groups regarding age, sex, duration of contact lens wear, and refractive and topographic measures. The mean central corneal thickness on the final visit was significantly different between two groups (P<0.05).
     The authors concluded that contact lens induced corneal warpage may occur in a considerable proportion of soft contact lens wearers. A two-week contact lens free period seems to be adequate for the cornea to stabilize; however, one cannot predict the minimum time needed for each individual patient. Repeating examinations to document corneal stability before refractive surgery may be a safer alternative.
Hashemi H, Firoozabadi MR, Mehravaran S, Gorouhi F. Corneal stability after discontinued soft contact lens wear. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2008 Mar 13; [Epub ahead of print]

It is not often that I am asked but it is frequent enough that I feel I should send a reminder to all. The question I'm occasionally asked is: "Where do I report possible grievances as a result of the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act or FCLCA and associated Contact Lens Rule?" The Federal Trade Commission or FTC oversees the Contact Lens Rule. You can review your responsibilities as a prescriber or a seller under the Contact Lens Rule at the following web address: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/contact.shtm. After reviewing this, if you determine you do have an injustice you'd like to report, you can do so at the following FTC web address: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01. From the home page, this site is efficient to navigate with easy to use tabs.
     Additionally, in the event you encounter a serious adverse event related to a medical device or FDA-regulated medication, the website for reporting is listed at the bottom of Contact Lenses Today each week. The web address is https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/.
Carla Mack, O.D., F.A.A.O.

This month at www.siliconehydrogels.org: research on patient compliance, piggyback lenses for patients with irregular corneas, measuring intraocular pressure over higher modulus lenses, and part 1 of our 2007 AAO update.