CLToday Fitting Tip of the Month

March 2006

Contact Lenses Today® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week, CLToday® reaches more than 10,000 readers in 74 countries.

Managing Contact Lens Associated Dryness
 When a patient has a disease or condition that can potentially affect contact lens wear, such as medically-documented dry eye or allergy, perform a separate disease work-up to determine the appropriate ICD-9 and CPT-4 treatment procedure codes. This ensures thorough care of the patient and may be billable to his or her health care insurance. I recommend an extensive symptom questionnaire, additional tests such as lissamine green and detailed fluorescein staining, as well as a highly specific treatment plan. Milton M. Hom, O.D., F.A.A.O.
Azusa, Calif.
VISTAKON® has begun airing national TV advertising in support of their exciting new contact lens, ACUVUE® ADVANCE™ Brand Contact Lenses for ASTIGMATISM, and to help increase patient visits.  One advertisement — titled “Twins” — targets a younger audience and is geared towards first time contact lens wearers with astigmatism. The other — “A Day in the Life” — was created to appeal to a broader, more mature audience, including current toric wearers and dropouts. The commercials are to air on stations such as FOX, WB, MTV, and USA. Tune in! http://www.ecp.acuvue.com.
--ADVERTISING
Report adverse contact lens reactions here: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/ or call (800) FDA-1088.
Access a reporting form for complications you've seen that were a result of contact lenses dispensed without a valid prescription at the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry's (ARBO's) Web site: http://www.arbo.org/arbo.asp?dt=R&doc=Complications. Complete and send the form online or print it out and fax it to (866) 886-6164.
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