NEW YORK—As evidenced by recent news and Vision Monday's own coverage of pharmacy chains, retailer groups and new competitive business models expanding their commitments in the primary and specialty healthcare space, there is a new interchange between the worlds of "retail" and "healthcare" growing within the current business climate. It's the topic of this week's latest short video, Micro Chats on Macro Trends, a series of conversations between VM editorial director Marge Axelrad and lens and technology editor Andrew Karp.

The video is the sixth in a six-part series that examines significant trends influencing the way healthcare providers and optical retailers are doing business today, while preparing for the “next normal.” The video can be viewed below or by clicking here.

Axelrad noted, "We want to continue the conversation about themes that emerged since Vision Monday's 2020 Leadership Summit and how the pandemic has escalated the timetable of many of these trends and turned them into business realities. In the vision business, many general merchandise retailers have had a presence in the eyecare/eyewear space for a while. But the healthcare aspirations of many types of retailers are significantly expanding."

Added Karp, "We've seen movements on a couple of fronts, as pharmacies, for example, have started to embrace vision care and their role in healthcare access in general. And, we've observed, since the advent of the pandemic, the further emergence of 'do-it-yourself' healthcare and monitoring as consumers take an active role in managing their health and well-being."

At the end of the Micro Chat, Axelrad and Karp ask viewers, "How can optical retailers and vision care professionals deliver eye health service in a way that improves access and provides a more satisfying patient experience and better outcomes?" Email us your answer at vmsummit@jobson.com.

All of the Micro Chats in this video series can be viewed here. They include:

• Brick Learns to Click
• Telehealth and Wellness: The Engaged Patient
• Access to Care: The Social Determinants of Health
• Re-Establishing Trust in Healthcare
• Optometry's Widening Scope

Stay tuned for more details to be announced soon for the 2021 Vision Monday Leadership Summit.