SXSW STYLE
Transitions Optical used the South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX, as a backdrop to kick off its new marketing campaign aimed at young, style-conscious consumers. Digital reporter Sarah Evans served as the company’s partner, filing reports from the music, film and interactive festival. Evans, a longtime eyeglasses wearer who likes statement frames, has also worked as a brand ambassador for PayPal and Cisco. Find her work for Transitions via the campaign hash tag #ThroughANewLens. Transitions has also kicked off a six-part “Dawn to Dusk” print and digital editorial series with Rolling Stone that profiles music artists on their journeys wherever they are, from day to night.
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This article originally appeared in the April 2015 edition of INVISION.
3 EASY TIPS FOR LENS SAFETY
Want to help patients decrease the chances of contact lens contamination? A study of 119 contact lens wearers published in Optometry & Vision Science showed that 1) air-drying lens cases, 2) using the same manufacturer for both the disinfecting solution and the lens case, and 3) washing hands with soap and water all helped reduce lens case contamination.
REGISTRY WILL SHARE ‘MORE’
Measures and Outcomes Registry for Eyecare — or MORE for short — is the name of the new optometric registry that the American Optometric Association plans to launch this year. The registry is an AOA member benefit, but will be available to nonmembers for a fee. Dr. Jeff Michaels, chair of the AOA’s Quality Improvement and Registries Committee, says the goal is similar to that of a cancer registry. “Imagine every optometrist in the country being able to collaborate on outcomes for glaucoma management, amblyopia treatment, contact lens-induced ulcers, myopia progression and more using evidence-based outcomes to improve our patient’s care instead of waiting years for clinical trials,” he adds. “As the primary eye care profession, this is a huge opportunity for optometry and the millions of patients we serve every year.”
CPOT EXAMS GET UPGRADE
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In other news from the AOA, the Commission on Paraoptometric Certification is offering quarterly Certified Paraoptometric Technician clinical exams via computer in more than 200 locations. Exam dates include May 2-May 16 (register by April 10) and Aug. 8-22 (apply by July 10). The new examination incorporates photos and videos into the 100 multiple-choice questions. Working with the supervision of an optometrist, certified techs handle many duties that can advance their careers and boost practice productivity. Info: aoa.org/paraoptometrics
NEW PARTNERS IN PREVENTION
Because blindness from glaucoma is six times more common in blacks than in whites — and because blacks have higher rates of diabetic eye disease — Prevent Blindness is teaming with the National Black Church Initiative to improve the eye health of the 15.7 million African American churchgoers. The “Community InSight” program aims to have a trained “health navigator” in each of the 34,000 congregations to increase awareness of eye health and boost the number of dilated eye exams for diabetic parishioners or those at high risk for glaucoma. Info: invmag.us/4152
