Articles related to VISION/OCULAR HEALTH

Chalazia are very typical eyelid lesions that most optometrists often treat. There are several treatment choices, with incision and curettage being a great in-office surgical option that often produces the best outcomes with the most patient satisfaction. The chalazion incision and curettage surgery is particularly satisfying to carry out since patients respond well to it and typically see a noticeable improvement in the appearance of their eyelid from preoperative to postoperative times. A piece of advice for an optometrist who is just beginning to undertake in-office treatments is to complete a number of other procedures first to gain experience performing them on simpler removals before beginning chalazion incision and curettage.

After watching or listening to this CME activity hosted by Cynthia Matossian, MD, FACS, Founder and Medical Director at Matossian Eye Associates in Hopewell, NJ, and Jillian Ziemanski, OD, PhD, FAAO, Clinical Assistant Professor at the UAB School of Optometry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, ophthalmologists and optometrists should be better equipped to analyze clinical trial data supporting the safety and effectiveness of device therapy to treat meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).

Marc R. Bloomenstein, OD, FAAO examines the status of various ophthalmic medications in the first video of 2023, including preservative-free latanoprost for IOP reduction (IYUZEH, Thea Pharma), MydCombi (Eyenovia) for in-office pupil dilatation, and others.

Participants should be better able to discuss anti-VEGF therapy outcomes in patients with moderate-severe and severe nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy after taking part in this educational activity with Drs. Susan Bressler, Mark Dunbar, and Ruth Weinstock, and understand the importance of prompt referral and early diagnosis to reduce or even prevent the vision-threatening complications of diabetes.

New tests of visual function are emerging as a result of recent technology advancements. Today, evaluation of patient populations with limited access to healthcare is made possible by diagnostic testing with portable, affordable technologies, which also allows testing outside of a clinical environment or at home. These modifications make it possible to monitor patients more actively, produce more results, and deliver fast information on the effectiveness of ongoing treatment and prospective changes in visual status. Particularly, functional vision traits such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, color vision, binocularity, and others can be easily assessed outside of typical clinic consultations.

The effectiveness of one’s dry eye disease (DED) clinic depends on staff involvement in both diagnostic testing and patient education for three reasons: (1) It enables ODs to see more DED patients and quickly prescribe the treatment(s) needed to provide symptomatic relief; (2) It emphasizes the significance of diagnosing and adhering to the prescribed DED treatment; (3) And it fosters staff loyalty to a practice because they are actively involved in patient care rather than merely checking off the boxes.