Optometry Times On the Air

Unless you have been avoiding the Internet at all costs, you have likely seen an abundance of ads for new contact lens subscription services. These companies market their lenses on convenience and affordability, targeting patients directly instead of going through the normal doctor-driven prescribing and dispensing channels.  We sat down with Ryan Corte, OD, who practices in the growing metropolitan city of Charlotte, NC, to learn more about why patients are increasingly interested in subscription contact lens services and how ODs can best discuss the topic with patients at their yearly eye exam. 

At the end of every eye exam, Janelle Davison, OD, always asks patients if they have any other questions. She was surprised at how often the questions were related to makeup suggestions, eyelash growth, and cosmetic treatments around the eye. “Why don’t you have a place in your office to offer cosmetic services so I could get treatments done and still be under your care and supervision?” came the suggestion from a dry eye patient that she was helping to manage and find better alternatives in her cosmetic routine to reduce ocular surface irritation.

Instead of waiting to let the future happen to him, Walt Whitley, OD, FAAO, has focused on innovating and creating opportunities in his optometric career. He has made a name for himself in ocular surface disease and the opportunities for relationship-building between optometry and ophthalmology.

If you have skimmed a few summary articles and are thinking, “Dry eye not really changed much for me,” we’re highlighting the biggest takeaways from TFOS DEWS II that will make you rethink what you think you know about dry eye treatment in our podcast with Drs. Jennifer Craig, Lyndon Jones, and James Wolffsohn

If the rate of change in optometry this year has your head spinning, hold on tight with this next one. On September 18, 2017, Johnson & Johnson Vision (JJV) announced the acquisition of Sightbox, an online contact lens subscription box service that sells direct to consumer Acuvue contact lenses, and yes, contact lenses from the three other major contact lens manufacturers.  It was a move that surprised many ODs, but as we look beyond the surface, this acquisition says so much about the current state of our profession and healthcare as a whole.

Find out more from J&J's Peter Menziuso.

Danielle Richardson, OD, discusses how yoga has influenced her optometric practice, patient care, and ability to balance the daily demands of optometry and being an entrepreneurial professional.

Colin Carr, founder of Carr Healthcare Realty which represents only healthcare buyers and tenants, answers the most common questions he receives from private practice optometric owners.

On this podcast, we sit down with Claudine Courey, OD, MSc, FAAO, an OD who is embracing dry eye treatment on a new stage—the world of online retail.

Early detection is key to improved outcomes for these patients born with retinoblastoma, as Dr. Bryan Shaw learned firsthand. Dr. Shaw is not an optometrist but a biochemistry professor at Baylor University. When he was completing his postdoctoral work, he got devastating news: his son was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma. Once Dr. Shaw found out that he had the signs of Noah’s cancer in his own cell phone photo library four months before he was diagnosed, the light bulb went off. He decided to create an app using artificial intelligence that could help parents detect leukocoria in their own children’s photos.

Matt Geller, OD, shares data on OD salaries, happiness, and more.