(PRESS RELEASE) ST. LOUIS — The World Council of Optometry (WCO) and Alcon have announced the first in a series of online events supporting their global, evidence-based dry eye disease education initiative. The “Dry Eye Disease Mitigation” event is scheduled for Nov. 8, led by Professor Jennifer Craig and focused on understanding the prevalence and etiology of dry eye, associated risk factors, and how to triage patients presenting with symptoms. Professors Lyndon Jones and James Wolffsohn also join in the discussion.
The event will be available in multiple time zones and includes an interactive live chat to give participants worldwide access to these distinguished experts at no cost. Registration is now open here.
Professor Craig said, “Dry eye disease is a widespread problem that in many cases can be easily managed. It does not require a great deal of infrastructure and only modest specialized education. This online event series is aimed at delivering practical information that optometrists can use right away. We need to not only more actively identify patients with dry eye but also point them in the right direction. By doing that, we can improve their quality of life.”
The “Dry Eye Disease Mitigation” digital event will be presented on November 8 in three separate time zones:
5 p.m. HKT/SST = Hong Kong/Singapore, Register here.
6 p.m. CET = Central Europe, Register here.
6 p.m. PST = Pacific Standard Time/Los Angeles, Register here.
WCO and Alcon partnered to develop the dry eye disease education initiative to raise optometrists’ understanding of dry eye and deliver resources on practical management. Dry eye disease is a chronic, painful condition. Approximately 1.4 billion people are affected by dry eye symptoms worldwide,[1] with reports of increased occurrence aligning with notable factors such as increasing use of technology, environmental triggers, and an aging population.[2] The education initiative brings together world-renowned experts to share the latest dry eye disease data and science with the entire optometric community.
The November 8 presentation will also be available on demand following the event. Schedules for additional WCO and Alcon online events will be released in the coming months.