CONTACT LENSES TODAY

December 8, 2002

Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches 9,143 readers in 74 countries.


Vistakon and 1-800 Make Deal
Last week, Vistakon announced an exclusive agreement with 1-800 Contacts that requires prescription verification from prescribing eyecare practitioners to prevent expired or invalid Acuvue brand contact lens precriptions from being filled. The agreement requires 1-800 Contacts to fax a prescription request and all the OD (or his staff) has to do is either verify that the patient is his and that the prescription is correct and current, or state that the information is incorrect. ODs will have eight business hours to respond to the faxed request. If 1-800 gets a response that the prescription has expired or is incorrect but that there is no updated prescription, it will cancel the patient's order. ODs can then contact a patient and explain the importance of regular eye exams and current prescriptions. If, on the other hand, 1-800 does not receive a response from the OD, it will send the patient's order anyway and flag that account for the future. If the patient tries to renew the prescription again without his OD's feedback, 1-800 will deny the order.

According to Phil Keefer, president of Vistakon Americas, Vistakon will test the new system and will continue to do so even after 1-800 submits its application to order lenses through the company.

Focus Dailies Toric Wins Award
CIBA Vision's Focus Dailies Toric won the Golden SILMO award, which recognizes the best innovations in contact lenses, at the Salon International de la Lunette et de l'Optique (SILMO) convention in October. A panel of judges comprised of leading ophthalmologists, opticians and other members of SILMO reviewed four other lenses before giving the award to CIBA.

CV ENCORE TORIC: So Much More Than Just "Location, Location, Location." It's patient preference, parameter range and in-stock product availability. Recent studies show that 95% of patients prefer CV Encore Toric to the leading disposable toric. And with the addition of a -2.25D cylinder power and sphere powers from +6.00D to -8.00D, you can now fit more of your patients with the most advanced disposable toric. Plus, you'll appreciate more than 99% in-stock product availability. For more information on this outstanding toric lens, contact CooperVision at (800) 341-2020 or visit the Web site at http://www.coopervision.com.
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Research Reaps 2002 Vistakon Grants
The American Optometric Foundation and Vistakon recently awarded a $25,000 grant to Drs. Patrick M. Ladage and H. Dwight Cavanagh, of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, for their research, "Corneal Epithelial Homeostasis in the Rabbit Following Long-Term Daily and Extended Hydrogel Lens Wear." Drs. M-L Chantal Coles and Noel A. Brennan, of Brennan Counsultants in Australia, received a $10,000 grant for their research, "Orbscan Measurements of Post-Lens Tear Film Thickness."

TICL Cleared for Europe
Staar Surgical has received the CE Mark for its Toric Implantable Contact Lens (TICL), which allows it to market the TICL in every European Union country. According to Staar, the TICL is the only posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens able to both reduce pre-existing astigmatism and provide correction of myopia or hyperopia in one procedure. The FDA granted Staar conditional approval to initiate clinical investigation in January 2002 and the first patient received an implant in August.

FDA Clears Opti-Free Express for New Indication
The FDA recently granted clearance to Alcon's Opti-Free Express Multi-Purpose Disinfecting Solution No Rub Lasting Comfort Formula to add a specific indication for use with silicone hydrogel lenses to the product's labeling. You'll notice the new indication on the solution's carton, label and package insert.

Editor's Commentary: New Agreement is Reasonable
The agreement between Vistakon and 1-800 breaks new ground. Now a manufacturer is forcing a nonlicensed seller of contact lenses to adhere to what I believe are reasonable practices for filling a prescription. These guidelines would certainly be reasonable in the area of medicine prescriptions between licensed doctors and pharmacists. A new federal law similar to these guidelines may be considered next year. Until then, some lens manufacturers won't have these restrictions in place and the chaos will continue. I keep saying that if everyone would treat contact lens prescriptions like medicine prescriptions, then the problems would only be economic.

Fitting Tip: The Line Tells It All
Some patients have trouble telling whether a soft contact lens is inside out or not. A useful way to check this with any soft lens that has a handling tint is to look for a line of color on the outside edge if the patient places it correctly. Turn the lens inside out and the line disappears.
--Martin Reynolds, BSc, FCOptom
London, UK


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