By Staff
Thursday, September 19, 2024 12:17 PM
CHICAGO—Eye health and safety nonprofit Prevent Blindness has named Howard Purcell, OD, FAAO, as the 2025 Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Award recipient. Dr. Purcell is the president and CEO of the New England College of Optometry (NECO). The Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Award recognizes an individual whose inspired outlook champions healthy vision and its importance for a healthy life. Prevent Blindness said that Dr. Purcell was chosen by a volunteer committee as the recipient of the 2025 Person of Vision Award. He was selected for his outstanding dedication to vision and eye health, leadership of eyecare professionals and dedication to the vision industry.
Read More
By Staff
Thursday, September 19, 2024 12:00 PM
From the beginning of my time in the eyecare field, I learned the importance of working with fellow eyecare professionals—both ODs and MDs—to ensure patients receive a comprehensive approach to eyecare. Myopia management is no different. While on faculty at Columbia University’s Ophthalmology Department, I worked closely with the pediatric ophthalmology division to launch its myopia management clinic. We held collaborative meetings both in person and virtually with optometrists, other academic pediatric ophthalmologists, and myopia researchers to develop protocols that would be respected by all parties involved.
Read More
By Staff
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 12:33 PM
PARIS—EssilorLuxottica (Reuters: ESLX.PA) announced that it has entered into a new long-term agreement that extends its partnership with Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), under which the parties will collaborate into the next decade to develop multi-generational smart eyewear products. The two companies have been collaborating since 2019, resulting in two generations of Ray-Ban branded smart glasses that have redefined the potential for consumer wearables. The line of Ray-Ban Meta glasses has garnered widespread adoption in that time, which the company attributes to the balance struck between form and function, combining EssilorLuxottica's industry knowledge and global network of retail and wholesale locations together with Meta’s advancements in technology.
Read More
By Staff
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 12:20 PM
Optometry continues to transform, driven by scope expansion and technological advances. While increased scope is consciously chosen by the profession’s advocates as a goal and pursued with intent, technological change is a mixed bag that includes some elements we actively embrace and others that are beyond our control or, indeed, wishes. New telehealth technologies employed by online retailers, including those accessible on a smartphone, enable consumers to self-administer Rx fulfillment and renewal, diminishing the traditional role of ODs while skirting statutes and regulations intended to protect the public. At the same time, more eye doctors are wondering if these same technologies can better serve their patients. Below, we explore the impact of these developments, offering our own opinions on many contentious issues; other optometrists will have different perspectives.
Read More
By Staff
Monday, September 16, 2024 1:58 PM
Fall will officially arrive on September 22, heralding the beginning of the conference and trade show season. As the business travel season begins and people start to gather in large numbers indoors, the risk of getting infected with influenza (flu), COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) increases. So what’s a trade show attendee to do? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched a new national campaign to inform the public about common respiratory viruses and available vaccines. The campaign, aptly titled Risk Less. Do More., aims to increase the awareness of vaccines that reduce serious illness and limit the spread of these viruses among all Americans, HHS said.
Read More
By Staff
Monday, September 16, 2024 1:51 PM
It’s sometimes hard to know the most important actions to take in your optical to increase sales. Here are a few low-to-no cost things we did to sell more eyewear. Taking these three actions increased our capture rate from 55-60 percent to 65-70 percent and generated around $80,000 of additional revenue per year. First, we got the doctors in our practice on board with recommending from the chair. That included getting them to discuss eyewear, and how the Rx is only a small part of the equation. We got the doctors to emphasize to patients how our skilled opticians make everything come together using premium frames, lenses and enhancements.
Read More
By Staff
Friday, September 13, 2024 9:15 AM
ST. LOUIS—EyeCare Partners LLC, a leading provider of clinically integrated eyecare, announced that Brian Sawyer has been appointed as interim chief information officer (CIO), effective Sept. 9, 2024, taking the spot held by former CIO Jason Chaffin. Sawyer joined EyeCare Partners in December 2020 as vice president, digital experience and omnichannel product management, where he worked on the company’s proprietary E360+ PM/EMR strategy and development, as well as the digital transformation strategy for ECP’s digital platforms, the company advised.
Read More
By Staff
Friday, September 13, 2024 9:10 AM
When Melissa Kuzo, OD, decided to open a private practice, she set out to create a space that blended her expertise in dry eye treatment with a modern, sleek design. Together with her husband Kyle Kuzo, who helps manage operations, she opened Kuzo Eye Care and Dry Eye Center in York, Pennsylvania, in 2022. Kuzo Eye Care quickly became a cornerstone that earned community recognition, winning Best of York 2023 and Best Optometrist in York 2023. Dr. Kuzo graduated from Salus University Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 2016 and completed a residency in ocular disease at a VA facility, then spent a few years at a private practice where she had previously interned.
Read More
By Staff
Thursday, September 12, 2024 11:04 AM
BOSTON—The New England College of Optometry’s (NECO) fourth annual Industry Collaborative, “Health Equity in Eyecare,” shifted venues on Tuesday from the school’s Beacon Street campus to the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter. The second and final day of the event featured a spirited panel discussion on the current scope of practice in optometry as well as a fireside chat from John Katzman, founder and CEO of Noodle, on artificial intelligence (AI) and education, hosted by Howard Purcell, OD, FAAO, current president of NECO.
Read More
By Staff
Thursday, September 12, 2024 10:52 AM
After spending hours upon hours browsing through the
20/20 print and digital archives, we discovered just how much has changed within the eyewear arena over the past five decades. But after flipping through hundreds of historical pages, there is one thing that has stayed consistent: Our trend setting take on eyewear. Eyewear has transformed into one of the most popular fashion accessories, and
20/20 has been along on this journey every step of the way. If you open any recent issue of our magazine, you will immediately notice dedicated fashion features and still life photo shoots created by our editorial and art teams. Here is where we zone in on current and timeless designs, while forecasting what is to come in the upcoming year in terms of optical and sunwear styles.
Read More
By Staff
Wednesday, September 11, 2024 1:54 PM
BOSTON—The New England College of Optometry (NECO) kicked off its fourth annual Industry Collaborative meeting on Monday on the school’s Beacon Street campus with a focus on “Health Equity in Eyecare.” NECO president Howard Purcell, OD, FAAO, delivered opening remarks and welcomed attendees on the first day of the event, along with Gary Chu, OD, MPH, vice president, professional affairs at the college. “Almost everyone is represented in this room,” Dr. Purcell told attendees. “This is a unique opportunity for us in so many ways to come together and help solve some of the issues we face."
Read More
By Staff
Wednesday, September 11, 2024 1:45 PM
The Silhouette Group announced they will open their first standalone retail outlet, the House of Silhouette. The store is located in Vienna’s 1st district, with a well-known address at Herrengasse 1. It will offer customers a place to immerse themselves in the fascinating and inspiring world of premium eyewear across two floors. This development is described as a new step for the company, just in time for its 60th anniversary. For the first time ever, the family business will have its own store where customers can directly experience the Group’s eyewear brands under one roof: Silhouette, evil eye and Neubau Eyewear.
Read More
By Staff
Tuesday, September 10, 2024 11:27 AM
With the new school year underway and the fall sports season kicking into high gear, athletes of all ages are preparing to give their best on the field and maximize their performance. Keeping athletes safe and well-protected remains paramount, with eye safety at the top of the list. Similar to team sports, this task of protecting the eye health of athletes, whether amateur or professional, is a group effort, with optometrists playing a key role. “First and foremost, (ODs can) recommend sports eyewear and/or contact lenses whenever appropriate. Secondly, we should be educating our patients, coaches and trainers on the importance of sports eye safety,” said Fred Edmunds, OD, FAAO, who runs a sports vision only practice devoted to the visual performance enhancement of athletes.
Read More
By Staff
Tuesday, September 10, 2024 11:15 AM
Innovation in the dry-eye space has taken off over the last few decades, and now ophthalmologists have more options than ever before for treating patients’ dry-eye disease. “It’s an amazing time to be a specialist in this area because there are so many different therapeutic options available to handle the complexity and variety of the ocular surface issues we encounter on a day-to-day basis in the clinic,” says Christopher Starr, MD, FACS, a cornea and cataract/refractive specialist at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. “As new treatments get FDA approved and become available, I try to incorporate them into my personal algorithm.” While it’s an exciting time, the plethora of options might feel overwhelming. What’s the best way to incorporate all these into your practice?
Read More
By Staff
Monday, September 9, 2024 11:56 AM
BOCA RATON, Fla. and RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—Professional Eye Care Associates of America (PECAA), one of the nation’s largest communities of independent eyecare professionals, and VSP Vision have announced the extension of the VSP Vision Exam Rebate through 2025, offering doctors the opportunity to receive up to $10 per VSP commercial eye exam, and as much as $60,000 in total incremental revenue next year. To date, more than 2,000 practices have benefited from $20 million for the care they deliver to patients, according to the announcement.
Read More