The MOD Pod

Presbyopia affects 1.8 billion people globally and is a tremendous frustration for both the patients who have it and the physicians who treat it. In this episode of The MOD Pod, Selina McGee, OD, FAAO, Dipl ABO, explores how presbyopia negatively affects quality of life, and why it's important for optometrists to educate patients.

In this month's business-focused episode, Melanie Denton Dombrowski, OD, MBA, FAAO, shares her first-hand experience on opening a practice cold (00:52), then Jessilin Quint, OD, MBA, MS, provides five tactics to sustain a practice's growth, success, and relevance (9:50). Jason E. Compton, OD, FAAO, follows with some great tips for developing a practice marketing plan (17:42), and Rachael Wruble, OD, FAAO, offers guidance on how to approach three common insurance and reimbursement problems (24:29).

Listen in as S. Barry Eiden, OD, FAAO; Dorothy Hitchmoth, OD; and Mary Beth Yackey, OD, join host Damon Dierker, OD, for a discussion of the important role that early detection of age-related macular degeneration plays in optimizing patient visual outcomes, and how the ForeseeHome AMD Monitoring Program aids practitioners in this endeavor.

Damon Dierker, OD, FAAO; Josh Johnston, OD, FAAO; Brianna Rhue, OD, FAAO; and Walt Whitley, OD, MBA, FAAO, discuss best implementation practices for telemedicine and speculate about its future based on its versatility. 

Damon Dierker, OD, FAAO, leads a faculty panel including Josh Johnston, OD, FAAO; Brianna Rhue, OD, FAAO; and Walt Whitley, OD, MBA, FAAO, on the differences between routine care and notable complexities when using telemedicine.

In this month's episode, Robert Chu, OD, explains how optometry can help to improve efficiency by participating in perioperative cataract surgery care in the article he co-wrote with his brother Richard Chu, DO (0:45). Kayla Karpuk, OD, offers some tips for helping unhappy cataract surgery patients cross the goal line to 20/happy in the article she cowrote with Justin Schweitzer, OD, FAAO, (9:33) and in the last segment of the episode, Tracy Offerdahl, BSc, PharmD, FAAO, provides an update on oral medications used in the COVID-19 era (16:40).

The conclusion of our two-part special episode of The MOD Pod – Contact Lens Business and Patient Safety in the COVID-19 Era: Redefining Normal. Listen to Rachael Wruble, OD, FAAO, speak with colleagues Brianna Rhue, OD, FAAO; William To, OD; and Justin Weigel, OD, about how they navigated the immediate challenges COVID-19 posed on their contact lens businesses, what protocols they implemented to promote patient and staff safety, and the strategies they used to strengthen their practices through the pandemic and beyond.

There's a mixed bag of treats for you in this episode. Hear Thomas Cheezum, OD, CPC, COPC, talk about post-pandemic opportunities for telemedicine (0:56), then listen as Jacqueline Theis, OD, FAAO, provides a lesson on neurologic visual field loss (10:06). Chandra Mickles, OD, MSc, FAAO, FSLS, follows that up with an informative piece on reinforcing healthy contact lens wear (17:24). Last but not least, if you wanted to know more about Marc R. Bloomenstein, OD, FAAO, now's your chance as Modern Optometry gets Up Close and personal with our question-and-answer section (31:23).

If you're looking to relax to the sweet sounds of your colleagues talking about diagnosing and treating ocular surface disease, then this is the episode for you! All of these articles can be found in the July/August issue of Modern Optometry and are read by the authors themselves. First up is Damon Dierker, OD, FAAO, with a summary of the latest innovations in dry eye treatment (0:56), followed by Seema Nanda, OD, who has some great tips for differentiating between Sjögren syndrome dry eye and non-Sjögren syndrome dry eye (9:37). The next article in the episode is from the issue's subfocus on the female eye, but also crosses into the realm of ocular surface disease. Tracy Doll, OD, FAAO, provides an examination of the changing ocular surface through the stages of life (21:32). Last but not least, no episode would be complete without the latest addition of our Up Close column (31:35). This time you'll learn all about MOD's own Leslie O'Dell, OD, FAAO.