CONTACT LENSES TODAY
October 13, 2002
Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of
Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches 8,964 readers in 74 countries.
New Zealand ODs Up in Arms Over New Law
The "ambiguity" of a proposed law (The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill)
in New Zealand could mean that eye exams
and prescriptions would be carried out by anyone -- not just by properly trained optometrists and medical
practitioners. Presently, performing eye exams and prescribing spectacles and contact lenses is restricted
to optometrists under the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Act. The Association of Optometrists predicts
that the passage of this legislation will cause a three-fold rise in preventable blindness and that people who
have life-threatening diseases could die because they would be denied the chance of early detection.
New Videos Enhance Patient Education Program
Vistakon recently introduced three patient-focused videos to enhance its Acuvue
EyeHealth Advisor (AEHA) Program. The videos are designed for patients to view in their doctor's office and
teaches them about proper contact lens wear and care. Vistakon has also introduced its latest staff training video, "Run for Cover,"
to train staff on
responding to dissatisfied patients and comes with a facilitator's guide and workbook.
The Halloween rush is here:
Be sure your practice is ready for Halloween with Crazy Lenses from CooperVision.
Enjoy special seasonal pricing on our eight fun lens options, including our new Bloodshot lens and the patriotic
Stars & Stripes lens. Contact your CooperVision sales representative at (800) 341-2020 for special pricing now
through the end of October. To view all eight lens designs, visit http://www.crazylens.com
--ADVERTISING
CLMA Names "Practitioner of the Year"
Keith S. Ames, O.D. was recently awarded the "GP Lens Practitioner of the Year"
award from the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association (CLMA). He is currently a partner in a large group practice
in Chillicothe, Ohio. Dr. Ames has published extensively in the
areas of GP design and fitting, aspheric technology, GP applications in presbyopia and building your practice
with GPs. Dr. Ames is a member
of the Advisory Committee of the RGP Lens Institute.
Previous award recipients have been Richard D. Ebling,
O.D., Joel Halpern, O.D., and Thomas G. Quinn, O.D., M.S.
CL Scam in Japan
In Fukuoka, Japan, police have been searching for a man who cons old ladies into
giving him money for eye medicine and a new contact lens. He pretends that their sun umbrellas poked him in the
eye and broke one of his contact lenses. Police have received six complaints between August 2 and September 24
and in each case, the victims gave the man between 1,000 and 50,000 yen (approximately between $8 and $402 U.S.
dollars). All of the victims described the suspect as being in his 60s.
Editor's Commentary:
Confusion Regarding Approvals and Patents?
FDA approval for Paragon Vision Sciences's overnight corneal refractive therapy and our recent
reporting of licensing agreements regarding Paragon's CRT and lenses made from Polymer Technology Corporation's
materials used for orthokertology (not yet FDA approved for overnight wear) have nothing to do with one another.
Patents usually precede FDA approval and of course patents can always be challenged as we have learned recently.
The FDA and the U.S. Patent Office are two separate, unrelated entities. Therefore, the payment of a royalty does not imply approval by the FDA for the use
of a product.
Fitting Tip:
Fitting a Nystagmus Patients
When attempting to refine contact lens power with a nystagmus patient, eye movement
often becomes exaggerated when you place an occluder over the fellow eye. Accuracy is greatly affected in this
instance.
By substituting a fogging lens of about +3.00D for the occluder over the fellow eye, I've found
results to be much more accurate and easier to obtain. --Michael Feldman, O.D., F.I.O.S., Lynbrook, LI, NY
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http://www.CLToday.com for details). Please include your full name, degree or title and city/state/country.
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