This article was posted on Medical News Today on Dec 19, 2009.  This knowledge has the potential to help many children struggling in school. These are the types of problems that we hope can be identified and solved by children receiving eye exams when entering school.

“The incidence of individuals with a mathematics learning disability is between 6 – 7% of the population.” Since there are more than 300 million individuals in the United States, up to 21 million men, women, and children may be affected by this disorder. Sidney Groffman OD, MA, FCOVD, Professor Emeritus at SUNY College of Optometry, author of the article published in the December 2009 issue of Optometry & Vision Development, also says, “This is unfortunate because math skills are of prime importance in everyday life enabling us to understand number concepts and do calculations. Math ability is essential for many occupations and professions.”

This statment was posted by The American Optometric Society to fans on Facebook.

Following receipt of correspondence from the AOS, the Nevada Board of Optometry, in a written opinion, has determined that Nevada optometrists holding themselves out as “Board Certified” by the American Board of Optometry (ABO) would be in violation of at least two sections of the Nevada optometry laws. Under Nevada law, any board issuing such “certifications” must be approved by the Nevada state board and that the American Board of Optometry has no authority under Nevada law to issue any certification. The Nevada Board further determined that any certification issued by any entity other than the Nevada Board of Optometry would be deceptive and misleading to the public.

Some holiday humor for you from Scott Lee, OD.

A very important part of preparing your office for a new year is taking a look at your office from a patients point of view. Step back and take an objective look around. If you truly don’t think you can be objective consider asking a friend or family member to come in and tell you what they see. Sometimes when you see the same thing every day your brain stops paying attention to it.  But it is important to know what your patients are seeing when they come to your office.

Apparently monocles are the latest thing…again! The eyecare and fashion industries are buzzing about an article from Telegraph.co.uk This interesting tidbit of industry info is getting around fast.

It is amazing the things that we are still discovering about the human body! This article was posted on Medical News Today on Dec 14, 2009.

University of Iowa researchers have found the existence of a new, rare inherited retinal disease. Now the search is on to find the genetic cause, which investigators hope will increase understanding of more common retinal diseases.

The findings appeared in the Nov. 9 issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.

The macula, located within the retina, is an area of high-resolution central vision that is needed to read or drive, for example. This area is damaged in more common retinal conditions such as macular degeneration and can be damaged by diabetes.

“It is rare to find a new inherited eye disease that affects the macula. We thought we had seen them all,” said the study’s lead author Vinit Mahajan, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.

As you prepare your optical practice for a new year make sure you are reviewing your current marketing strategies. Ask yourself and your staff what has worked well in past years. What is working for your right now? Also think about what you need to change. Sometimes a few basic changes can make a big difference.

If you are having a hard time tracking down the ophthalmic ointments that your office uses you are not alone.  Many offices are beginning to ask, “Where are all my ointments?” Earlier this year Fougera, a major manufacturer of ophthalmic ointments, stopped production. Fougera previously manufactured 80 % of the ophthalmic ointments on the market. (Bausch & Lomb, Akorn and Falcon are among the other major manufacturers)

This was posted by the ladies at The Optical Vision Site whose blog I read daily.  I hope they don’t mind that I am passing this info along to our readers as well.

Alexandria, VA (December 3, 2009) – The Vision Council is pleased to announce a new continuing education portal – available at www.thevisioncouncil.org/ecp/CE – developed for eye care professionals. Combining industry research and data with subject matter experts on a variety of optical topics, the online initiative allows eye care professionals convenient access to accredited courses.