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Transitions closes Its SA operation
Transitions Optical has closed down its Australian operation based in Lonsdale, SA, with 14 staff members being put off
Fred Hollows usedas inspiration
The later Fred Hollows’ life has been chosen to inspire the next generation of young leaders by a $100m foundation
The ‘good old days’– not so good?
The so-called ‘good old days’ in the 1940s were not all that they were cracked up to be, according to a contributor
All the ophthalmic news that matters!
03 30 34
THE EYES AND EARS OF THE OPHTHALMIC WORLD – SINCE 1975 MAY 2014
THE THINNEST STOCK LENS
Double Aspheric Design
Nikon-Lite DAS
IN THE WORLD
MAY 2014
Transitions Optical has closed down its Australian operation based in
Lonsdale, South Australia, with 14 out of 17 staff members being put off and the remaining three staying on to finalise affairs.
The decision to close the facil-ity at Lonsdale, South Australia, was announced on 14 April – two weeks after Essilor International bought the 51 per cent it did not own in its Transitions joint venture with PPG in the United States, thereby giving it 100 per cent ownership of Transitions.
Essilor maintains it is unable to comment on the takeover until the deal with PPG over Transitions is complete, as, even though a bind-ing agreement to purchase has been signed, there is always the risk of a last-minute hitch.
Also, Transitions is based in Florida in the United States, which probably means armies of lawyers being involved in the ne-gotiations and final agreement(s), including comment restrictions on both parties.
At the time of going to press, there had been limited, if any, information provided by Essilor Australia to the laboratories here that use its product, which frustrated a number of them. In short, it appears the labora-tories will continue to obtain product from the same sources overseas that they had previously used, but no longer via the South Australia facility.
However services that the Transitions facility in SA pro-vided for their client laboratories
and their practitioner clients, such as consumer advertising campaigns (spends of more sev-eral million dollars a year were not uncommon), provision of promotional material for practic-es, a dedicated national product sales force, and technical advice, will no longer be available from a Transitions facility here and will have to be provided by client laboratories and/or practitioners themselves or from local or over-seas Essilor sources.
It is not yet known how Essilor Australia will handle the newly-acquired Transitions busi-ness here.
Transitions’ operations in New Zealand have also been closed down, as have those in
India. There was no news at press time of the fate of the rest of Transitions’ operations globally.
The president of Transitions, Mr Paddy McDermott, in a state-ment to Insight on 14 April said: “Transitions Optical communi-cated to our Australia employees on April 14 that we are restruc-turing our commercial organiza-tion to focus on supporting our direct customers, optical lens manufacturers.
“Fourteen of our Australia and New Zealand associates are affected and will receive a com-prehensive package of separa-tion benefits appropriate to their positions and tenure, in-cluding outplacement services. The company is committed to
helping impacted employees find new employment as professionally and respectfully as possible. We do not take these de-cisions lightly and have made these changes to increase efficiency, con-tinue to strength-en the Transitions brand, and drive growth across the photochromic cat-egory for all of our customers.
“The interna-tional optical mar-ket continues to evolve, and sup-ply routes of Transitions prod-
uct into Australia and New Zealand have evolved greatly in recent years. The majority of the product destined for the ANZ market is supplied to laborato-ries in overseas locations. That development has greatly reduced the necessity for a dedicated op-eration in Australia.
“Transitions Optical strate-gic focus is to provide our sup-ply partners with technical and marketing support to enable and leverage their already extensive resources within the Australia and New Zealand markets. Both markets are very important for us and this change in approach is focused on optimizing our part-ner relationships to our mutual benefit.” ■
3www.insightnews.com.au
MAY 2014READ BY EVERYBODY!
AUSTRALIA’S LEADING OPHTHALMIC NEWSPAPER – SINCE 1975
Transitions Optical closes down its operation in South Australia
Transitions Optical’s premises in Lonsdale, South Australia
4 www.insightnews.com.auMAY 2014
Future of Clearly.com.au in doubt; strong rumour
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AUSTRALIA’S LEADING OPHTHALMIC NEWSPAPER – SINCE 1975
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Transitions closes Its SA operationTransitions Optical has closed down its Australian operation based in Lonsdale, SA, with 14 staff members being put off
Fred Hollows usedas inspirationThe later Fred Hollows’ life has been chosen to inspire the next generation of young leaders by a $100m foundation
The ‘good old days’– not so good?The so-called ‘good old days’ in the 1940s were not all that they were cracked up to be, according to a contributor
All the ophthalmic news that matters!
03 30 34
THE EYES AND EARS OF THE OPHTHALMIC WORLD – SINCE 1975 MAY 2014
THE THINNEST STOCK LENS
Double Aspheric DesignNikon-Lite DAS
IN THE WORLD
RETAILING
A strong but unconfirmed ru-mour says that the recently-opened bricks-and-mortar
Clearly.com.au store in Sydney’s George Street will be closed down or sold soon after Essilor International completes its $C430-million takeover of parent online company Coastal.com, due to be completed in the first half of May.
According to the rumour, Essilor does not want the distrac-tion of owning an online supplier of prescription glasses and sunglass-es, which has already met with concerns by its existing bricks-and-mortar customers about prices for those products, as well as for con-tact lenses.
At least two buying groups and one wholesale company say they have been told that Clearly.com.au’s retail store in George Street will be closed down (as will a newly-opened store in Auckland, New Zealand), so as not to be a distrac-tion from Essilor’s core business of prescription-lens manufacture and distribution.
Industry sources here say Essilor Australia’s claim could be a reaction to antagonism by some, including buying groups, towards the expectation that the $C430-million takeover of parent Coastal.
com and it being regarded as the largest online provider of contact lenses and glasses in the world, with a claimed five million clients, which would be in direct competi-tion with Essilor’s clientele.
Neither Essilor nor Clearly.com.au had any comment to make.
Commenting on the announce-ment of its planned acquisition of Coastal.com on 27 February, Essilor International’s chairman and chief executive officer, Mr Hubert Sangieres, said: “The in-ternet, if used properly, can help to drive market growth … Essilor is acquiring a recognised online vision-care platform. Our commit-ment is to contribute to shape this distribution channel for the ben-efit of the entire industry as well as consumers.” ■
The Clearly.com.au store in Sydney’s George Street
5MAY 2014www.insightnews.com.au
RETAILING
Essilor completes purchase of Coastal.com online retailer
Glaucoma-treatment guidelines are current major issue: RANZCO president
Health spending grows 37%: minister
As Insight was going to press on 29 April, Essilor International announced
that it had completed the acqui-sition of all outstanding common stock of Coastal.com, a leading online vision-care retailer.
The transaction, announced on 27 February, was approved by Coastal.com shareholders at an extraordinary meeting on 16 April and has also been cleared by regu-latory authorities.
Based in Vancouver, Canada, Coastal.com designs and distrib-utes a wide selection of optical products, including contact lenses, prescription and non-prescription
eyeglasses, sunglasses and ac-cessories. It reported revenue of $C218 million for the fiscal year ended 31 October 2013.
The price of the transaction was $C12.45 per Coastal.com share, which represents an eq-uity value of approximately $C430 million.
“The acquisition of Coastal.com is fully aligned with Essilor’s efforts to make the Internet a powerful driver of growth across the optical industry,” Mr Hubert Sagnieres, Essilor’s chairman and chief executive officer, said on 27 April.
“Online sales offer strong
growth potential and this plat-form, used properly by Essilor, will help to educate consumers and make it more convenient for them to enjoy good visual health for the benefit of all industry players.”
Coastal.com will be consoli-dated by Essilor from 1 May and Coastal.com shares will be with-drawn from trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ on the same date. ■
The decision of the Optometry Board of Australia to amend the glaucoma treatment
guidelines is a current major issue, the president of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists, Dr Stephen Best, said on 21 March at the college’s New South Wales Branch meeting in the Hunter Valley.
There was little consultation with the college and its submis-sions were disregarded, Dr Best said.
Independent management by optometrists was recommended and it was a matter of change by legislation rather than education and experience, he said.
There is great concern that it could potentially put patients at risk of irreversible loss of vision from glaucoma.
Dr Best said the board’s de-cision disregarded the National Health and Medical
Research Council’s Glaucoma Guidelines 2010 which were for-mulated by optometrists, oph-thalmologists (ANGIG) and other health-care professionals based on available evidence based on international studies and guidelines with an Australian emphasis.
There was a vigorous re-sponse to the board’s decision by both RANZCO and the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists.
A meeting in early 2013 at the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency’s premises in Melbourne, brokered by the Commonwealth chief medical of-ficer, Dr Chris Baggoley, with op-tometrists/chairs of the OBA and the Medical Board of Australia, failed to agree.
That was followed by the ini-tiation of legal action by RANZCO and ASO in the Supreme Court of Queensland in July 2013, which was challenged on the right of those two organisations in terms of “standing to bring the case”.
The matter was heard in August and decided in late December, with some frustration reported by the judge.
The matter is now scheduled to be heard in August.
Expert witness statements have been lodged by two ophthal-mologists in diagnosis and man-agement of glaucoma.
Dr Best recommended that college fellows should discuss with their patients the difference be-tween the training and experience of optometrists and ophthalmolo-gists, and to also discuss the mat-ter with referring optometrists.
Furthermore, they should con-tribute to the ASO’s ‘fighting fund’.
The long-term aim is a collab-orative, integrated team treatment approach to ensure best outcomes for patients, based around the 2010 NHMRC guidelines. ■
Federal health minister Peter Dutton says new figures showing an escalation in
health spending demonstrate why the government must cut ‘’waste’’ in health.
Figures to be published by the Productivity Commission show that between 2002-03 and 2011-12, federal government spending on health grew at an average of 4.9 per cent a year, while state government
spending grew at 6.8 per cent a year, and non-government spending – by individuals and in-surers – grew by 5 per cent a year.
Health spending per head by all governments rose 37 per cent
over the period in real terms, from $4474 to $6230. Adjusting for inflation, non-government health spending per person rose from $1259 to $1802 over the same period. ■
Expansion plans for Clearly.com stoppedFollowing completion of Essilor International’s takeover of Coastal.com, expansion plans for Clearly.com.au bricks-and-mortar stores in Sydney and Auckland were stopped immediately, Essilor Australia’s chief ex-ecutive officer and country manager ANZ, Mr Tony Gray, told Insight on 29 April.None of Essilor’s key brands will be offered to Clearly.com from now on and the standing offer by Clearly.com.au of a free first pair of glasses will be discontinued as soon as possible, Mr Gray said.
LATE NEWS
For more information and free trials contact Sauflon on: T: 1800 632 456 E: [email protected] W: sauflon.com.au
clariti® 1day multifocal utilises a ground-breaking design that is easy to fit and is made of an innovative silicone hydrogel material that ensures optimal health in the most hygienic and convenient modality. This unique multifocal lens delivers previously unseen levels of first fit success, excellent vision at all distances and patient satisfaction.
As with all of our products, this lens is exclusively available to Eye Care Professionals.
Data on file
94% first fit success with the world’s only daily disposable, silicone hydrogel multifocal.
Presbyopia?Problem solved.
Exclusively available to eye care professionals
A New Vision for PresbyopiaAsk Eye Care Practitioners (ECPs) which new lens is top of their wish list and many might include a silicone hydrogel (SiH) daily disposable multifocal in their answer. This should come as no surprise in view of the fact that daily disposable modality, along with SiH material, represent the biggest growth areas in contact lenses today. Given the ageing population, the interest in keeping our presbyopic contact lens wearers in lenses for longer is an ever-increasing aspiration of both practitioner and wearer. However, when patients reach their mid-40s, while the number of spectacle wearers increases sharply the contact lens drop-out rate also increases dramatically. In fact the presbyopic age group shows the highest patient dropout from contact lenses of any age1.
Figure 1: Australia and New Zealand Presbyopic Contact Lens Wearers2
Innovation has been the key to driving contact lens growth and, with the significant improvement in lens design and material, multifocal fitting is growing (Figure 1). However, until now, despite its popularity the daily disposable modality has been relatively underrepresented in terms of multifocal with, until recently, the hydrogel Focus® DAILIES® PROGRESSIVES All Day Comfort™ being the only daily disposable multifocal on the market.
Sauflon have now launched clariti® 1day multifocal, the world’s first SiH daily disposable multifocal; closing the gap between consumer/practitioner desire and product choice. Along with the clariti® 1day sphere and clariti® 1day toric, clariti® 1day multifocal makes this the world’s first SiH daily disposable family.
The benefits of SiH are well documented with health and comfort being among the most important and the current fitting trends indicate that SiH is now accepted as the industry gold standard in contact lens materials. The benefits of the daily
17%Monovision
22%Multifocal
61%Single Vision
Distance
61% of presbyopic contact lens wearers may rely on reading glasses
disposable modality are also well accepted with current fitting trends showing 31% percent of fits worldwide are now in a dailydisposable modality and around one-third of these are SiH3.
Introducing clariti® 1day multifocal
Incorporating the patented AquaGen™ technology, the unique clariti® SiH material balances a Dk/t of 86 delivering up to 97% corneal oxygenation, with a low modulus of 0.5MPa (being among the softest of SiH materials) and a high water content of 56% supporting biocompatibility with the ocular surface.
All clariti® lenses have UVA and UVB filters, giving added protection against ultra violet rays. The characteristic properties of this low modulus add high water content lens, allow for easier upgrade for the hydrogel wearer, an important consideration when introducing wearers to new lenses.
The ageing eye presents several challenges to contact lens wear in terms of comfort, vision and physiology. The right balance of health, comfort and biocompatibility becomes especially important. Endothelial changes with age mean corneas may become less able to tolerate oxygen deprivation therefore a high Dk/t material becomes increasingly important to maintain wearing times. Tear films also tend to degrade with age and eyes become drier. Research suggests that SiH material gives improved comfort and helps prevent early drop out due to reduced wearing times4.
SiH is an ideal choice, along with the daily disposable modality for minimising some of these challenges faced by the maturing contact lens wearer. clariti® 1day multifocal, with its optimal balance of properties delivers a long-awaited lens for presbyopes, widening the choice available to the ECP and helping to reduce the significant drop-out from lens wear as mid life approaches. This is of particular importance to those wearers already benefiting from a SiH daily disposable who on reaching presbyopia will in the past
have been forced to make a choicebetween material and modality if they wanted to remain independent of near vision spectacles.
Design
Figure 2: clariti® 1day multifocal Additions
clariti® 1day multifocal is a simultaneous, centre near design. It has a fully progressive intermediate power zone allowing clear, uninterrupted vision through near, intermediate and far distances. As with all multifocal lenses, good centration and a stable fit is very important and the aspheric back surface periphery ensures good fit and stabilisation. With low and high ADD powers (Figure 2) and a comprehensive power range (Table 1), clariti® 1 day multifocal will suit a wide range of presbyopes.
For optimal fitting success clariti® 1day multifocal is supported by a simple, four-step fitting guide designed for minimal chair time and an enhanced patient and practitioner fitting experience.
Sauflon is confident that clariti® 1day multifocal, in addressing many of the current barriers practitioners face to multifocal contact lens fitting, will be an extremely valuable addition to the multifocal contact lens portfolio. clariti® 1day multifocal provides new opportunities for ECPs to keep existing patients in contact lenses for longer, while attracting the non-contact lens wearing emerging presbyope with the convenience and flexibility of daily disposable multifocal contact lenses.
1Mintel Optical Goods and Eye Care report 2006.2Morgan P.B. et al. International Contact Lens Prescribing in 2012. Cont. Lens Spectr. 2013;28:31-383Morgan P.B. et al. International Contact Lens Prescribing in 2013. Cont. Lens. Spectr. 2014;29:30-354C Riley et al. Eye Contact Lens. 2006; 32;6:281-286.
LOW HIGH
For more information and free trials contact Sauflon on: T: 1800 632 456 E: [email protected] W: sauflon.com.au
For more information and free trials contact Sauflon on: T: 1800 632 456 E: [email protected] W: sauflon.com.au
clariti® 1day multifocal utilises a ground-breaking design that is easy to fit and is made of an innovative silicone hydrogel material that ensures optimal health in the most hygienic and convenient modality. This unique multifocal lens delivers previously unseen levels of first fit success, excellent vision at all distances and patient satisfaction.
As with all of our products, this lens is exclusively available to Eye Care Professionals.
Data on file
94% first fit success with the world’s only daily disposable, silicone hydrogel multifocal.
Presbyopia?Problem solved.
Exclusively available to eye care professionals
MAY 2014
INVESTIGATION
French Competition Authority steps up probe of possible AMD-drugs collusion
The French Competition Authority, Autorité de la concurrence, has stepped
up its probe of potential Lucentis price-fixing.
As The Times of London re-ports, the anti-trust regulators on 11 April said they raided local of-fices of Roche and Novartis, look-ing for evidence of collusion.
According to a statement on the competition authority’s web-site, regulators went on ‘search and confiscation’ manoeuvers on 8 April in their probe of treatments for wet age-related macular de-generation. The regulators didn’t name the companies involved, but Roche and Novartis confirmed that competition authorities had
launched the probe.The raids follow a month
after Italian watchdogs fined the two Swiss drug-makers in a simi-lar case. According to the Italian Competition Authority, Roche and Novartis worked together to block Avastin, the cheaper alternative to Lucentis, their injectable drug for wwet age-related macular de-generation. One of Roche’s own cancer drugs, Avastin is often used off-label to treat AMD.
$271m fines in ItalyAs reported in the April issue of Insight, Italy slapped Novartis with €92 million ($A135 million) in fines, and levied another €90.5
million ($A136 million) worth of penalties against Roche.
Developed by Roche’s Genentech unit, Lucentis is mar-keted in Europe by Novartis.
At the time, both Swiss drug-makers said they would appeal the fines. “We strongly deny al-legations about anti-competitive practices between Novartis and Roche in Italy,” the companies said in a statement.
The companies denied the latest allegations as well. “Roche confirms there is no agreement between Roche and Novartis that restricts competition,” the com-pany said.
Though Lucentis is similar to Avastin, Genentech developed
the eye drug specifically for ophthalmic use. But ophthal-mologists have continued to use Avastin, which has to be repackaged into syringes for injection into the eye. As a vi-sion treatment, it’s much less expensive than Lucentis, at less than $100 per dose, com-pared with the Lucentis’ $2,000-per-dose list price. But as Roche and Novartis have repeatedly warned, repackaging the cancer drug for eye use can cause contamination; several clusters of serious eye infections in the United States have been traced to repackaged Avastin.
Lucentis brought in $US1.9 bil-lion in sales for Roche last year. ■
The president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Steve Hambleton, has called on the
federal government to engage in meaningful consultation with the medical profession about the future of primary health care, and put an end to the “crazy policy speculation being floated in the media”.
Dr Hambleton said on 9 April that reports of a possible charge for ‘low acuity’ patients treated in emergency departments are further proof that policymakers are more focused on budget savings than pa-tient care.
“Category 4 and Category 5 emergency department patients are not necessarily GP patients – they are the patients who can safely wait for care,” Dr Hambleton said.
“They are not clogging up the emergency departments, so the proposal is trying to solve a prob-lem that does not exist. The prob-lem in emergency departments is lack of capacity in the hospital to move sick people out of the
emergency department into inpa-tient beds.”
Dr Hambleton said it is not pos-sible to develop significant health policy that works without first con-sulting with the people who work in the front line of the health system every day.
“The government needs to clarify its position on primary care, especially general practice,” Dr Hambleton said.
“Making policy on the run is no way to equip the health system to meet future needs.
“All the speculation ahead of the Budget is about GP co-payments, freezing Medicare rebates, means testing, and now a charge for pa-tients who go to emergency depart-ments with minor ailments.
“Those proposals are targeted at the wrong end of the health system, they would produce disincentives for people to see their doctor, and they would create loads of new red tape for medical practices.
“There is already means testing
in the health system through pro-cesses such as the application of the Family Tax Benefits to Medicare Safety Net thresholds. The new pro-posals would put a means test on top of a means test.
“The GP co-payments idea could actually lead to increased costs to the health system, and should be ruled out immediately.
“Freezing Medicare rebates would have a compounding effect on patient out of pocket costs, creat-ing another disincentive for people to see their doctor.
“Targeting GP services for sav-ings is a false economy that would lead to greater costs down the track.
“General practice is a very ef-ficient part of the health system, helping minimise the number of people who end up needing far more expensive hospital or chronic care. There is not a significant prob-lem with supposed unnecessary use of GP services. That is a furphy.
“The greater concern is putting barriers in the way of people seeking
relatively inexpensive GP treatment for health complaints. Forcing peo-ple to avoid seeing the doctor for minor ailments is a dangerous and expensive policy direction. Minor ailments become major ailments if not treated early.”
Dr Hambleton said the interna-tional evidence shows that the key to a sustainable health system that delivers high quality outcomes for patients is to ensure the barriers to accessing primary care are low.
“Rather than looking to make savings in general practice, the gov-ernment should be investing more in primary care and prevention,” he said.
“The main problems facing our health system are the ageing popu-lation and the growing incidence of complex and chronic diseases.
“We need to do more to decrease the impacts of alcohol, tobacco, and obesity on our population.
“We need to keep people out of hospital, where care is much more expensive.” ■
8 www.insightnews.com.au
RETINAL CAMERASCanon CR-2 PLUS AF Auto-focus Non-Myd
retinal camera. Colour, Red-Free and Fundus Autofluorscence photography.
EDGING EQUIPMENTCheck out the new range of quality
laboratory equipment from Essilor instruments. From entry level to high-tech.
At OptiMed our focus is on you.
At OptiMed our focus is always on helping you make your practice perfect with the latest diagnostic instruments, consultation room furniture and laboratory equipment.
Call 1300 657 720 or visit www.optimed.com.au for more information.
S Y D N E Y • M E L B O U R N E • B R I S B A N E • P E R T H • A D E L A I D E • A U C K L A N D
Phone 1300 657 720 Email [email protected] Web www.optimed.com.au
A new phase in supreme style and comfort for both the patient and practioner.
Height adjustable table optional.
NEW MOON CHAIR & STANDThe Plus Optix A12C is the ultimate paediatric
auto-refractor featuring integrated viewing screen, wireless communication and printing.
PAEDIATRIC AUTO-REFRACTOR
NEW
NEW
Automated refraction made easy. PC, tablet or integrated desktop panel interface.
User friendly and cost effective.
VISIONIX VX-55/60Refractor, keratometer, tonometer, pachymeter,
abberrometer, topographer, pupillometer and anterior chamber analysis all in one device!
VISIONIX VX-120 7-IN-1!
AMA calls for federal govt to engage with medicine and end speculation
RETINAL CAMERASCanon CR-2 PLUS AF Auto-focus Non-Myd
retinal camera. Colour, Red-Free and Fundus Autofluorscence photography.
EDGING EQUIPMENTCheck out the new range of quality
laboratory equipment from Essilor instruments. From entry level to high-tech.
At OptiMed our focus is on you.
At OptiMed our focus is always on helping you make your practice perfect with the latest diagnostic instruments, consultation room furniture and laboratory equipment.
Call 1300 657 720 or visit www.optimed.com.au for more information.
S Y D N E Y • M E L B O U R N E • B R I S B A N E • P E R T H • A D E L A I D E • A U C K L A N D
Phone 1300 657 720 Email [email protected] Web www.optimed.com.au
A new phase in supreme style and comfort for both the patient and practioner.
Height adjustable table optional.
NEW MOON CHAIR & STANDThe Plus Optix A12C is the ultimate paediatric
auto-refractor featuring integrated viewing screen, wireless communication and printing.
PAEDIATRIC AUTO-REFRACTOR
NEW
NEW
Automated refraction made easy. PC, tablet or integrated desktop panel interface.
User friendly and cost effective.
VISIONIX VX-55/60Refractor, keratometer, tonometer, pachymeter,
abberrometer, topographer, pupillometer and anterior chamber analysis all in one device!
VISIONIX VX-120 7-IN-1!
MAY 2014
Editorial
The insistence of the Austra- lian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency that
members of the 14 registered health-care-practitioner groups under its control, including medi-cal practitioners and optome-trists, undergo a certain number of hours and certain types of con-tinuing professional development in order to retain their registra-tion, is becoming a farce in that it is now easy to cheat so as to seem-ingly comply with the regulations without doing the required work demanded by their respective na-tional boards – the Medical Board of Australia and the Optometry Board of Australia, particularly the latter.
How it works is simple: if a magazine that is pitched to, say,
optometrists, includes articles approved by the OBA’s organ-isation of choice to administer its CPD program, Optometrists Association Australia, and has a self-administered question-and-answer section at the end, two CPD points are usually awarded to those who successfully com-plete the Q&A section.
But, as is being shown right now, there is nothing to stop someone completing that sec-tion and circulating the results to interested (or is it disinterested?) colleagues, who merely copy the answers and send them to OAA, claiming the two CPD points.
But optometrists wouldn’t do that, would they? Well a good (and increasing) number are doing it because they’re fed up
with hearing much of the same from many of the same speakers at CPD-points-earning events.
Since its introduction as a mandatory requirement for regis-tration, CPD has become a haven for speakers on ophthalmic mat-ters of all kinds, and a great earn-er for professional associations through registration fees to attend their conferences and charges for companies to exhibit at accompa-nying trade exhibitions.
Clearly the time has arrived for a comprehensive and seri-ous look at the whole area of CPD participation.
For example, are the speakers bringing words of wonder and wisdom to audiences, or are they churning out the same old stuff, with perhaps a slight tweaking to
make it look different to the time before?
Are the audiences receiving value for their money, or are they participating simply to meet the requirements for maintaining registration?
Are the procedures for marking submissions on mate-rial published in magazines suffi-ciently secure to prevent blatant copying?
Are the bodies, on contract to the respective registration boards to provide CPD services, adequately providing same?
And, most importantly, are recipients of care from practitio-ners improved by the whole CPD experience?
Who knows? Well let’s find out. ■
COMMENT
Global eyewear market expected to reach $US142 billion by 2020: US research
The global market for eye-wear is expected to reach $US142.18 billion by
2020, according to a new study by Grand View Research in the United States.
The study attributes that to expanding wearer base coupled with increasing penetration of eyewear for vision correction, with a large percentage of the population in rural areas of devel-oping markets not having access to eye-care facilities and services, which represents considerable untapped market potential for in-dustry participants.
The report ‘Eyewear Market Analysis And Segment Forecasts To 2020’, is available now to Grand View Research custom-ers and can also be purchased
directly at http://www.grandvie-wresearch.com/industry-analysis/eyewear-industry.
Inquiry Before Buying at http://www.grandviewresearch.com/inquiry/32.
Early entry of children into the corrective eyewear space as well as aging population is expected to positively impact demand on a global level. Growing urbani-sation and disposable income, along with awareness regarding the need for protecting the eyes against UV rays has led to high demand for plano sunglasses.
However acceptance of alter-native methods of vision correc-tion including refractive surgeries such as LASIK and PRK are esti-mated to restrain market growth over the forecast period.
Further key findings from the study suggest:
The global eyewear market was estimated to be 2,750.3 million units in 2012, which is expected to reach 3,507.7 million units by 2020, growing at a growth rate of 3.2% from this year to 2020.
Spectacle frames and lens-es accounted for over 50% of the total eyewear shipments in 2012; they also contributed sig-nificantly to revenue in the same year, primarily on account of high replacement rate of lenses, due to changing prescription. The advent of high-index lenses has also led to a surge in prod-uct demand, which is expected to continue through the forecast period. Plano sunglasses are ex-pected to be the fastest growing
product segment, at an estimat-ed change rate of 8.1% in terms of revenue from 2014 to 2020. Demand for high-end sunglasses sold at premium prices is the key factor for high expected-revenue generation. Polarised sunglasses contributed over 20% of overall shipments in 2012, with CR-39 expected to remain the largest lens material segment.
North America dominated global demand in 2012; while Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing regional market, at an estimated growth rate of 3.7% from 2014 to 2020. In terms of revenue, Europe accounted for over 40% of the total market in 2012, because of significantly high selling prices as compared to the global average. ■
10 www.insightnews.com.au
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Healy Optical Pty Ltd P: 02 9420 3200 F: 02 9420 3222 E: [email protected] www.healyoptical.com.au
MAY 2014
HEALTH AND VISION CARE
Vision 2020 Australia Parliamentary Friends Group meet in Canberra
ACO awards 2 life memberships
Google eyes smart contact lens PBS cost $1bn less
A panel of four di-verse speakers turned the spot-
light on eye health and vision care on Monday, 17 March at the bi-annual Vision 2020 Australia Parliamentary Friends Group event at Parliament House.
Brad Horsburgh (RANZCO), Kate Johnson (Optometrists Association Australia), Lauren Henley (Blind Citizens Australia) and Alf Bamblett (Victorian Aboriginal Community Services Association) shared rare insights into ophthalmol-ogy, optometry, low vision and Indigenous eye health from an on-the-ground perspective.
This year’s dinner was also an important opportunity to high-light critical eye-health issues in Australia and to hear about what is happening in Australia’s eye-health and vision-care sector.
The panel, which was facili-tated by ABC radio 666 morning program presenter, Genevieve Jacobs, engaged the audience of more than 100 attendees which in-cluded parliamentarians, advisers and departmental staff.
The event also saw the launch of ‘Our Eyes — Our Journey’, a short video that seeks to increase the number of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people re-ceiving eye-health and vision-care services across Australia.
Special guests included former governor-general Major General Michael Jeffery, assistant health minister Fiona Nash, secretary of the Department of Health Jane Halton, parliamentary secretary to the minister for foreign af-fairs Brett Mason and assistant
health integration and chronic disease, health department, Kirsty Faichney.
The event was sponsored by the Brien Holden Vision Institute, CBM Australia, The Fred Hollows Foundation, The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists and Optometrists Association Australia. ■
The Australian College of Optometry has recently awarded honorary life
membership to two people whose names are universally rec-ognised in the world of optom-etry and vision science.
On 4 April, a ceremony was held to honour the careers of Professor Ian Bailey and Professor Jan Lovie-Kitchin at which they were presented with
honourary life membership of the college, acknowledging their service to the college and to the profession of optometry.
In the 1970s, their research, at the National Vision Research Institute (now a division of the ACO) generated the LogMAR system for visual acuity charts, which they described in their seminal and widely-cited paper in the American Journal of
Optometry and Physiological Optics, in 1976.
The LogMAR system became internationally accepted as the standard scale for visual acuity both in clinical practice and clin-ical trials. ■
Image caption:Ian Bailey and Jan Lovie-Kitchin and their logMAR visual-acuity chart
Finger pricks may be a thing of the past for people with diabetes if Google’s latest
development becomes a reality. The technology giant is working on a smart contact lens that will measure glucose levels in tears using a wireless chip and tiny
glucose sensor embedded be-tween two layers of soft contact lens material.
“We’re investigating the po-tential for this to serve as an early warning for the wearer, so we’re exploring integrating tiny LED lights that could light up to
indicate that glucose levels have crossed above or below certain thresholds,” Google said in its blog.
But it’s early days with Google still in the process of conducting studies that they hope will refine their prototype. ■
12 www.insightnews.com.au
Jennifer Gersbeck, Hugh Taylor, Jane Halton and Fiona NashBarry Jones. Brian Doolan and Michael Jeffery
PBS spending and scripts processed declined again in November 2013 compared to
the same period last year with the number of scripts processed now showing nine months of successive falls and spending almost $1bn below the previous 12 months. ■
Healy Optical Pty Ltd P: 02 9420 3200 F: 02 9420 3222 E: [email protected] www.healyoptical.com.au
176_TF_Opt_Man_1040x1420_Healy_Optical.indd 1 03/03/14 08.27
MAY 2014
EDUCATION
Deakin University admits first graduates to BVisSc degree
On 4 April, just two years after launching its op-tometry program, Deakin
University in Geelong, Victoria, admitted its first graduates to the Bachelor of Vision Science. Just over 75 students received their degrees, all but a handful ‘with Distinction’.
A full complement of 15 optom-etry academic staff celebrated the occasion, along with senior univer-sity heads including vice-chancel-lor Professor Jane den Hollander, pro-vice chancellor Faculty of Health, Professor Brendan Crotty and School of Medicine head, Professor Jon Watson.
A memorable address was delivered by optometry stu-dent, Jacqueline Kirkman, who brought smiles and laughter to the audience by cleverly weaving her memories of The Spice Girls into her serious message about the importance of the health professions.
Deakin took those first stu-dents into its accelerated optom-etry qualification in March 2011.
The first year of the program combines health, science, vision and business units to form a foun-dation for the problem-based learning curriculum that follows from second year onwards.
Students universally agreed that the second year of the pro-gram was far more intense than the first, frequently having classes that spanned the day from 8am to 6pm. In addition, students under-take several week-long rotations per trimester through the Deakin Optometry Training Facility at the Australian College of Optometry from second year, onwards (and are currently seeing patients in the college clinic).
While the first students still have another 15 months before
qualifying as optometrists, after the graduation ceremony, di-rector of optometry Professor Harrison Weisinger told Insight that he was “extremely proud” of both his team and the students and “it’s days like this that justify the collective effort that went into starting an optometry program from scratch. That we have been able to develop, deliver and ro-bustly assess three years of edu-cation in two years with minimal student attrition is a testament to the dedication and efforts of staff
and students alike”.Deakin Optometry has just
enrolled its third cohort num-bering approximately 75 into the Bachelor of Vision Science, while the first cohort now moves into the four-trimester Master of Optometry. The final two tri-mesters are spent in ‘residen-tial’ placements, the first of their kind in Australian optometric education.
The Deakin Optometry pro-gram was accredited, with condi-tions, in 2013. ■
14 www.insightnews.com.au
FCA Excellence inMarketing Award Winner
2013
FCA EstablishedFranchisor of the Year
2013
Australian Retailer of the Year
2013
Australian RetailEmployer of the Year
2013
Asia-Pacific Best Retail Training Organisation
2013
Roy Morgan ResearchNo. 1 for eye tests
2013
In early 2013, we quietly launched a new website for
optical professionals across Australia and New Zealand
– spectrum-blog.com. Its aim? To present, in real-
time, all the emerging Partnership, Locum, Student,
Graduate and general Employment opportunities on
offer in our new and current stores.
Now, just one year later, we’re already welcoming
more than 450 unique visitors each week to the site,
on average. More than 1500 optical professionals
have signed up to receive regular email updates on
particular types of role, as and when they emerge.
The big benefit? It’s easier than ever before for us to
match up optical professionals just like you with the roles
you may have your heart set on in one of our stores.
So, if there’s a particular role, in a particular location in a
particular region of Australia or New Zealand that you’re
seeking, visit Spectrum to see what’s on offer and then
contact one of our recruitment team members... the key
individuals are all listed on the site’s ‘Contact Us’ page.
FOR THE FULL SPECTRUM OF CAREER OPPORTUNITIES...GO TO SPECTRUM-BLOG.COM – ParTnershiP, emPlOymenT, lOcum, sTudenT and GraduaTe rOles.
Visit spectrum-blog.com or simply type ‘Specsavers Spectrum’ into your search engine
The graduates and university staff are happy
Even happier!
FCA Excellence inMarketing Award Winner
2013
FCA EstablishedFranchisor of the Year
2013
Australian Retailer of the Year
2013
Australian RetailEmployer of the Year
2013
Asia-Pacific Best Retail Training Organisation
2013
Roy Morgan ResearchNo. 1 for eye tests
2013
In early 2013, we quietly launched a new website for
optical professionals across Australia and New Zealand
– spectrum-blog.com. Its aim? To present, in real-
time, all the emerging Partnership, Locum, Student,
Graduate and general Employment opportunities on
offer in our new and current stores.
Now, just one year later, we’re already welcoming
more than 450 unique visitors each week to the site,
on average. More than 1500 optical professionals
have signed up to receive regular email updates on
particular types of role, as and when they emerge.
The big benefit? It’s easier than ever before for us to
match up optical professionals just like you with the roles
you may have your heart set on in one of our stores.
So, if there’s a particular role, in a particular location in a
particular region of Australia or New Zealand that you’re
seeking, visit Spectrum to see what’s on offer and then
contact one of our recruitment team members... the key
individuals are all listed on the site’s ‘Contact Us’ page.
FOR THE FULL SPECTRUM OF CAREER OPPORTUNITIES...GO TO SPECTRUM-BLOG.COM – ParTnershiP, emPlOymenT, lOcum, sTudenT and GraduaTe rOles.
Visit spectrum-blog.com or simply type ‘Specsavers Spectrum’ into your search engine
MAY 2014
RANZCO HOBART MEETING
Glaucoma: beyond intraocular pressure
Professor Helen Danesh- Meyer, Professor of Neuroophthalmology
and Glaucoma, University of Auckland (New Zealand), gave the core presentation at the Allergan-sponsored breakfast at the 45th Scientific Congress of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists in Hobart late last year.
The title of her presenta-tion was ‘The Secret and Not So Secret Thoughts in the Glaucoma Consultation – Beyond IOP’.
Once high IOP is announced, the patient questions flow: “Will I go blind?, How long have I got tol-ive?, How fast will it progress?”, etc.
The risk of blindness is higher in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) but poor compliance and little or no follow-up add signifi-cantly to the likelihood of a poorer outcome.
Prof Danesh-Meyer was able to provide some guidance on life-expectancy depending on first-de-gree relatives’ ocular history, e.g. if a patient is 80 and if parents lived beyond 80 and grandparents lived beyond 80 also – add 1 year for each grandparent, if first-degree
relative had a heart attack or
stroke – subtract 4 years, exercise 3 or more times a week – add 2 years, married and still together – add 1 year, separated or divorced female
– subtract 3 years, separated or divorced male living alone – sub-tract 2 years, and never married female subtract a year for each de-cade they are aged over 25.
If the patient is happy and/or a ‘smiler’, that is likely to be benefi-cial to their life expectancy.
Does the glaucoma patient drive a motor vehicle? If yes they have a 3x greater risk of acci-dents, males are worse, and driv-ing at night, especially if suffering from bilateral field defects, runs not only the risk of accidents but also a reduced chance of seeing pedestrians.
Glaucoma patients as pedes-trians walk more slowly than age-matched normals’, have a 2x to 4x greater chance of suffering a fall, and a 60% greater chance of a hip
fracture. They also have 5x greater difficulty reading, espe-cially in the presence of bilateral field reductions, and experience greater difficulty in poor light.
After dealings with their glau-coma practitioner, patients are found to think their practitioner
is highly-strung especially as their eyes are “fine” and “why do I need drops in my eye, my eyes aren’t dry so why do I need fluid in them?”
Glaucoma is divided almost equally between the sexes and the level of glaucoma knowledge among sufferers is only marginally higher than controls.
Duration/experience of the disease correlates poorly with dis-ease knowledge although ‘private’ patients know more. That may also mean that compliance issues are easy to explain.
About 96% of patients knew that glaucoma was a disease of the eyes only, 90% knew that regular checks were required, and only about 85% knew there was an he-reditary aspect to the disease.
Many had no idea that symp-toms and progression were not apparent to the sufferer, that
treatment was life-long (unlike a course of antibiotics for exam-ple), were unaware of the side-effects of the medication(s) as not all side effects are connected in an obvious way, and fully 80% had no idea that the drops they took could also affect other body sites. Many were unaware that the disease could not be ‘cured’.
Prof Danesh-Meyer estimated that usually less than 1% of glau-coma patients will be blinded by their disease but that fact was not widely known. She described it as a ‘silent’ disease. She was also critical of the poor level of knowl-edge surrounding the instillation technique emphasizing the need to block the puncta by finger pres-sure (for 30 seconds to 2 minutes).
She also counselled against the use of words that are ambigu-ous to the average patient, e.g. the disease has ‘progressed’ is regarded by many as good news – use ‘worse’ or ‘more advanced’ instead. Similarly, “you have large cups” may be a confusing state-ment/description to some, espe-cially if they are not female.
Yet other patients are frustrat-ed (no empowerment) by nega-tive answers to questions such as “Is there anything I can do for my eyes?”
Citing articles in IOVS, Prof Danesh-Meyer revealed that sleeping position influences
IOP – it increases when lying down, when sleeping on the side (can lead to asymmetric IOPs), head-high may lower IOP, head-flat may raise IOP. ■
The international ophthal-mology session was wound up by keynote speaker Dr
David Chang who noted that blindness can decrease life ex-pectancy by as much as 67%. He believes that to make headway systems are required for expert surgeons to operate on huge numbers of patients (calling the
late Prof Fyodorov, inventor of the surgical production line).
In lesser circumstances Dr Chang recommended manual SICS (MSICS) rather than phaco because the latter resulted in too many local complications, sec-ondary cataract, corneal compli-cations, and pseudoexfoliation.
Dr Chang estimated that
phaco took more than twice as long and costs more than four times as much as MSICS to perform. In situations where throughput was paramount the time factor alone was unacceptable.
He claimed that the safety and outcomes of both techniques were the same.
Citing studies from Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India, Dr Chang stated that outside the first world, manual nucleus removal was the way to go. To that end Aravind has produced teaching videos to assist with the training of eye surgeons in the surgical art of doing more with less. ■
Dr Geoff Cohn (Sydney, NSW)) wrapped up the in-dividual presentations by
speaking about sourcing equip-ment and supplies. He counselled against going overboard by selecting
equipment he described as ‘aspira-tional’ and select adequate equip-ment instead.
Regardless of the tools chosen, they needed to be durable and serviceable, possibly more so in
field-trip situations as the tools are more likely to be mishandled than those in normal practices where they are better maintained by more experienced staff.
He suggested new equipment be
employed where possible but he be-lieves that quality is a more impor-tant consideration. Where possible he suggested local equipment sup-pliers be used, giving them guidance if necessary as to what to stock. ■
16 www.insightnews.com.au
Blindness can decrease life expectancy
Sourcing equipment and supplies
Diabetes task force established to develop new national strategyThe Australian government will develop a
new national strategy to tackle the grow-ing diabetes epidemic, recognising the
role of obesity and other chronic diseases, the health minister, Peter Dutton, has announced.
A newly-formed expert advisory group led by the new Diabetes Australia president, recently-retired MP Ms Judi Moylan, and chair of the World Diabetes Council, Professor Paul Zimmet, has been charged with reviewing the evidence and consulting with stakeholders to develop the National Diabetes Strategy.
The plan will inform future health spending to target diabetes prevention and management.
The strategy will provide an up-to-date high-level policy framework for action in dia-betes prevention and care, which will build on existing work to enhance current investment; it will be underpinned by “the best available” evidence and it will focus on high-impact achievable actions while recognising the fiscal outlook facing all governments.
The strategy will occur at the same time as broader considerations on the National Chronic Disease Strategy, and will be a valu-able opportunity to adopt an integrated ap-proach to policy on a national level as well as maintaining an alignment with key work pro-gressing in the international arena.
Ms Moylan established the bi-partisan Federal Parliamentary Diabetes Support Group in 2000 and last year she was awarded
the Sir Kempson Maddox Award for her con-tribution to diabetes prevention.
Professor Zimmet was founder and direc-tor of the International Diabetes Institute, Australia’s first institute dedicated exclusively to diabetes. He holds many positions includ-ing honorary president of the International Diabetes Federation. In 2001, he was ap-pointed to the Order of Australia for services to medical research, particularly in the field of diabetes.
The advisory group will identify gaps in services and develop a best practice model which draws on existing national and interna-tional approaches to diabetes prevention and management.
It will deliver the strategy within 12 months and will consider activities which will be de-signed to:• Improve early identification of diabetes;• Enable optimal management of patients
by general practice and the primary health care sector;
• Improve health literacy and support for self-care, including applications to enhance monitoring of an individual’s condition;
• Ensure timely responses to prevent and manage complications caused by diabetes such as kidney and heart health, eye and foot complications; and
• Focus on those at most risk, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and pregnant women. ■
Allergan confirmed on 23 April that it has received an unsolicited proposal from canada-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals
International to acquire all of Allergan’s out-standing shares for a combination of 0.83 of Valeant common shares and $48.30 in cash per share of Allergan’s common stock.
Allergan issued a statement indicating that its board of directors, in consultation with its financial and legal advisors, “will carefully re-view and consider Valeant’s proposal and pur-sue the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of the company’s stockholders”.
Valeant, which had total revenue of $5-8 billion in 2013, bought Bausch+Lomb in August 2013.
What will be interesting to watch is the reaction of various United States competi-tion authorities to the proposed purchase of Allergan by Valeant.
Michael Pearson, chairman and chief ex-ecutive officer of Valeant, said: “This proposal represents an undeniable opportunity to cre-ate extraordinary value for both Allergan and Valeant shareholders by establishing an unri-valed platform with leading positions. ■
www.insightnews.com.au
SoSIMPLE
EYE COMPLICATIONS
Unsolicited merger proposal by Valeant for Allergan
MAY 2014
A.M.D.
Nanoparticle delivery system for AMD could mean end of eye injections
Optique Line and OGS launch ‘One-for-One Eyewear Initiative’
Specsavers to sponsor English cricket umpires
18 www.insightnews.com.au
Drugs used to treat blindness-causing disorders could be successfully administered
by eye drops rather than eye injec-tions, according to new research led by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, and could be a breakthrough for the millions worldwide suffering from age-relat-ed macular degeneration and other eye disorders.
The research findings are sig-nificant due to growing patient numbers and an increasing de-mand for the eye injections that halt the progression of AMD, which one in five people over 75 have in the United States.
The research, demonstrated in animal models and just published in nanotechnology journal Small (‘Topical Delivery of Avastin to the Posterior Segment of the Eye in vivo using Annexin A5-associated Liposomes’), demonstrates that it is possible to create formula-tions of tiny nanoparticles loaded with the off-label drug Avastin and effectively deliver significant
concentrations to the retina. Lead author Professor
Francesca Cordeiro (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology) said: “The de-velopment of eye drops that can be safely and effectively used in patients would be a magic bullet – a huge breakthrough in the treat-ment of AMD and other debilitat-ing eye disorders.
“The current treatment of in-jecting drugs into the eye is un-comfortable, detested by patients and can need repeated monthly in-jections in hospital for as long as 24 consecutive months. It’s impossi-ble to exaggerate the relief patients would feel at not having to experi-ence injections into their eyes.”
The National Health Service in the United Kingdom is currently over-burdened with patients who need repeat eye injections and the numbers are set to rise expo-nentially over the next ten years. Demand is so high that injections are difficult to administer, time-consuming and expensive (de-pending on which drug is injected).
The treatment also carries a risk of infection and bleeding, increased by the frequency of recurrent injec-tions into the eyes.
In the United States, well over one million ocular injections were given in 2010. In the UK, 30,500 injections were estimated to have been given in 2008 – a 150-fold in-crease in 10 years.
Effective delivery of drugs to the retina of the eye is considered one of the most challenging areas in drug development in ophthalmol-ogy, due to the presence of ana-tomical barriers.
It was previously thought that drugs used to treat AMD such as Avastin and Lucentis have mol-ecules that are simply too large to be effectively transported in an eye drop.
First author Dr Ben Davis (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology) said: “There is significant interest in the development of minimally-inva-sive systems to deliver large drug molecules across biological barri-ers including the cornea.
“We have shown in experimen-tal models a formulation system to get substances including Avastin across the barriers in the eye and transport them across the cells of the cornea. In theory, you could customise the technology for dif-ferent drugs such as Lucentis, com-monly used for AMD treatment in the UK, as it is a smaller molecule than Avastin so likely to be deliv-ered effectively via this method.
“All the components we used are safe and well established in the field, meaning we could potentially move quite quickly to get the technology into trials in patients – but the time-scales are dependent on funding.”
The paper includes functional data showing that the Avastin ad-ministered stops the blood vessels from leaking and forming new blood vessels, the basis for ‘wet’ AMD.
The technology has been pat-ented by UCL’s technology trans-fer company UCL Business and the researchers are seeking com-mercial partners to accelerate de-velopment. ■
Based on a ‘buy-one, give-one’ concept, Optique Line will make a donation to
Optometry Giving Sight for every one of it Gemini Collection or Aura Flex frames purchased.
When customers purchase either a Gemini collection or Auraflex frame (regardless of what lenses they choose), Optique Line will make a donation to Optometry
Giving Sight to cover the cost of an eye examination and the glasses (frames and lenses).
Customers can locate partici-pating retailers via the company’s web directory oneforoneeyewear.org.
“It is a startling figure,” John Nicola of Optique Line said referring to the more than 600 million people around the world are blind or vision
impaired due to lack of access to an eye examination and glasses.
“This program is something that we have been wanting to do for some time. Giving our custom-ers the satisfaction of knowing their purchase will transform the life of someone less fortunate is far more powerful than any freebie we could offer.”
Ron Baroni, country manager
of Optometry Giving Sight, said: “Providing someone with an eye examination and a pair of glasses can literally mean the difference between a life of poverty, and a life of opportunity. Empowering customers to give the gift of sight with each purchase is an inspiring thing.”
Information: Toll free: 1800 649 527 or (03) 9853 0796. ■
The England and Wales Cricket Board has agreed a three-year sponsorship deal with Specsavers.
The British high-street chain of optometrists has become the official optometry and hearing partner of English cricket and, as the principal partner of the Association of Cricket Officials, its
branding will appear on umpires’ clothing in all English domestic fixtures.
Specsavers will also sponsor a number of awards for umpires and its branding will be worn by umpires in the later stages of national club and age-group competitions. ■
www.insightnews.com.au
3D-OCT Maestro
SoVERSATILE
Don’t be in the dark about macular de-generation – the eye disease that affects one in every seven Australians over
the age of 50. That’s the message being com-municated by Macular Disease Foundation Australia this year in Macular Degeneration Awareness Week on 25-31 May.
Throughout May, in addition to Macular Degeneration Awareness Week activities, the foundation will run a national television and radio campaign with new advertisements pro-moting the week’s key message.
Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness and severe vision loss in Australia, affecting central vision of primarily older Australians.
Over 1.15 million people over 50 in Australia show some evidence of this disease and that number will increase to over 1.7 mil-lion by 2030 (in the absence of effective pre-vention and treatment measures), creating an even greater burden on Australia’s health, dis-ability and aged care system.
To enable eye care professionals to be in-volved in the week, a direct mail ‘Awareness Kit’ is being posted to practices nationally, ar-riving late April.
Included in the kit is a poster with the
theme, key information on macular degenera-tion, Amsler grid, and material reorder form with a special free-postage period.
Eating for Eye Heath The Foundation’s original Eating for Eye Health cookbook, co-authored by Ita Buttrose and Vanessa Jones, will be re-launched in May.
The book is loaded with recipes made up of the foods to eat to keep our eyes in tip-top con-dition. The book features more than 90 recipes, carefully selected to make it easy to prepare de-licious, nutritious meals that are good for eye health, featuring fish, yellow and dark-green leafy vegetables, fresh fruit and nuts; all readily available ingredients.
The cookbook will be available for $27 in selected retailers and can also be ordered di-rect from the foundation (postage applies). ■
‘Don’t be in the dark about macular degeneration’: theme
A.M.D. INSIGHT
How practices can be involved
• Talk to patients about the importance of reg-ular eye tests and the use of the Amsler grid between visits.
• Develop a promotional display in practice during Macular Degeneration Awareness Week.
• Purchase the Foundation’s DVD - What is Macular Degeneration? for in practice pro-motion. Available for $25 (plus postage and handling).
• Generate awareness on your website and through facebook and twitter.
• Refer patients to Macular Disease Foundation Australia for ongoing support.
In support of the theme, the key messages for consumers over 50 are:• Have your eyes tested and make sure the
macula is checked. • Never ignore any changes in vision. • Eat an ‘eye-friendly’ diet and maintain a
healthy lifestyle. Additionally, the Amsler grid will be a major
focus of the campaign. The foundation’s long-term aim is to have an Amsler grid on the fridge of every Australian over 50!
The Foundation’s Amsler grid is included in the Awareness Week kit and eye care profes-sionals can order more with the re-order form provided in the kit.
If you’re over 50 • Have an eye test and make sure your macula
is checked• Never ignore any changes in vision• Eat an “eye friendly” diet and maintain a
healthy lifestyle
Macular Degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in Australia and affects central vision
For a free information kit and support contact Macular Disease Foundation Australia
1800 111 709www.mdfoundation.com.au
Don’t be in the dark
about Macular Degeneration
ISL-249-PB (MD A2 Poster 2014).indd 1 13/03/14 11:23 AMThis year’s poster for Macular Degeneration Awareness Week
MAY 2014
OPINION
20 www.insightnews.com.au
On The GoIt’s been a hectic year so far with time in Africa, in the bush, seeing the Big 5, friends, family and fun. I’ve also done a few speaking gigs in AUS and NZ and seeing patients in between.
As usual it’s been a pleasure to catch up with good friends in the optometric and ophthalmological professions and related industries. We are fortunate to have diverse and amazing professions; there are so many niches and specialities.
As to the people, they’re an amazing bunch too: Clever capa-ble people, slick organisers, fine surgeons, amazing academics, smooth talkers, tech-savvy tinker-ers, super salesmen, precise pro-fessionals, broad thinkers; you can pretty much name it and there’s someone that comes to mind. There are some pretty eccentric personalities too but I guess that comes with the territory and boy can they party.
Over the years I’ve done a fair bit of travelling and presenting in Australia and met many great people along the way. Each trip I meet a few more and learn a few more things. Despite all the travel and places I’ve been, I’ve only just scratched the surface of what Australia has to offer. I intend to remedy that as I’m working on a plan to spend a few months on a road trip around parts of Oz. So if you want a speaker for a local meeting or some personalised consulting in your practice; re-lating to IT and communication, integration, contact lenses, mar-keting and so on, get in touch.
Thank you to everyone in the various cities for their kind hos-pitality and to those that take the time to have a chat and provide
feedback on this column. It’s nice to know we’re on the right track.
Please keep in touch as I wel-come suggestions for topics you want covered.
Air MilesIn the process of all this local and international travel, I’ve earned a few air miles and come to ap-preciate my Platinum status with QANTAS. If you fly a lot, anything that makes it easier and more pleasurable is worth having. Especially since the nutters made security such a big, time-consum-ing concern.
Platinum status pays off big time. If I’m lucky I can go from kerbside at Melbourne, Sydney or Auckland and be in the 1st Class lounge in ten minutes, on a good day. On a busy, bad day it’s even more beneficial. Basically I have no, or very few queues. Priority check-in and express lanes through customs and security, electronic passport scanning and priority bag tags mean I rarely get bogged down.
Then of course there’s the 1st class lounge. Sydney rates as one of the top in the world, with Melbourne a smaller version.
One is treated to great views of the working airport and runways, luxurious seating, welcome show-ers after a long haul and a massage from the PAYOT ladies.
Then of course there’s the food: Designed and monitored by one of Australia’s top chefs, Neill Perry, I get to eat better at the 1st lounge than I do at many an ex-pensive restaurant. I’ve been a fan of Neil’s food since my early days in Oceania. The wine and cham-pagne is not Mickey Mouse either.
OK so I digress – but this is no brag – it’s a way of pointing out how important loyalty is. A while back I had to choose between Air NZ and QANTAS. I chose QANTAS, for a va-riety of reasons. Sometimes it would be easier for me to fly direct from
Auckland to say Bangkok or Hong Kong on another airline – but main-taining my status means I choose (or am forced?) to go QANTAS (even if it means an extra stop).
That said I don’t mind transit-ing, with a nice Neil Perry meal in the lounge.
LoyaltyHow does this relate to us?
Some larger eye-care groups have affiliations with frequent-fly-er or a variety of loyalty schemes. Smaller optometrist and inde-pendents are from time to time also offered such schemes. An NZ group was affiliated with one of the large loyalty schemes in NZ. That relationship just terminated. So there are such schemes but they’re not primary drivers of new business or loyalty.
Loyalty schemes may be lim-ited in eye care but loyalty isn’t.
What seems to be having some effect in NZ is the provision of ‘Free Eye Tests’. For over a year we’ve had free exams for members of the AA at one of the chains. In recent times another chain has offered a similar deal to mem-bers of the largest medical insur-ance company. Thus around 40% of Kiwis have access to such ‘free eye tests’. In Australia this is not such a big thing: Patients perceive Medicare as providing a free eye test. There are thus other things that are used to obtain loyalty and new business.
As mentioned last month nothing beats professional ser-vice, personal attention and qual-ity products.
Despite the commercialisation and attempted dumbing down of eye care, patients (not customers) still actually care about their eyes. They know vision is their most im-portant sense. They want the best possible care to ensure it. They’re happy to pay for a professional full-scope eye exam or additional fancy, diagnostic tests. They feel
there’s a difference between that and a ‘free eye test’. Every week I see patients who relate such sto-ries to me. They say they had a quickie eye exam, at a local store in a mall, because they broke their glasses. They needed some urgent spares but have come back to me for the service that they’re used to. That’s not to say a TPA qualified practitioner in the store didn’t do a thorough exam, dilation, imaging and maybe even gonio and appla-nation tonometry.
It’s all about perception and loyalty.
Many people are also quality and fashion conscious. I mean hell they have $3000.00 handbags, six-hundred-dollar shoes, a ten-grand watch and a two-grand suit. Their car cost 200k and the tyres cost a grand or two, each. Why the hell wouldn’t they settle for a high-end frame and some super deluxe hi-tech progs for two grand? While they’re at it they take a similarly priced and configured pair of Rx sunglasses, an occupational office pair and some contact lenses too.
At the same time don’t pre-judge any patient. The guy in the torn jeans and thongs could be a billionaire.
People will keep coming back if you provide what they want and beyond. It’s the small things that count. Successful independents know this.
They deliver and there are still many out there.
Don’t run scared because there are stories of independents going to the wall. These failed businesses are usually poor operators who be-came complacent in the good old days. They didn’t re-invest in high-tech gear, computers and practice re-fits. They didn’t keep up with the market and trends, digital media and marketing.
When they woke up the train had left the station.
Sad but true: Don’t make the same mistakes.
You too can deliver and thrive. ■
Alan P SaksMCOptom [UK] Dip.Optom [SA] FCLS [NZ] FAAO [USA]
Saks on Eyes
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22 www.insightnews.com.auMAY 2014
SOUTHERN REGIONAL CONGRESS REPORT
Keynote SRC speakers from USA
The Optometrists Association Australia (Victorian Division) Southern Regional
Congress’s changed time slot this year did not seem to affect attend-ance figures or delegate enthusi-asm. The weather was excellent but attributing that to good luck or seasonal variation (or OAA Victoria’s CEO Ms Terri Smith’s ‘special connections’) would make for an interesting and lively discussion.
Keynote speakers were both first-timers from the United States, Dr Jeffry Gerson, a practitioner and partner in WestGlen Eyecare located in Shawnee, Kansas and Dr Marc Bloomenstein an adjunct assistant professor at the Southern California College of Optometry in Fullerton which has now be-come the Marshall B Ketchum University (MBKU) after some 110 years of history.
MBKU is not widely known yet but as SCCO it certainly was. Ketchum was a medical prac-titioner who founded the Los Angeles School of Ophthalmology and Optometry in March 1904 and who remained as college president until 1920.
Later [1922] it became sim-ply the Los Angeles School of Optometry and in 1950 it be-came the Los Angeles College of Optometry [Prof Robert Mandell is among LACO’s most famous alumni]. Later still it became the SCCO and now it is MBKU).
HB Collin Research MedalThe home-grown international speaker was Prof Robert Hess, director of research in ophthal-mology at McGill University in Montréal, Canada. Prof Hess is originally a Queensland Institute of Technology (now Queensland University of Technology) op-tometry graduate (and that in-stitution’s first ever graduate to proceed to a PhD) who then did an MSc in neurophysiology at Aston University, Birmingham, United
Kingdom. That was followed by a PhD in visual perception at the University of Melbourne.
As a result of an outstanding research and academic career spanning three countries, several decades, and by now 321 pub-lished papers, he was awarded a DSc in vision sciences by Aston University in 1998.
At SRC 2014 Prof Hess was awarded the HB Collin Research Medal (2013, nominations for the 2014 award are currently open with the CEO, national OAA) and he delivered the HB Collin Lecture as part of the award.
Adult amblyopia Prof Hess’s presentation titled Eye Wide Open was certainly among the more interesting at SRC 2014 because it revealed to many for the first time, some of the recent find-ings regarding amblyopia general-ly and adult amblyopia ex anopsia specifically.
The central tenet of current thinking, especially in his labora-tory, is that amblyopia is primar-ily a binocular problem secondary to a loss of binocularity and that, contrary to previous views, the adult visual cortex can still dem-onstrate plasticity, a feature that is exploited in his team’s research.
Importantly, his research is not promising miracles in that it is limited to small-angle strabismus only and large deviations are be-yond the realms of their research currently.
The brain’s plasticity can be confirmed by various means in-cluding contrast sensitivity testing in which adaptive optics systems are used to bypass the eye’s optics and even without training and in the presence of higher-order ab-errations, improvements can be realized.
Similarly, using methods of di-rect brain stimulation, e.g. trans-cranial magnetic stimulation of the visual cortex, small improve-ments in the brain’s sensitivity can be made.
Prof Hess stated categorically
that vision in adult amblyopia (im-plying a very long-standing deficit of vision that is well entrenched) can be improved and, somewhat counter-intuitively, the greater the amblyopia, the greater the im-provement that can be made, and vice versa. As the improvements made by simple training are only transient, repetition of the train-ing programme over several days or weeks is required to improve vision in amblyopic eyes. Some of the improvement resulting from just three sessions of stimu-lation were still measurable some 78 days later. However, the tech-nique involves significant use of technology because NMR imaging is required to locate area V1 of the occipital cortex accurately enough for the stimulation to be effective.
Other direct stimulation meth-ods include simple DC stimula-tion using a single 9-volt battery and suitable electrodes. Apparent contrast can be altered by that technique but again the effects are small.
Amblyopia is a binocular problemWhen amblyopia is a secondary problem, the resulting amblyo-pia is the brain’s way of diplopia avoidance.
However, when amblyopia is the primary issue, the suppres-sion apparent may be a cause of the amblyopia and not a response to it.
Regardless, suppression and amblyopia operate hand-in-hand in that greater suppression means greater amblyopia.
To date, the binocular out-comes of amblyopia treatment have been poor. One ongoing issue has been the measurement of suppression.
Test used have included signal elements on a screen moving in a single direction, noise elements in random directions, and determin-ing so-called signal to noise ratios (that have different meanings in other fields of science) in which a signal is presented to one eye and noise to the other and the result in-terpreted by the brain as a combina-tion of the inputs. When the latter technique, a so-called dichoptic technique, is applied to normal eyes it is irrelevant which eye gets what input but in an amblyopic eye the noise signal is more likely to be seen if the signal to the good eye can be presented at lower contrasts (until a balance point is reached).
The essence of the technique in Prof Hess’ laboratory is to apply noise to the amblyopic eye and then adjust (lower) the contrast of the stimulus to the good eye until a stage is reached in which the amblyopic eye sees the noise stimulus at which point suppression eliminated.
Eventually, interocular con-trast ratios can be ‘normalized’ by contrast lowering and repetition. Experiments have shown that it is possible to go beyond ‘normal’ in that amblyopic suppression can become apparent in the ‘good’ eye.
Suppression and/or fusionWhile the excitory path is straight-forward there are also inhibitory factors in play.
Normally, the inhibitory fac-tors are in balance and therefore have little effect. However, in cases of suppression there is an imbal-ance of inhibitory factors and one way used to explore them is to use differing stimulus contrasts.
Continued on 24
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Continued from 22
Using experimental tech-niques it has been possible to get amblyopes to stereopsis, a bin-ocular state beyond simply getting both eyes to ‘see’ simultaneously (remember these results are con-fined to those with small-angle eye deviations, miracles were not being claimed). That was achieved by manipulating the signal con-trasts (high to the amblyopic eye, lower to the ‘good’ eye) to lower the manifest levels of suppression.
That also proves that binocu-larity is not lost in amblyopic eyes and also suggests that suppression is likely to be the primary cause of the amblyopia.
Binocular treatment of suppressionTheir laboratory research has led Hess’ team to binocular-based am-blyopia treatment. Initial trials were for 1-2 hours per day for 4-6 weeks and the results showed reduced suppression and a move towards fu-sion (implying binocularity).
The team now believes that fusion, and ultimately stereopsis, can be recovered because trials of just 1 hour per day for 6 weeks
have led to 3D vision. Unfortunately, there are large
individual variations in depths of amblyopia and some subjects did not improve at all despite the team’s best efforts. Many did improve however and somewhat surprising-ly, so too did their visual acuity (VA). Importantly, none got worse as a re-sult of the trials. Although many dif-ferent stimuli were tried, simple dot stimuli proved to be as good as any in those dichoptic trials.
Subsequent trials deployed a head-mounted display, delivering 18, 2-hour sessions of treatment using dot stimuli on amblyopes aged from 20 to 60 years of age. Interestingly, there was no clear age effects and significant improve-ments were achieved just by re-ducing suppression. Results from another trial of five, 1-hour session over just one week (school lunch hour) showed only a slight improve-ment in visual acuity. Simultaneous dichoptic and direct DC stimulation trials have also been considered.
More sophisticated treatmentsThe trial stage has now moved
to video games played on smart phones (iPhone and iPod Touch, among the more economic and widely available ‘computer’ plat-forms available currently) using a lenticular screen and the autos-tereographic principle. Because head alignment is critical with such technology, the phone’s front camera is used to monitor the sub-ject during the trial.
The games are based on the Tetris concept (falling coloured blocks that must be stacked effi-ciently) in which one eye sees the game frame and stacked blocks while the other only sees the fall-ing coloured blocks.
A poor score is interpreted as the task being too difficult and the contrast is lowered automati-cally by the software for the next session’s game. A good score is interpreted as the eyes seeing both the blocks and the stacked blocks and frame, in which case the contrast will be increased for the next round.
Even just an hour a day for 20 days usually sees significant improvements with suppression lowered but not eliminated and fusion strengthened. If such a
trial is extended to an hour a day for 6 weeks most subjects showed improvement. As before, some subjects did not make any gains at all. No regression of VA due to sup-pression was noted in the trials.
Prof Hess closed by saying that, from his team’s work, he does not believe that children need patch-ing. He also expects the prelimi-nary nature of their treatments to evolve into more sophisticated and more effective treatments that promise better outcomes that those already achieved for all ages. Marketing of the technology has already started (visit: www.ambly-otech.com).
Further information about this evolving area of research is avail-able from: Hess RF et al., 2014. Binocular vision in amblyopia: structure, suppression and plasticity. Oph & Physiol Optics. 34: 146 – 162 or from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/opo.12123/pdf (full article available).
A successful third-party study using the techniques developed by Hess and team and deployed on an iPad was the subject of a recent clinical trial (see: http://www.med-scape.com/viewarticle/823439). ■
Western Australian medi-cal students have branded their state gov-
ernment “myopic” after it was announced that a third medical school is scheduled to open in WA in 2016.
Plans by Curtin University to boost medical student numbers with a new school are “extremely concerning” say students, who claim the move would only exac-erbate the current shortfall of in-ternship places for new graduates.
“This will put further pres-sure on an already overburdened training system, without ad-dressing the workforce issues af-fecting our communities,” Mr Sebastian Leathersich, president of The Western Australian Medical Students’ Society, said.
Critically, Mr Leathersich said, the Curtin University proposal would not address the existing rural misdistribution.
“The only evidence for increas-ing the proportion of students
going on to practice in rural areas is to increase the recruitment from rural areas, or to train students for extended periods in rural areas,” he said.
With the lowest number of medical practitioners per capita in the country, according to the latest Australian Institute and Welfare report, Western Australia is set to benefit from additional registered doctors, but the students say cre-ating more undergraduate places is not the solution.
Ms Jessica Dean, president of the Australian Medical Students’ Association agreed with the WA student bodies, that more jobs and training were needed to match the excess of graduates in the state that already exist.
“The medical training pipeline is full,” she said. “Without further government funding, both on a state and federal level, there is lit-tle sense in adding more students into the system.” ■
The Kentucky College of Optometry is to open at the University of Pikeville
http://www.upike.edu/ in 2016, with 60 students admitted per
class, for a total of 240.While the University of
Pikeville already has many of the facilities necessary to accommo-date the college, plans to build a
new educational facility are under way, according to a statement from the university.
A national search for a dean has begun.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for optometrists is expected to grow, by 33 per cent through 2020. ■
24 www.insightnews.com.au
SOUTHERN REGIONAL CONGRESS REPORT
WA medical students speak out against a third medical school: government is ‘myopic’
Kentucky College of Optometry to open in 2016
MAY 2014
preliminary program
7.40 registration
8:00Diagnosing the watery eye patient
Dr Justin Friebel
8:40Eyelid lesions & masses - a diagnostic guide
Dr Justin Friebel
9:20Managing acute uveitis
Dr Lyndell Lim
10:00Acute secondary angle closure after implantable collamer lens (ICL) implantation
diagnosis and managementDr Tu Tran
10:40 morning tea
11:00Endothelial keratoplasty - past, present & future
Dr Jacqueline Beltz
11:40Corneal grand rounds
Dr Jacqueline Beltz & Dr Dermot Cassidy
12:50 lunch
1:30Update on childhood cataract
Dr Jonathan Ruddle
2:10Glaucoma... under 40 - You’ve got to be kidding
Dr Jonathan Ruddle
2:50Vitreo-macular disorders - New insights & novel treatment strategies
Dr Jonathon Yeoh
3:30Latest clinical applications of corneal cross-linking
Dr Rick Wolfe
4:10 afternoon tea
4:30Update on diabetic retinopathy
Dr Edward Roufail
5:10Diagnosis of ocular media conditions
Dr Edward Roufail
5:50 close
Sunday 25 May 2014Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre
Dr Jacqueline Beltz FRANZCODr Beltz is a Tasmanian Medical Graduate, and performed her ophthalmology specialty training at RVEEH Melbourne. She then completed 2 years of advanced fellowship training in corneal surgery, the first in Melbourne, and the second in Italy. Dr Beltz has a special interest in new types of corneal transplantation, and devotes much time to developing, performing and researching these. She is the author of one book, many chapters, and multiple scientific papers on corneal transplantation. Dr Beltz is a regular speaker and instructor at meetings in Europe, USA, and Australia, and enjoys not only perfoming but teaching these new techniques.
Dr Lyndell Lim MBBS FRANZCODr Lim is an Ophthalmologist with dual subspecialty training in the areas of Ocular Inflammatory Diseases and Medical Retina. After completing her ophthalmology training at the RVEEH, Dr. Lim embarked on a two year Medical Retina Fellowship at RVEEH and then went on to complete a Uveitis Fellowship in Portland, USA. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, where she also heads the Clinical Trials Research Unit and a Consultant Ophthalmologist at both the RVEEH and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. She also practices privately at Victoria Parade Eye Consultants in Fitzroy, and Eye Surgery Associates in East Melbourne.
Dr Tu Tran MBBS MPH FRANZCODr Tu Tran is a glaucoma specialist and general ophthalmologist. After completing her undergraduate training in Brisbane she commenced her ophthalmology training in Wales, UK before completing her Masters of Public Health. Dr Tran undertook a general fellowship at QLD Eye Institute and subspecialty training in glaucoma at RVEEH. Dr Tran is a consultant ophthalmologist at the RVEEH and Western Health as well as working in private practice. She is actively involved in teaching registrars, orthoptists and optometrists, is a College examiner for Ophthalmic Basic Science Examinations and is on the expert panel advisory board for Glaucoma Australia.
speakers
Dr Justin Friebel MBBS FRANZCODr Friebel’s sub-specialty areas are oculoplastic, eyelid and lacrimal surgery, with a particular interest in scar-less endoscopic lacrimal surgery. He completed his postgraduate ophthalmic training at the RVEEH. Following a fellowship in general ophthalmology at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, UK, his interest in oculoplastics led him to fellowships in London, UK and Montreal, Canada. He is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at the Alfred Hospital and in the Orbital, Plastics and Lacrimal Clinic (OPAL) of the RVEEH as well as a lecturer in the Department of Surgery, Monash University Medical School Faculty.
Dr Dermot Cassidy BSc (Hons) MBBS FRANZCODr Dermot Cassidy is an Ophthalmologist who is fellowship-trained in the medical and surgical treatment of Corneal Disease and Cataract surgery, including Laser Refractive Surgery and corneal transplantation. He completed fellowship training in corneal surgery at RVEEH the before undertaking a further fellowship in Corneal, External eye disease and Laser Refractive Surgery in the United Kingdom. Dr Cassidy is a consultant in the Corneal Unit and Acute Ophthalmology Service at the RVEEH. He also practices privately at Bayside Eye Specialists in Brighon and Eye Surgery Consultants in East Melbourne.
Dr Jonathon Yeoh MBBS FRANZCODr. Jonathan Yeoh specialises in the surgical and medical treatment of retinal disease. He completed his undergraduate university degree at the University of Sydney and trained in general ophthalmology at RVEEH. He then completed subspecialty fellowships in vitreoretinal surgery and medical retina both the RVEEH and Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. Dr Yeoh has ongoing research interests at the Centre for Eye Research Australia. He is a consultant vitreoretinal surgeon and medical retina specialist at the RVEEH and has ongoing research interests at the Centre for Eye Research Australia.
Dr Jonathan Ruddle MBBS FRANZCODr Jonathan Ruddle completed his undergraduate training at Melbourne University before undertaking Ophthalmology training at the RVEEH. He gained subspecialist training in glaucoma, paediatrics and genetic ophthalmology at the Royal Children’s Hospital, the RVEEH, Moorfields Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital, London. Dr Ruddle is in private practice at Melbourne Childrens Eye Clinic in Parkville, Melbourne Eye Specialists in Fitzroy and is a visiting Specialist at The Eye Hospital in Launceston. He continues to have public hospital appointments at the Royal Children’s Hospital and the RVEEH and is a Senior Research Fellow with the Clinical Genetics unit of the Centre for Eye Research Australia.
29MAY 2014www.insightnews.com.au
2014MAY
4-8ARVO 2014, Association for Research in Vision & OphthalmologyLocation: Orlando, Florida, USA.Contact: www.arvo.org
8-1012th Wenzhou International Optics FairLocation: Wenzhou, ChinaContact: http://www.chinaexhibition.com/Official_Site/11-2460-WOF_2013_-_The_11th_Wenzhou_International_Optics_Fair.html
20-222014 Royal College of Oph-thalmologists Annual CongressLocation: International Convention Centre Birmingham, UKContact: http://www.rcophth.ac.uk/page.asp?section=518§ionTitle=Annual+Congress+2014
21-23XIII Ukrainian Congress of OphthalmologistLocation: Filatov Institute Odessa, UkraineContact: http://www.tou.orgua/en/events/congresses/xiii-congress-of-ophthalmologists-calendar
JUNE
6-9BCLA Clinical Conference & ExhibitionLocation: ICC, BirminghamContact: www.bcla.org.uk
22-24Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry Inc. (ARBO) 2014 Annual MeetingLocation: Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaContact: Website: www.arbo.org/2014_meet.php
24-27Manchester Royal Eye Hospital ConferenceLocation: Manchester Conference Centre Manchester, United KingdomContact: www.mreh200.org.uk
27-29Retina International 2014 World ConferenceLocation: Paris, FranceContact: www.retina2014.com
JULY
19 - 20NACBO Vision Conference 2014Location: Coogee, Sydney Contact: www.acbo.org.au or Email: [email protected]
AUGUST
16-17Western Australia Vision Education (WAVE)Location: Pan Pacific, PerthContact: Ph +61 08 9321 2300Email: [email protected]
SEPTEMBER
13-17ESCRS 2014Web site: http://www.escrs.org/Location: London, United Kingdom
25–28112th DOG Congress of OphthalmologyContact: http://www.dog-kongress.org
26-282nd Asia-Pacific Glaucoma Con-gress held in conjunction with the 10th International Symposium of Ophthalmology – Hong KongLocation: Hong KongContact: [email protected] website http://apgc-isohk-2014.org/
OCTOBER
1-4EVER 2014 CongressLocation: Acropolis Convention CtreContact: http://www.ever.be/c_page.php?id=277
18-21AAO Annual Meeting 2014Location: McCormick PlaceChicago, Illinois, United StatesWeb site: http://www.aao.org
NOVEMBER
12-152014 Italian Society of Ophthal-mology Annual MeetingLocation: Rome, Italy Contact: www.soiweb.com
22-2646th Annual RANZCO Scientific CongressLocation: Brisbane Convention and Exhibition CentreContact: www.ranzco2014.com.au
25-27Vision-X Optometry ConferenceLocation: Dubai World Trade CentreContact: www.vision-x.ae/optometry-conference
DECEMBER
1-4International Strabismological Association MeetingLocation: Kyoto International Con-ference Center, Kyoto, Japan
2015JANUARY
24-30Ski Conferences for Eyecare ProfessionalsRusutsu Ski Resort,Hokkaido, JapanContact: www.skiconf.com
APRIL
15-17World Cornea Congress VII Location: San Diego, California, USAContact: http://corneasociety.com
MAY
3-7ARVO Annual Meeting 2015Location: Denver, Colorado, USAContact: http://www.arvo.org/Annual_Meeting/
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30 www.insightnews.com.auMAY 2014
PHILANTHROPY INSIGHT
The late Fred Hollows’ life has been chosen to in-spire the next generation
of leaders through the $100-mil-lion Westpac Bicentennial Foundation.
“I am so proud that Fred’s life has been chosen to inspire Australia’s next generation of leaders through the Bicentennial Foundation,” his wife and found-ing director of the Fred Hollows Foundaton, Mrs Gabi Hollows, said on 2 April.
Westpac chairman Mr Lindsay Maxsted said the company want-ed to set up an ‘‘enduring initia-tive’’ as it prepared to celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2017.
Westpac Bicentennial Foundation scholarships start rolling out from 2015, growing to 200 scholarships in 2017 to mark the company’s bicentennial. From 2018, 100 scholarships will be awarded each year. The foun-dation is forecast to give away more than 10,000 scholarships over the next 100 years.
After a beyond-closed doors build-up, Westpac chief execu-tive Mrs Gail Kelly on 2 April un-veiled a $100 million gift, one of the largest philanthropic dona-tions in Australian history, and emerged as an unlikely cham-pion for IT geek girls nationwide.
The Westpac Bicentennial Foundation will offer up to 100
educational scholarships and awards each year, looking to ad-dress a lack of females in the IT industry, provide up to 40 places for undergraduate students to study in Asia and foster commu-nity leaders.
Mrs Kelly said the scholarships, some worth up to $330,000 over three years, would ‘‘have the po-tential to shape Australia’s future’’.
The size of the corporate gift, together with the tight control exerted by Westpac over its op-eration in partnership initially with the University of Sydney, University of Melbourne and University of Wollongong, is a significant development in high-er education.
It follows mining magnate Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola giving $65 million to the University of Western Australia to fund 25 international PhD students and six postgraduate researchers a year, as well as the construction of accommodation.
Last year Graham Tuckwell, founder of ETF Securities, do-nated $50 million to fund the Tuckwell scholarship program over 20 years at the Australian National University.
The Westpac Bicentennial Foundation is a way for Australia’s oldest company to promote its view of where the future of the nation lies, primarily in linking
up with Asian economies as well as technol-ogy and edu-cation, yet it also reflects the personal inter-ests of its chief executive.
While hard-ly an IT geek, Mrs Kelly said the foundation would be a ve-hicle for female inclusion, par-ticularly in the male-dominated tech industries
where women were ‘‘woefully unrepresented’’.
A former Ovid-reading, high-school Latin teacher who grew up in apartheid South Africa, Mrs Kelly said the overall moti-vation behind the gift was the promotion of further education and postgraduate research in Australia and overseas. It would develop the skills and capabili-ties needed to enhance Australia’s
competitiveness in the future.‘‘I have certainly been very
front-footed about increasing our gender representation at Westpac,’’ Mrs Kelly said. ‘‘But it [the foundation] allows our company to say what can we do to drive more inclusiveness and workforce participation of women in our society because you want to provide an environ-ment where women can balance having children ... with having successful and exciting careers.’’
Professor Michael Spence, the University of Sydney vice-chan-cellor, said the gift was a ‘‘huge good news story for higher edu-cation’’. He said by international standards the Australian corpo-rate sector had not been gener-ous to education until now.
Professor Sue Elliott, the University of Melbourne’s deputy provost, said targeted philan-thropy was the future for wealthy individuals and corporations. She said they had a clear idea about how they wanted their funds spent rather than making blind donations. ■
Fred Hollows’ life chosen to inspire by $100m Westpac Foundation
The scholarships and awards programs:Currently planned scholarships and awards programs will include:• Future Leaders: Up to 17 scholarships will be awarded to new or recent
graduates for post-graduate study at a prestigious global institution, with preference given to those working on Australia’s relationship with Asia and technology and innovation. Each are worth $120,000 over two to three years.
• Best and Brightest: Up to three post-doctoral scholarships a year, each worth $330,000 over three years. Two post-doctoral research-ers in Australia’s leading research universities will be selected annu-ally whose work could contribute to enhancing Australia’s competitive position in technology and innovation, or towards helping strengthen Australia’s ties with Asian economies.
• Young Technologists: Between 30 to 40 three-year undergraduate schol-arships each year, each worth $15,000 over three years and awarded for merit, to address the heavily under-represented female presence in technology disciplines and overcome economic disadvantage.
• Asian Exchange: Between 30 to 40 Australian undergraduates will spend a semester at a leading Asian university, each on a $10,000 a year scholarship, with a focus on increasing the number of Asia-literate graduates in Australia.
• Community Leaders: The program will provide 10 awards annually of $20,000-$50,000 to community leaders in the not-for-profit sector to undertake personal educational opportunities to benefit their work.
Fred Hollows. Photo courtesy of Michael Amendolia Gail Kelly
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2nd Scientific and Technology Awards Program announced
CONTACT LENSES INSIGHT
For the second consecutive year, CooperVision is offer-ing its CooperVision Science
and Technology Awards Program for 2015. The goal of the awards program is to bring recipients and CooperVision scientists together to explore new areas of technol-ogy advancement in contact lens applications. CooperVision says it recognises and highly values the discovery of innovative ideas that have the potential to deliver ben-efits to current and future contact-lens wearers around the world.
“CooperVision is want to foster translational research from exter-nal sources, and this awards pro-gram is the ideal platform to act on that,” Mr Arthur Back, chief tech-nology officer for CooperVision, said. “The fiscal year 2014 program was a great success with multiple awards funded. Those awards allow scientists to bring their ideas for-ward as well as provide the means to translate the award recipients’ theories into practical opportuni-ties that expand the applications
with contact lenses,” Mr Back said.The CooperVision S&T Awards
Program is comprised of two awards: The CooperVision Seedling Award and the CooperVision Translational Research Award. Research propos-als should demonstrate “significant potential for research discoveries and technological advancements
that CooperVision can rapidly com-mercialise to improve the perfor-mance, enhance the functionality, and/or broaden the use of contact lenses”.
The CooperVision Seedling Award is intended to provide in-centive collaborations with the company in a new research area
for a one-year period. The award enables investigators to generate preliminary data that could be used toward a future CooperVision Translational Research Award. The maximum total cash amount for a CooperVision seedling is $100,000, including indirect costs.
A CooperVision Translational Research Award is a multi-year award for a substantive transla-tional research project. Research under that award is milestone-driven in order to remain focused on a well-defined goal. It provides funding for up to two years, total-ling up to $400,000, including indi-rect costs. A maximum of $250,000 can be requested for any one year, however it may be considered for renewal at the end of the initial re-search period.
Based in Pleasanton, California, CooperVision, a unit of The Cooper Companies Inc, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of soft con-tact lenses. The Cooper Companies Inc is a listed global medical-device company. ■
A 23-year-old blind woman on 22 April was robbed after she got off a train and
was walking home with a cane at Padstow, in Sydney’s south west.
She was approached from
behind by a man who stole her bag which contained her phone, wal-let and an online player/recording
device used by visually impaired people to download talking news-papers and other audio files. ■
Scientists in CooperVision’s Pleasanton, California, laboratory
Blind woman robbed in Sydney on her way home
MAY 2014
REMINISCING
The Good Old Days? From Times Past
We all have our personal memories of the years spent at Tech. There were the returned servicemen, older and
wiser than we who were coming straight from school. We school leavers survived on the Tech cafeteria (ugh) whilst the older, wiser ones would try various cafes and regale us with their assessment of the waitresses.
Remember our first year and being used to try out the rowing machine for Professor Cotton? The taking of pulses and blood pres-sures after running up those stairs. The hours spent slaving over slide rules (how much easier if there had been calculators and computers in those days). It was a wonder we did not all end up suffering the same migraines as Jack Prince.
The sharing of a chemistry course with the chemistry diploma students and sitting up the back, looking down through the blinking fluo-rescent lights. The physics course where the professor would go off on a tangent, working out problems on the black board, oblivious to us students. Remember the chess games, the making of fishing lures and jewellery, and the reading that then took place.
That epidiascope that kept all awake (ex-cept for Treble who put his head down as he sat in front of the lens). The problems we set our poor lecturer, Alshuller, that were unsolvable. The psychology course when the returned-service members bought whole libraries to use up their book allowance whilst we ‘schoolies’ scrounged information from the local libraries. I think the best stunt we ever pulled was when several of us did a paper on the psychology of vision and used the same fictitious authors and introduced ideas the lecturer had no grasp of whatsoever. It was quite a change from his pre-dominant Freudian teachings.
Remember Joe Lederer calling for a volun-teer to demonstrate how easy it was to fix an esophoria, spending over half an hour before giving up. The victim should have warned him that he had a real problem and what the solu-tion had been. How we eventually were able to understand the terms ‘sick and sin’ lenses.
Remember Canon, who was working in a plastic factory whilst doing the course, being
made manager and deciding he could make more money than in optometry? Remember Bruce Chiene doing the same when selling clothing. The only girl in our class quitting after first year. Keith Yates graduating but going into the Patents Office. The night we saw the wool building catch fire in the next block.
Most of us had met our future spouse by the end of the course, and were juggling the prob-lems of courting and studying.
Those doing their degree these days think they have it tough. They cannot visualize work-ing a five-and-a-half-day week and at the same time being given one afternoon off a week to go to Tech as well as attending Tech five nights a week. There is not much difference in the time we spent at Tech and the time they spend full time at University. There is a big difference in our having worked full time for four years for an optometrist compared to their one day a week for one year seeing what one optometrist does.
Over the years, attending COE it is still is amaz-ing to see optometrists, who have graduated and been working for years, making copious notes on things that we learnt back in the Tech days.
We were lucky to do optometry when we did. Take away the automatic equipment and the new graduates are a bit lost. They have
missed that basic training we had in both dis-pensing and refraction. They have not had the opportunity to develop our ability to be able to compromise, and innovate. That basic training that allows us to start from scratch – the ability to realize the limitations of automation and to be able to make it work for us.
We enjoyed an era of patient loyalty. Patients would wait to see us.
Today, in many cases, if you do not see them as they walk in they go next door. I have visited a number of practices and found that those relying solely on automation are not getting many clients coming back. I had one check my eyes and had him repeat it a number of times and ended up with a number of different an-swers. He now uses an automatic refractor like we used a retinoscope – as a starting point.
We all have our own memories of the hard-ships and sacrifices made to complete the course. Memories that we can now push to one side whilst we enjoy the fruits of our labour and the love of our families.
Sixty years is a long time and not all have made it. Give a little pause, a moment to reflect upon those no longer with us. If their stories could have been told they would probably out-shine us all. ■
34 www.insightnews.com.au
A reader has kindly sent Insight this piece for publication, asking that he remain anonymous, which of course we respect. We hope you enjoy it, whether you’re young or not so young.
‘Five-and-a-half-day working week and five nights a week at Tech’
Sydney Technical College, Ultimo, Sydney
A ‘dongle’ can replace all passwords with an eye scan to unlockUsing biometrics to replace passwords
has been a hot topic as of late. In the mainstream, for example, Apple’s lat-
est iPhone lets a fingerprint scanner be used to unlock a device, with no password required. A company called EyeLock has spent the last seven years developing iris-scanning soft-ware that recognises users by their eyes.
Here’s an interesting statistic: the false acceptance rate of the average fingerprint sensor (how often a scanning system is fooled by the wrong finger) is once in every 10,000 scans, while for iris scans, it’s only 1 in 2.25 trillion scans. (Plus, people have already been complaining about other problems with their iPhone scanners, too.) EyeLock’s cutting-edge scanning hardware and software were previously only available in enterprise environments, but the com-pany has announced that it will be launch-ing Myris, a USB-powered iris scanner for consumers.
Here’s how it works: Five people can cre-ate accounts through each Myris ‘dongle’. Each person will use the dongle to scan their eyes and create their unique, encrypted code based on their iris.
Myris has a little mirror below the scanner to make sure each person stares at the right place, moving the scanner back and forth in front of the face. It takes less than 20 seconds
for the device to scan a person’s eyes and cre-ate his/her unique iris authentication.
Once you’re scanned in, you create your own profile within EyeLock software which only you can access through your eye scan where you store all your important passwords. You’d ideally reset all your passwords to long, tough-to-crack strings of characters since you would never have to memorise them again.
When visiting any password-protected accounts on a site — for online banking, so-cial media, email, Internet VPNs, whatever — Myris can be used to get instant access. When scanning the correct eye, the light around the Myris mirror glows green and access is grant-ed. Using a video of someone’s eye in front of the device won’t work: Myris has ‘live’ sensors and can recognise photographs or dead eyes.
Myris claims to be the first consumer-fac-ing solution to password fatigue that is both safe, very simple to use and relatively cheap.
Although at present EyeLock is selling its technology to consumers through a dongle, its software has been certified by the Fast Identify Online Alliance (FIDO). With that approval and partnerships in the works, the company plans to start integrating its tech into mainstream devices in the future.
Myris will be available for purchase within the first half of this year, and will cost some-where in the $US200 to $US300 range. ■
Luxottica Group and have announced that they have agreed they will join forces to design, develop and distrib-
ute a new breed of eyewear for Glass, which will include the involvement of Ray-Ban and Oakley brands from within Luxottica’s portfolio.
In its own statement, Google added: “Luxottica’s retail and wholesale distribution channels will serve us well when we make Glass more widely available down the road.”
The announcement is described in Luxottica’s statement as “a far-reaching stra-tegic partnership between Luxottica and Google to work together across multiple ef-forts on the creation of innovative iconic wearable devices. Through this relationship,
Luxottica and Google will match up high-tech developers with fashion designers and eyewear professionals.
“In particular, the two corporations will establish a team of experts devoted to work-ing on the design, development, tooling and engineering of Glass products that straddle the line between high-fashion, lifestyle and innovative technology.”
Luxottica said that the two major pro-prietary brands of the group, Ray-Ban and Oakley, will be part of the collaboration with Glass. Luxottica cited Oakley’s “10-year heri-tage in wearable technology that has evolved from MP3 to HUD devices.” The company said details about the new products will be disclosed at a later stage. ■
www.insightnews.com.au
SECURITY
ACO’s Visiting Optometrists Scheme extended in Vic and SAThe Australian College
of Optometry’s Visiting Optometrists
Scheme contract with the federal health department has been extended to in-clude some additional sites through to June 2014.
Some of the new sites were identified by the de-partment as areas where more services were required for Aboriginal communities. As a result the ACO applied for, and was granted addi-tional funding.
The new sites are: Aboriginal Health Services at Kerang, Morwell and Bendigo in Victoria and at Mt Gambier and the Riverland region in South Australia.
Additional sites were added to increase the focus on residential aged care cli-ents, elderly clients and cli-ents with diabetes. Those sites are: Boort and Birchip in central Victoria and Minyip, Jeparit, Rainbow and Edenhope in the Horsham region.
The ACO provides care of communities experienc-ing disadvantage through the provision of compre-hensive public health eye care.
ACO staff also contrib-ute as locum optometrists in the Brien Holden Vision Institute program in the Northern Territory.
Further information: Dr Genevieve Napper, lead optometrist at Aboriginal Services (03) 9349 7476 or [email protected]. ■
The Melbourne Focus Conference is being held in the Victoria
capital on 25 May, which pro-vides an opportunity for del-egates to explore the delights of that city in mid-Autumn.
Where to stay?Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre (MCEC) is located within walking
distance from a range of hotels to suit any budget. Focus Conference’s accom-modation partner, Hilton Melbourne South Wharf, is ideally placed with direct ac-cess to MCEC. This modern and stylish hotel in located on the banks of the Yarra River with rooms offering city or bay views. Focus Conference delegates can take advantage
of the discounted rate of $295 for a King Room. Book directly through www.focus-melbourne.com.au
What to do? Melbourne is renowned for fine dining establishments – many of which are located within Melbourne’s CBD. Why not treat yourself on
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The Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre
Focus Conference: Melbourne in May
Continued on page 28
24-30.indd 24 7/04/14 10:09 AM
Google and Luxottica announce strategic partnership for Glass
MAY 2014
EXHIBITIONS INSIGHT
Silmo 2014 to be held on 4 days – Friday to MondaySilmo 2014, the interna-
tional optics and eyewear trade fair in Paris, will be
held on four consecutive days – from Friday 26 to Monday 29 September.
The organisers are confident the additional scope provided by those dates will offer new business opportunities to exhibiting com-panies and should enable more practitioners to attend the fair.
Silmo says it wants to offer the best business platform, an essen-tial stage in forward planning, support companies in their de-velopment projects, demonstrate the industry’s creative and inno-vative know-how and strengthen a solid network of practitioners
who share the same goals. Building on the strengths that
have cemented its appeal, Silmo is a major exhibition bringing to-gether and uniting the talents in the optics and eyewear sector.
In a bid to closely monitor economic changes, integrate market developments and meet the demands of both exhibitors and visitors, Silmo is making a number of changes in order to boost its appeal and contin-ue to stand out as a must-visit
gathering: • A schedule more in sync with
visitors;• A clearer layout; and • A more-extensive programme
of events. The 2014 event will have a raft
of invaluable services rolled out to exhibitors and visitors: SILMO ACADEMY, SILMO d’OR Awards, SILMO FASHION STYLE, MO by SILMO, MERCHANDISING WORKSHOP, Merchandising Workshop, SILMO TV by ACUITE
and LINK by SILMO. With close on a thousand
companies occupying an exhi-bition area of some 80,000 m2, Silmo offers an in-depth over-view of areas of expertise.
In order to provide clearer signage and enable visitors to save time, Silmo has reorgan-ised the way industry segments are sited. New categories will be added, with pictograms clearly identifying each of the 11 sectors that make up the industry. ■
Safilo Australia launched its Spring Summer 2014-15 Collection on 8 April at a
press showing at ‘Establishment’ in Sydney, designed to coincide with Fashion Week and pitched at its attendant publication editors and writers.
The showing covered all of the frame and sunglass collec-tions distributed in Australia by Safilo, from basic styles through a host of smart fashion to high-end stunners.
While there were some common
design threads in most of the col-lections, probably due to past ex-perience of which overall designs work best from a wearer’s point of view, there were also interesting combinations of different materi-als and colours, as well as designs that were unique to their respective collections.
If anything, the collections showed the effort to which design-ers will go to gain a satisfactory finished design that also has com-mercial appeal that brand owners of necessity seek. ■
Applications are now open for the 2015 Blackmores Dr Paul Beaumont Research
Fellowship, with electronic sub-mission by 9 June (with confirma-tion hard copy submission by 11 June). The successful applicant will be announced on World Sight Day – 9 October 2014.
The fellowship is open to
researchers based in eligible Australian institutions to pursue research into nutritional and/or lifestyle aspects of macular de-generation, consistent with the mission of the Macular Disease Foundation Australia to reduce the incidence and impact of mac-ular degeneration.
In 2015 the Foundation will
provide a two-year research fel-lowship of A$50,000 per annum (excluding GST). It is a require-ment that the cash and in-kind contribution of the applicant’s host institution at least matches the foundation’s contribution. The fellowship is on a full-time basis for two years.
Full instructions, application
forms and other relevant attach-ments are available for download from the foundation’s website –http://www.mdfoundation.com.au/research/researchgrants/fel-lowship.aspx
The fellowship is funded by Blackmores, The Blackmores Foundation and Macular Disease Foundation Australia. ■
36 www.insightnews.com.au
Spring-Summer collection launched in Sydney
Paul Beaumont Research Fellowship applications open
(L-R) Safilo’s Amy Hill, Melanie Coupland and Ali Ible at the launch of the company’s Spring Summer 2014-15 Collection in Sydney
Ab Fab Lab, Luxury, Sport, Village, Frames, Lenses, Contact Lenses, Opticians’ Equipment, POS Equipment, Conncected Opticians & Low Vision.
MAY 2014
SUPPORT INSIGHT
PI-insurance provider and ASO formalise working relationship
MDA National and the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists have
formalised a long-standing work-ing relationship with an agreement designed to benefit ophthalmolo-gists across Australia, through premium discounts on their pro-fessional indemnity insurance and ongoing, in-kind support, such as assisting ophthalmologists to go to remote areas of Western Australia and Queensland.
MDA’s national president and practising ophthalmologist, Assoc Prof Julian Rait, said the arrange-ment is a natural progression
stemming from the “ongoing syn-ergy and collegiality” that the na-tional medical indemnity provider shares with the ASO.
“Our association will benefit shared members with reduced pre-miums on professional indemnity, specialty specific medico-legal in-formation, CPD accredited educa-tion and peace of mind knowing they are backed by two very sound organsiations that respectively aim for the best possible medico-politi-cal and medico-legal outcomes for our specialty,” Assoc Prof Rait said.
ASO president, Dr Arthur Karagiannis, said the agreement
has optimised the ASO’s rela-tionship with MDA National to specifically benefit Australian ophthalmologists.
“Our two organisations also share a focus on corporate so-cial responsibility. As part of our association, MDA National is investing funds and in-kind support to further raise aware-ness and help expand the ASO’s community program “IRIS” (Indigenous and Remote Eye Health Service), which will en-able continued improvements in rural remote eye health care,” Dr Karagiannis said. ■
For the third straight year, Essilor has made it on to United States magazine
Forbes’ list of the ‘World’s Most Innovative Companies’.
This year, the lens maker
climbed from 28th place in 2012 to 23rd place this year. ■
The photos of Drs Patrick Versace and Ian Sebban on page 32 of the April issue of
Insight were incorrectly captioned. They should have been:
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MAY 2014
SUSTAINING VISION
Lifetime of UV and high-energy visible light: effects on ageing eye– By Mark Mattison-Shupnick and John Lah*
Independence, demanded by toddlers, tested by teens and coveted by seniors is signifi-
cantly affected by vision. After all, independence is a part of each of our ability to earn a living, contrib-ute to society and ‘drive at night.’ Certainly a fear of older people is that of dependence. How can eye-care practitioners contribute to sustaining a patient’s good vi-sion as they age, especially as an essential part of independence? It’s essential to understand the senior’s vision, its components and the ways that eyewear can enhance it when needed.
In this article, we investigate the effects of a lifetime of UV and high-energy visible light exposure on the human eye and vision.
Currently there up to 350 mil-lion cases of age-related macular degeneration and cataract world-wide, a figure that may double in the next thirty years with the age-ing population. If left untreated, those diseases will cause serious vision loss, blindness and signifi-cantly increase health and long-term care costs.
UV and HEV are accumu-lated over a lifetime, and the se-nior population typically has not known that protecting their eyes is essential. Therefore, know-ing the issues and the ways that quality outdoor eyewear can help improve a senior’s vision will help both your patients and your practice.
The senior, UV and their eyesAs is known, acuity is the acute-ness or clearness of vision, which is dependent on the sharpness of retinal focus. That means that the clarity of all of the ocular com-ponents and their media must transmit and receive light without issue. In an adult eye, the cornea and lens protect the retina from UVC (skin cancers), UVB (sun-burn, blisters, skin cancers) and the UVA (skin ageing). UVB and UVC are serious agents of skin
tissue changes because the DNA directly absorbs them.
The cornea and lens protect the retina by absorbing the great-est majority of radiation. As a re-sult, only about 1 per cent of UV and HEV can reach the retina. However, the effects are accu-mulated over a lifetime and can become an issue for each of the se-nior’s anatomical parts of the eye. Here’s how.Cornea: This transparent window is susceptible to sunburn just like the epithelial layer of the skin. Over a lifetime, corneal ‘sunburns’ can be common from UVB over-exposure, especially from reflec-tion off surfaces like water, snow or even concrete. Artificial sources like welding arcs and UV tanning beds can also cause photokeratitis. Treatment consists of mostly time to allow the epithelial layer to heal and replace itself. If severe, there might be patching, some sort of lubricant and lots of artificial tears to keep the surface lubricated. Recurring sunburn may result in longer-term problems.
Treatment/Prevention (photo-keratitis): 100 percent UV absorb-ing and/or reflecting sunwear in which the lenses provide complete coverage both from the front as
well as the top and sides. Corneal sun protection is critical outdoors, especially when under extreme conditions such as at high alti-tudes or at the beach or near the equator.
Sclera/Conjunctiva: Commonly attributed to UVA and UVB expo-sure (Chesapeake Bay
Waterman Study), the nodule in the conjunctiva – a pinguecula – results in a bump nasal and/or temporal of the limbus. It is often rich in blood vessels that fill to make the eye appear very blood-shot after being in the sun too long or outdoors in the wind where the surface of the eye gets dry.
Chronic sun exposure is also associated with pterygia, a wedge-shaped membrane or pinguecula crossing the limbus. If it grows close to or into the line of sight, the associated topographical shape changes make it necessary to re-move it before there are dramatic vision changes. Unfortunately, pterygia reoccurs but newer tech-niques have been effective at halt-ing the progression after surgery.
Treatment: 100 percent UV ab-sorbing sunwear; wraparound eyewear is a distinct advantage.
Aqueous: From glaucoma.org: “Glaucoma can make eyes highly sensitive to light and glare, with some glaucoma medications exacerbating the problem even further. Sunglasses are an easy so-lution that makes life more com-fortable when outdoors, while also providing critical protection from the sun’s damaging ultravio-let (UV) rays.”
Treatment/Prevention: “Glaucoma is a complicated disease in which damage to the optic nerve leads to progressive, irreversible vision loss. Glaucoma is the second lead-ing cause of blindness.” (glaucoma.org) Glaucoma patients are aided by quality sunwear that is 100 percent UV absorbing.
Crystalline Lens: The lens ab-sorbs UV and depending on its yellowness, HEV radiation. The accumulated radiation effects are associated with cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. In a cataract (an opacity of the lens nucleus, cortex or capsule), lens cell proteins are changed by UV radiation. This results in a yellow-ing of the lens and a reduction of the light passed directly through the lens (opacification). The most harmful to the lens is UVB. Over a lifetime, the condition gets worse requiring removal of the lens and an optical replacement by an in-traocular lens (IOL), contact or spectacle lens or a combination of these.
Yellowing of the lens becomes apparent by puberty changing the amount of UVB that gets to the retina. But that means the lens is effectively transparent to UV in infants, toddlers and young chil-dren. The lens continues to yel-low with age but a combination of genetics, diet, lifestyle and UV ra-diation causes some variability by the time we are seniors. A nuclear sclerotic or brunescent cataract is a lens that has become too dark yellow or brown, obstructs vision and requires removal.
This colouring of the lens also
38 www.insightnews.com.au
‘Advancing Pterygium, The Role of UV Damage in Ocular Disease’, Paul Karpecki, Review of Optometry, October 2012
MAY 2014
SUSTAINING VISION
has implications to the way that colours are perceived. A brown lens absorbs the short wavelength blue light much like brown tints and polarised lenses. Colour changes in the lens slowly change the appearance of the world we see, reducing the blue. As a result, when practitioners deliver new glasses to a patient that has just had a very yellow to brown cata-ract removed and replaced by an IOL, they often hear from the pa-tient, “Wow, that blue is so blue.” That’s because they are again seeing all the visible spectrum of colours. The change of colour sensitivity has less an effect on vision than does luminance or the amount of light. For the aged eye, that means the darkness of
sun lenses for outdoor use re-quires some discussion with your patients.
Reading may become difficult for some nuclear cataract patients before removal is indicated since the opacity can alter the clarity and contrast of letters or images on a page.
Larger cylinder and axis changes in prescription or in-creased minus are often indica-tors that a cataract has begun to affect vision. The results may be noticed as increases in scatter or haze, or a subtle lack of clarity.
UVA in a lens also results in fluorescence when absorbed. Fluorescence produces scatter and haze, less noticed perhaps by a young eye but can reduce
important vision in an older eye with a smaller pupil and cloudy media.
Treatment/Prevention: For cata-ract formation associated with the accumulation of UV radiation, UV absorptive spectacle or contact lenses, quality outdoor eyewear, UV absorbing IOLs. For reading problems with cataracts, single vision reading glasses provide more reading area and should be used in addition to their general-purpose progressives.
For the senior’s reduction in colour sensitivity, lens filter co-lours and polarisation that do a good job to increase colour con-trast are the right choice. They are the typical browns, ambers
and green. However, new lenses have been formulated to improve colour contrast including grey. Anecdotally, when taking senior customers outside to sample grey or brown sun lenses, they typically choose a brown polarised. The increase in contrast improves the edges and visibility of the things they see while the darkness of the lens adjusts the too-bright sun-light just the right amount for a variety of shadows, bright sun and daytime driving. They are also very comfortable to wear.
Vitreous: Floaters are probably the most common change to the vitreous noticed visually.
Continued on page 40
Lifetime of UV and high-energy visible light: effects on ageing eye
www.eyesright .com.au
AU 1800 637 654
39MAY 2014www.insightnews.com.au
MAY 2014
Lifetime of UV and high-energy visible light: effects on ageing eyeThere is some evidence that UV has an effect on making the vit-reous more liquid, with floaters becoming more numerous and contributing to a posterior vitreal detachment.
A detached vitreous, that is, when the vitreal membrane sepa-rates from the retina is common in the over 55. Patients will com-plain of a spider-like shadow. It may or may not be accompanied by flashes of light. Regardless, it should be checked by an eye-care practitioner.
Prevention/Treatment: There is usually no treatment for floaters other than assuring your customer that while they are normal, review by an eye-care practitioner is always recommended. The shadow that is noticed will also usually disap-pear as the eye/brain learns that the shadow is there and ignores it.
Retina: The retina is exquisitely sensitive to light. The rods are able to detect motion and assemble the visual scene with very little light for night vision while the cones pro-vide exceptional clarity and colours
when there is sufficient light. These structures are also terribly sensitive to the toxic effects of UV and HEV. While the cornea and lens protect the retina from this radiation, ex-cept as a child, excesses of both continually bombard our eyes. As a result, protection of the retina is re-quired throughout life.
UV is implicated in age-related macular degeneration due to high exposure to UV over a lifetime. AMD is the major cause of vision impair-ment in the over-50 group, and its prevalence is expected to increase
as the number of those aged over 60 increases. Newer research about the effects of HEV, in particular the wavelengths centered around 430 nm (±20 nm) also show that this blue light plays a role in the inci-dence and severity of AMD. In both cases, free radical damage to the cells of the retina by UV and HEV is suggested.
While the ageing retina is more susceptible to this damage, the yel-lowing of the lens and the absorp-tion of some of the blue might help reduce blue light exposure. However, oxidative damage of the
retina continues to occur with ageing and its own protective mechanisms become less effective with age.
Fluorescent phototoxic chro-mophores accumulate in the ret-ina; blue light reacts with them, stops the regenerative process and kills the cells that nourish the cones. The result is a greying, then total loss of central vision.
Aphakes (post cataract, no IOL) and pseudophakes (post cataract, with IOL) should be protected from blue light since the crystal-line lens’ protective mechanism is absent.
Good UV/Bad UV: Good Blue/Bad Blue is a distinction also for retinal consideration since UV is important for the production of vi-tamin D, and the long wavelength blue is used to control circadian rhythm. As a result, vitamin D supplements may be recommend-ed or up to 15 minutes daily in the sun wearing of course, a quality pair of sunglasses. The short wave blue (430 ±20 nm) is implicated in AMD while the longer wave to 500 nm is needed to help regulate sleep patterns.
Prevention/Treatment: Protect the retina from UV and short wavelength blue. That means wearing quality sunglasses out-doors and the use of the newer blue light blocking indoor lenses. Know whether an older custom-er has had a cataract removed. Understand that the senior has
other visual issues that affect your recommendations for lens colour and darkness.
Polarised lenses that enhance contrast also work well. Colour contrast enhancing lenses also im-prove performance outdoors.
End of Part 1; Part 2 next issueArmed with knowledge of the ef-fects of UV and HEV, what spe-cifically should your advice be to patients? Part 2 of this article de-scribes a recommended plan for examination, lens performance, colour vision considerations, driving advice and when correc-tions no longer make a difference, low vision tools for the visually impaired.
*Mark Mattison-Shupnick, ABOM, is currently director of education for
Jobson Medical Information LLC, has more than 40 years of experience as an optician, was senior staff member
of SOLA International and is a frequent lecturer and trainer.
John Lahr, OD, FAAO, is vice president of provider relations and medical director of EyeMed Vision Care.
‘Vision’s declaration of independence—Part 1 – UV, HEV
and the Ageing Eye’ was originally published in 20/20, a publication of
Jobson Medical Information LLC. ■
The United Kingdoms re-spected optical trade body, The Federation of
Manufacturing Opticians (FMO) is inviting companies outside of the UK to join and share in many of the benefits of membership.
With central London offices,
The FMO is an ideal meeting place with a choice of rooms available to members at its Paddington ad-dress. In addition, all FMO mem-bers benefit from the optical expertise which exists within the three FMO industry focus groups – for frames, lenses and technology.
“We are a valuable, and much used, reference point for our members and handle a broad range of technical queries about all aspects of manufacturing optics,” FMO chief executive, Malcolm Polley, said.
FMO membership, for some,
is the most-cost-effective way of keeping in touch with changes to European Optical Standards and to find out about optical training.
“The FMO brings a great depth of knowledge to the world of optics and is a valued source of reference to its members.” ■
40 www.insightnews.com.au
SUSTAINING VISION
How can eye-care practitioners contribute to sustaining a patient’s good vision as they age, especially as an essential part of independence? It’s necessary to understand the senior’s vision, its components and the ways that eyewear can enhance it when needed.
Continued from page 39
International companies invited to join UK’s Federation of Manufacturing Opticians
END-OF-DAY
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INDUSTRY INSIGHT
Vision Eye Institute’s gross income steady at $54.9mListed ophthalmology practices company Vision Eye Institute has reported gross income for the six months ended 31 December was steady at $54.9 million versus $54.5 million in the same period the year before.• Gross profit was down 5% from
$25.0m to $23.7m, showing a decrease in gross profit margin from 45.9% to 43.2%.
• EBITDA was down from $13.3m to $12.5m, while EBIT up from $10.5m to $11.8m.
• Net finance costs were down from $3.4m to $1.0m.
• Profit before tax rose from $7.1m to $10,8m, while after-tax profit rose from $4.9m to $7.5m.
• Earnings per share were down 18% from 5.5c to 4.5c.
• During the interim period, bank debt was reduced from $47.5m to $40.0m. Net debt as at 31 December was $29.5m.
• Bank debt facility was extended until 31 July 2016 on more com-mercial reurns.
• Total shareholder equity in-creased from $66.2m to $73.8m.
• Net bank debt to equity dropped from 60% to 40%.
• Interest cover increased from 3.1x to 9.7x, while net bank debt to EBITDA dropped from 2.5x to 1.2x.
• Market earnings guidance for the 2014 financial year at the EBITDA level has been re-vised upward from $23-25m to $25-27m.
Vision Eye Institute operates in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland and currently has 77 ophthalmologists (an increase from 68 at October 2013), includ-ing 35 partners, 23 associates and
19 visiting surgeons offering cat-aract surgery, vitreo-retinal sur-gery and treatment for macular degeneration, refractive surgery, glaucoma treatments, corneal surgery and ocular plastics treat-ment and surgery.
Essilor opens new lens plant in LaosEssilor International has opened a new production plant near Savannakhet in Laos. According to Essilor, the facility is part of the group’s strategy “to leverage its industrial capability to meet the vision needs of people in every re-gion of the world”.
The Laotian plant will contrib-ute to the group’s growth by accel-erating its mid-tier offer to meet increasing demand from middle class consumers, especially in emerging markets.
The new facility will be dedi-cated to producing finished polycarbonate lenses for which consumer demand is increasing by 4-5% per year.
In its first production phase, the facility will employ 250 people. It will produce 20 million lenses per year when at full capacity, en-abling the group to provide com-petitive polycarbonate products to major customers.
“Our global industrial network is key to support the development of the group. It connects our pro-duction plants with distribution centres and more than 450 pre-scription laboratories around the world to serve eye-care profes-sionals and consumers,” a spokes-man for the company said.
“Thanks to our new plant in Laos we will continue to strength-en our global offering of visual health solutions that help improve lives by improving sight.”
Safilo’s profitability rose in 2013 Safilo said on 5 March its profit-ability rose in 2013 and pledged to focus on developing its propri-etary and licensed brands, taking advantage of growing demand for fashionable eyewear.
The manufacturer and distrib-uter of Gucci- and Dior-branded eyewear said its adjusted core earnings rose 5.8%, leading to a margin of 10.9% in 2013.
Safilo posted full-year ad-justed net profit of €39 million in 2013, excluding one-off costs in-cluding an Italian tax provision. Prior to the adjustment, group net profit came in at€15.5 mil-lion for the full year.
The loss of a valuable license to make eyewear for Armani to market leader Luxottica at the end of 2012 had prompted Safilo to trim its sales and profitability expectations
Safilo, which generates around 80% of revenue from eyewear made under licence, said it would develop the brands it owns, such as Carrera and Polaroid, and selectively agree new licences.
“Our focus is on leveraging and expanding our proprietary brands to their fullest potential,” Ms Luisa Delgado, who was ap-pointed chief executive officer of the company last October, said.
New licenses must “comple-ment our portfolio ... we are not looking indiscriminately at just adding brands,” Ms Delgado said.
Chief financial officer Mr Vincenzo Giannelli said a new li-cence to manufacture sunglasses for Kering’s Fendi should gener-ate €40-50 million ($US54.96 million-$68.7 million) in 2014 and 2015.
Luxottica expects the Armani licence to be worth €160 million in sales in 2014.
Analysts say changes in con-sumer behavior worldwide, in-cluding growing popularity of sunglasses in China, have made eyewear a lucrative market.
Essilor places $1,185-million bond issue Essilor International announced on 9 April that it has success-fully placed an €800-million ($A1,185-million) bond issue “under very favourable terms and conditions”.
Rated A2 (stable outlook) by Moody’s, the issue comprised two fixed-rate tranches: • A €500-million tranche of sev-
en-year, with a 1.750% coupon. • A €300-million tranche of ten-
year, with a 2.375% coupon. It was the lowest coupon ever
obtained on an inaugural seven-year issue by a non-financial issuer and the lowest ten-year coupon obtained by a non-finan-cial issuer so far this year.
The issue was amply over-subscribed, illustrating investor confidence in Essilor’s business model and the quality of its cred-it profile. It has enabled Essilor to diversify its sources of financing and investor base and to support its growth strategy.
Essilor International reported consolidated revenue of over €5 billion in 2013 and employs more than 55,000 people. It distributes its products in some 100 coun-tries with 28 plants, more than 450 prescription laboratories and edging facilities, as well as sev-eral research and development centres around the world. ■
Michael Kors Holdings and Luxottica Group announced on 17 April
that they have signed a new
and exclusive 10-year licence agreement for the Michael Kors Collection and Michael Kors eyewear.
The first collection produced by Luxottica will be launched next January.
Currently, Marchon has the
licence to produce Michael Kors eyewear. ■
Business Briefs
Luxottica wins 10-year Michael Kors licence
43MAY 2014www.insightnews.com.au
PEOPLE
New general manager for CooperVision ANZ
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CooperVision has promoted Mr Greg Sampson to general manager Australia and New
Zealand. He was previously national sales
manager for the company, since April 2013.
Prior to joining CooperVision, he was of general manager of sales as well as sales and marketing direc-tor for Argus, a business specialising in biometric software applications and prior to that he led a division at Panasonic, where he was also
strategic marketing manager.Mr Sampson, who has a Masters
of Business complementing his Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Microbiology, replaces Mr Wayne Reuben, who has transitioned into a new role as vice-president sales
operations and sales excellence for Asia Pacific.
Mr Reuben remains based in CooperVision’s Sydney office and, as part of his new role, continues to be involved in the ANZ business. ■
In its seventeenth year, the Australian Achiever Awards has rated Eyes Right Optical “a
highly recommended” 94.28 per cent, whereby any score over 80 per cent is considered to be exceptional and reflects outstanding customer service.
The unbiased award system is based on assessment ratings from a business’ own customers based on
seven criteria: time-related service, addressing client needs, care and at-tention, value, attitude, communi-cation, and overall perception. Eyes Right Optical was assessed within the ‘Optical Frame Wholesale & Distribution Services’ category.
Gaye Wymond, a director, told Insight: “We are absolutely delighted to receive such an exceptional rating from our customers. I’m very proud
of everyone in our team.“When I read customer com-
ments in the survey like ‘Eyes Right Optical are innovators in a field not particularly known for its in-novation’, I guess we must be doing something right; but I would wel-come any ideas which would lead us to achieving a 100% customer satisfaction next year,” Ms Wymond said. ■
Australian Achiever Award rating for Eyes Right Optical
Eyes Right Optical directors Gaye and David Wymond
MAY 201444 www.insightnews.com.au
MANAGEMENT
VIETNAM TO CAMBODIA TANDEM* BIKE RIDE 2014
11-22 OCTOBER 2014
Join our charity challenge andhelp raise $100,000 for Guide Dogs NSW/ACT.
*single bikes welcome too
For further information call 1300 905 188 or visitwww.inspiredadventures.com.au/guidedogs/vietnam2014
Insight ad.indd 1 13/01/2014 12:01:01 PM
Practice Dollars
Practices employ staff, clini-cal and administrative, on a variable hours basis, often
involving changes either to ros-ters or working hours. Based on employee and industry feedback, such changes, albeit reasonable and well intentioned, were not pre-ceded by adequate consultation.
On the back of our previ-ous article which touched on fa-miliarity and compliance with new legislation on Fair Work Act 2009, employers should be aware of requirements of the latest amendment.
On 24 December 2013, a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down its decision with regards to the proposed new “consultation clause” for all modern awards.
As a result of a Fair Work Act 2009 amendment, introduced by Fair Work Amendment Act 2013,
all modern awards, and enterprise agreements made on or after 1 January 2014, are required to have “consultation terms” that require an employer to consult with em-ployees about proposed changes to regular rosters or ordinary hours of work.
Included in the decision, and the new model consultation clause inserted in modern awards, an employer must:• provide information about
changes to employees and their representative, if any;
• invite employees affected, and their representatives if any, to give their views about impact of the change (including any im-pact on family or caring respon-sibilities); and
• give consideration to any views about the impact of the change/s from employees concerned, and/or their representative.
The new consultation obliga-tions do not apply where an em-ployee has irregular, sporadic or unpredictable working hours.
Employers are encouraged to review impact of the modern award amendment to their busi-ness, particularly the new consul-tation clause.
Where an employer is likely to change an employee’s regular ros-ter or ordinary hours of work it is important to consider that deci-sion in light of new consultation obligations and any other clause already contained in the modern award that relates to work and ros-ter arrangements.
This new requirement of busi-nesses can be viewed as: • either yet another legislative
compliance burden; or• an opportunity to enrich em-
ployee relations by merg-ing it with other staff-related programs.
For example, the administra-tive burden may be quite simply complied with by a cut and paste of the new requirements into new
employment agreements and the practice Policy & Procedure Manual.
And, those practices who per-form regular staff appraisals or occasional performance discus-sions should include these new provisions of the Act in such one-on-one discussions, seeking con-firmation from staff that they are satisfied with the manner in which changes are affected. The ultimate result is that employees feel con-sulted, not just on changes, but on the broader aspect of business and practice management generally.
In effect, a business burden may be converted into an employee rela-tions enrichment exercise! ■
Karen Crouch is managing director of Health Practice Creations Group, a
company that assists with practice set ups, administrative, legal and financial
management of practices.
Contact Karen on (02) 0433 233 478 or email [email protected] or
www.hpcgroup.com.au
On 14 April, Alcon officially opened its new $200 mil-lion, 330,000-square-foot
pharmaceutical manufacturing fa-cility in the Tuas Biomedical Park in Singapore.
Located to be closer to Alcon’s growing base of customers in Asia, the plant produces ophthal-mic pharmaceutical products for eye conditions such as glaucoma, dry eye, allergies and bacterial infections.
Alcon’s top five products pro-duced at the facility are Systane, Travatan, Patanol, Tobradex and Vigamox, a company spokesperson
said. Currently, the facility employs 150 staff, and is expected to contin-ue to grow as production increases.
Alcon already operates anoth-er manufacturing facility in Tuas Biomedical Park, which opened in 2005 to produce ‘Dailies’ contact lenses.
“The need for quality eye care is increasing rapidly across Asia, as the population grows and ages,” Mr Roy Acosta, area president, Alcon Asia-Pacific, said.
“With the opening of this new manufacturing facility, Alcon is making a strong investment in the future of our business in Asia. ■
– By Karen Crouch*
Keeping in touch with your most valuable resource – humans New consultation terms in modern awards
Alcon opens manufacturing plant in Singapore
www.glaucomaeducation.com
An online web-based programme for eye health professionals.Approved by the Optometry Board of Australia (OBA)
for a maximum 28 CPD points with Therapeutic content.
Case 1 - Pigment Dispersion Syndrome. This case covers the initial diagnosis, management and long term follow up in a patient with pigment dispersion syndrome. Case 2 -IIn this case we discuss the presentation, appearance and clinical features in a patient with optic nerve hypoplasia. Case 3 - We look at a patient who presents with vague visual field loss, and discuss the diagnosis and follow up in patients with primary open angle glaucoma.
Case 4 - We discuss a patient presenting with unusually high intraocular pressure, as well as the diagnosis, management and features of Posner Schlossman syndrome. Case 5 – Patients often present with vague symptoms. This case looks at a patient with unusual symptoms who is found to have glaucoma. Unfortunately the patient then develops a central retinal vein occlusion. Features and long term management of this condition are discussed. Case 6 – Patients can have multiple things that occur concurrently. We look at a patient with suspected glaucomatous changes, who has an associated intracranial tumour. Features differentiating these two entities are reviewed.
Case 7 - Conditions don’t always present as you may expect. We review a case of bilaterally painful red eyes, found to be due to bilateral acute angle closure. Features of this condition are reviewed.
• All cases have been produced by qualified glaucoma specialists.
• Participation is available to any eye health professional. CPD points awarded are for optometrists.
• The programme consists of 7 cases, each with a case history, questions and answers for self-directed learning, followed by an associated web-based assessment.
• The assessment associated with each case is made up of multiple choice and true/false questions.
• Two attempts are available to achieve the 70% pass required by the OBA.
• Each successfully passed course attracts 4 CPD points as approved by the OBA.
• Successfully passing all 7 courses awards the maximum 28 CPD points.
• The annual cost for the programme is $150 i.e. for up to 7 cases.
• CPD points are only allocated to each case(s) completed prior to 30th November 2014.
Seven cases each comprising a series of seminars based on clinical case studies, linking academic knowledge with practice.
www.insightnews.com.auMAY 201446
DISPENSING
Selling diversityWe aren’t just talking colours and trends here. We are also talking price points. You might see yourself as a boutique specialising in higher-end products, a family-oriented shop with mid-range offerings or a business catering to the budget-conscious. But with the competition the way it is today, you may want and need to reach a wider customer base. To help you broaden your horizons, try these Insight Basics.
Have a plan Analyse the demographics of your practice. See what price points are selling well or not so well. Check current inventory to determine price categories you could expand or minimise.
Offer options In all categories. Eyewear is a family affair and it’s an everyday, every occasion affair. Provide a range of price options for everyone from kids, tweens and teens to Mum, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa in all product categories, including sun, sport and accessories.
New and noteworthy When purchasing products in any price range, look for innovative de-sign and technology – new hinges, premium materials and user-friend-ly mounting systems. Keep an eye out for that killer shape or amazing colour combination – sure to be the next must-have wardrobe addi-tion. And always focus on quality.
Treat all products equally Mix value, mid-price and high-end eyewear in your displays, including the windows. Present all products the same way whether they are in-expensive or expensive. Show trends, styles, colours and technology. You may not be able to deliver designer names at a lower price point, but you can deliver the look, such as colourful, retro-inspired acetates.
Essential extras Always offer all the options: premium lens materials, anti-reflective and anti-scratch lens coatings, photochromic-lens technology and polarisation. Package all eyewear with the same respect used on higher-price products, with a good case, preferably a hard case, and a cleaning cloth.
Don’t pigeonhole customers Never assume your patients are interested in one or the other: inex-pensive or expensive eyewear. The same consumers can happily fill their shopping bags with a mix of both, just as they might buy a basic T-shirt or bangles to wear with an expensive suit, or lower-price but stylish weekend wear to complement their pricier weekday wardrobe. Show options at various price points. After spending significantly on a pair of eyeglasses, your customers might be more inclined to buy a second or even a third pair if the price is right.
‘Selling Diversity’ by Gloria Nicola was originally published in 20/20, a publication of Jobson Medical Information LLC.
With the incidence of vi-sion loss increasing, a new website, www.vi-
sionloss.com.au, was launched on 1 April at the Centre for Eye Health, located at the University of NSW, to enable people affected to know how and where to access services as quickly as possible.
Designed by Guide Dogs NSW/ACT the website is be-lieved to be the first of its kind in Australia dedicated to the issue of vision loss.
Featuring sections on differ-ent vision conditions, informa-tion on local services, links to support groups and industry bod-ies, and an interactive discussion forum, it aims to provide eye-care professionals, people experienc-ing vision loss and the public with a single portal of information about eye health and the range of expert services available from optometrists through to the free specialist services provided by or-ganisations like Guide Dogs.
“After many years working with the eye-health industry and people who are blind or vi-sion impaired, we realised there was an opportunity to create a central online site about vision
loss,” Mr Charles Ulm, marketing and communications manager of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, said
“We strongly encourage peo-ple experiencing trouble getting around because of vision loss to seek help early but were con-cerned they, their families and their eye-health professionals may not know how to quickly and easily find that help. www.visionloss.com.au is designed to be that solution.”
Professor Michael Kalloniatis, director at the Centre for Eye Health in Sydney where the web-site was launched, congratulated Guide Dogs on taking the initia-tive to develop a tool that would fill a gap in the industry.
“Learning you are losing your vision can have a huge impact on your life, so it’s vital people in that situation know there are services and supports to help them maintain or regain quality of life,” Professor Kallionatis said
The website is accessible for people who are blind or vision impaired with features includ-ing options for text to be read by a screen reader, enlarged or even the contrast changed to make it easier to read. ■
New website launched at CFEH
(L-R) Helen Beange, who has AMD, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT web designer Rosalie Williams and CFEH director Michael Kalloniatis
47MAY 2014www.insightnews.com.au
CLASSIFIEDS
MarketPlacePhone: 0425 532 888Email: [email protected]
Smartphone adaptor onslit lamp (Fits all sizes)• Save your photo or video during eye
examination directly on to your phone
• Extra software or hardware not required
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Practice for Sale – Airlie Beach, QLDWell established practice of 8 years in one of the most beautiful locations in the
world. Enjoy a laidback lifestyle while drawing a significant wage. Consulting on average 4.5 days in a 6.5 day/week practice. Well trained, loyal staff.
Astonishing local support, with clients also traveling from up to two hours away to receive excellent service and select from boutique frame range. High quality equipment, including full edging lab (optional in sale). Practice built out of love,
and only on the market because of changing family situation.
Please phone 0401 693 253
Mondottica Australia currently has positions available in both NSW and VIC for experienced and energetic Sales Representatives with proven sales records.
Working alongside the State Area Manager, your primary responsibility is to service our existing clients and further develop the territory and distribution of our brands.
Wholesale experience within the optical/sunglass industry would certainly be advantageous but should not discourage successful candidates working outside the industry. Primarily, you will be customer service focused, results driven and adept at building and maintaining long term relationships with clients.
If you wish to be part of a progressive company that enjoys a reputation for high quality and service then please forward your resume electronically to [email protected] . All enquiries will be treated confidentially.
The remuneration package will include a competitive retainer, commission and car allowance
SALES REPRESENTATIVES
NSW & VIC
CONFERENCESSki Conferences for Eyecare ProfessionalsJanuary 24-30, 2015 Rusutsu Ski Resort, Hokkaido, Japan Website: www.skiconf.com Email: [email protected]
Optometrists, Optical Dispensers & Assistants
Full-time and Part-time roles available across Australia
QueenslandWestern AustraliaNew South WalesVictoria South Australia
Bupa Optical is a unique and growing division of the global BUPA organization. At BUPA we are dedicated to being a health and care partner to millions of people around the globe. Through ensuring that our patients receive the very best eye health care and eye wear solutions.
Each practice is supported by a practice manager, experienced optical dispensers and assistants, so every customer is provided with the continuity of care that we expect. The products we have will surprise and delight even the most discerning of customers with lenses available from some of the best laboratories in the world and frames from a large portfolio of fashion houses around the globe.
In recognition of your commitment, professional care and commercial contribution you; • Will be rewarded with a competitive
package • Have the opportunity to participate in
a lucrative commission scheme • Have access to a broad range
of unique benefits that only an organization like BUPA can offer.
If you are serious about eye health and making a difference then please click http://www.bupa.com.au/about-us/careers/careers or call 1300 072 311 for a confidential discussion.
4 out of 5 ophthalmic practitioners rely on Insight to keep up-to-date with the
ophthalmic professions
Revisit all the moments that have defined the ophthalmic professions and industry in the past 38 years!
This issue marks a major milestone for INSIGHT – it is the 400th issueOver 38 years we’ve seen many changes in the ophthalmic professions and industry; ophthalmic professionals’ stars rise and fade, restructuring of the industry, clinical studies that have led to revolutionised eye-care, the struggles and triumphs of eye-care practitioners, new companies emerge as leaders, existing companies merge, established companies fold, and old technologies made redundant by new technologies.
DISTRIBUTED BY HEALY OPTICAL PTY LTD
www.healyoptical.com.au
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No decision has yet been
handed down by the
Queensland Supreme Court in
the ‘standing’ determination
WA Coroner’s finding re
post-cataract death
The WA Coroner has found that
the death of a women after she
had undergone cataract surgery
was by ‘misadventure’
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$2000 CPD limit scrappedThe $2,000 limit on claims for CPD self-education is to be scrapped by the federal government
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AMA broadens attack
on OBAThe Australian Medical Association
has broadened its attack on the
Optometry Board of Australia over
treatment of ocular inflammatory
conditions
Hospitals rowA row has broken out over
claims that there is a waiting list
of up to four years for elective
eye surgery in public hospitals
$10m research pledge to SSIA patient has pledged to donate
$10 million to the Sydney-based
Save Sight Institute to support
its research
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JULY 2013
Book1-84.indb 1
13/06/13 1:31 PM
INSIGHT’S 400th Issue SpecialAfter a record 38 years and 400 issues, we’re proud that INSIGHT is the highest circulated ophthalmic publication in Australia.
To mark this milestone, INSIGHT has produced a special online 400th issue that revisits all the significant and industry changing news over the past 38 years.
Take a journey down memory lane by reliving all the industry-altering moments that have defined our professions and industry and makes it what it is today by visiting the INSIGHT website to read this special online edition.
Visit www.insightnews.com.au
INSIGHT statisticsPublished for 38 years, readers rely on INSIGHT for hard-hitting news supplying the facts that are reliable, accurate, independent and unbiased.
Ophthalmic professionals respect INSIGHT because we identify the issues that need to be covered and challenge our readers through intelligent reporting and analysis.
78% of ophthalmic practitioners rely on INSIGHT to keep up-to-date with
the ophthalmic professions.
88%INSIGHT is the most-read
ophthalmic publication with 88% of practitioners regularly reading it.
74%If ophthalmic practitioners were
to read only one publication, 74% would choose to read INSIGHT only.
85%85% of practitioners believe
INSIGHT provides balanced and independent reporting.
78%
Research conducted at ODMA2013 in Brisbane.
400th Issue dps.indd All Pages 17/01/14 11:44 AM
Revisit all the moments that have defined the ophthalmic professions and industry in the past 38 years!
This issue marks a major milestone for INSIGHT – it is the 400th issueOver 38 years we’ve seen many changes in the ophthalmic professions and industry; ophthalmic professionals’ stars rise and fade, restructuring of the industry, clinical studies that have led to revolutionised eye-care, the struggles and triumphs of eye-care practitioners, new companies emerge as leaders, existing companies merge, established companies fold, and old technologies made redundant by new technologies.
DISTRIBUTED BY HEALY OPTICAL PTY LTD
www.healyoptical.com.au
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Zeiss closing SA Rx
surfacing laboratory
Zeiss is to close its surfacing
prescription laboratory at
Lonsdale, South Australia, with
a net loss of 75 jobs
No decision by Qld
Supreme Court
No decision has yet been
handed down by the
Queensland Supreme Court in
the ‘standing’ determination
WA Coroner’s finding re
post-cataract death
The WA Coroner has found that
the death of a women after she
had undergone cataract surgery
was by ‘misadventure’
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AUSTRALIA’S LEADING OPHTHALMIC NEWSPAPER – SINCE 1975
All the ophthalmic news that matters!
02
08
16
NOVEMBER 2013
Published for 37 years!
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All the ophthalmic news that matters!
Court action is about safety: RANZCOLegal action launched by RANZCO and ASO against OBA is about patient safety: president
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03 New head for UniMel schoolAssociate Professor Allison McKendrick has been appointed head of UMel’s optometry department
29
AUSTRALIA’S LEADING OPHTHALMIC NEWSPAPER – SINCE 1975DECEMBER 2013
$2000 CPD limit scrappedThe $2,000 limit on claims for CPD self-education is to be scrapped by the federal government
InsightDecJan1-52.indb 1
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C A 6 6 0 3THE NEW CARRERA COLLECTION CAN BE DISCOVERED AT ODMA ON STAND E8
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AMA broadens attack
on OBAThe Australian Medical Association
has broadened its attack on the
Optometry Board of Australia over
treatment of ocular inflammatory
conditions
Hospitals rowA row has broken out over
claims that there is a waiting list
of up to four years for elective
eye surgery in public hospitals
$10m research pledge to SSIA patient has pledged to donate
$10 million to the Sydney-based
Save Sight Institute to support
its research
394
ISSUE
JULY
201
3
AUSTRALIA’S LEADING OPHTHALMIC NEWSPAPER – SINCE 1975
All the ophthalmic news that matters!
01
04
09
JULY 2013
Book1-84.indb 1
13/06/13 1:31 PM
INSIGHT’S 400th Issue SpecialAfter a record 38 years and 400 issues, we’re proud that INSIGHT is the highest circulated ophthalmic publication in Australia.
To mark this milestone, INSIGHT has produced a special online 400th issue that revisits all the significant and industry changing news over the past 38 years.
Take a journey down memory lane by reliving all the industry-altering moments that have defined our professions and industry and makes it what it is today by visiting the INSIGHT website to read this special online edition.
Visit www.insightnews.com.au
INSIGHT statisticsPublished for 38 years, readers rely on INSIGHT for hard-hitting news supplying the facts that are reliable, accurate, independent and unbiased.
Ophthalmic professionals respect INSIGHT because we identify the issues that need to be covered and challenge our readers through intelligent reporting and analysis.
78% of ophthalmic practitioners rely on INSIGHT to keep up-to-date with
the ophthalmic professions.
88%INSIGHT is the most-read
ophthalmic publication with 88% of practitioners regularly reading it.
74%If ophthalmic practitioners were
to read only one publication, 74% would choose to read INSIGHT only.
85%85% of practitioners believe
INSIGHT provides balanced and independent reporting.
78%
Research conducted at ODMA2013 in Brisbane.
400th Issue dps.indd All Pages 17/01/14 11:44 AM
Online
MAY 201450 www.insightnews.com.au
IT’S intriguing to hear so many whine and whinge about online dispensing, whether
it’s contact lenses or prescription glasses or sunglasses.
Most (perhaps all) of them would have bought goods online – books, DVDs, travel and accommodation, clothing, shoes, leather goods, electronic games and just about everything else that you can bring to mind.
But isn’t it odd that they don’t want anyone buying optical goods online.
“Ah, that’s different,” is the usual cry!
THE recent Optrafair London trade exhibition attracted an attendance of 4,616 visitors,
which left for dead the 3,000-plus attracted to a rival exhibition held in London a few months prior.
Given that the population of the United Kingdom is about three times that of Australia, that’s the equivalent of only about 1,538 attendees if it was ODMA’s biennial exhibition, when in fact there were 4,934 attendees in Brisbane in 2013. Game, set and match for any knockers of the ODMA exhibition.
HEALTH minister Peter ‘Plod’ Dutton is try-ing his hardest to appear on top of his ex-
tensive portfolio, but he has an annoying habit of harking back to the previous government and putting in the boot whenever he has the oppor-tunity – whenever asked in Question Time, he constantly refers to “cleaning up Labor’s mess”, or words to that effect.
He’s becoming tiresome and it adds nothing to his efforts to cope with what is a challenging portfolio.
Perhaps he should grow up a little and move on; to no longer bore everyone silly.
Fortunately for the nation, the head of the federal health bureaucracy is a tough, no-non-sense operator who would be able to run rings around her nominal boss, if required to do so.
Yes, the lady concerned has some baggage in the form of her role in ‘A Certain Maritime Incident’ – i.e. the Tampa episode that helped ‘Honest John’ Howard win the 2004 federal elec-tion. And she is said to be waiting to take over as permanent head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in the Credilin, Murdoch, Abbott government when the present head of PM&C retires.
Let’s hope she stays on at health for a good while – in the interests of ensuring there re-mains a good health system despite the efforts of knockers like Plod.
AS the federal government tries to soften up the electorate for whatever Joe (The treas-
urer who can’t count) Hockey has in store for us in the federal budget for 2014-15, health-care providers can probably relax. After all, Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the evening before the September 2013 election, said a government he headed would not touch pensions, health, edu-cation and a few other areas of concern.
But was it a case of elect me and my mates at any cost and we’ll look after you – no surprises,
honest as the day is long, blah, blah?Well, we’re dealing with a man who can be
economical with the truth when it suits him, who already thought he could get away with changing pension entitlements, until the pen-sioners made it clear that was not on, and he backed down, hastily confirming that pensions would not be touched.
However, that’s the only one of his pre-vot-ing-day, no-touch promises that he’s thought wise to confirm.
So we probably shouldn’t be surprised if Joe Hockey ignores what Tony Abbott promised and cuts into health, one way or another, with the agreement of the PM.
THE ‘Publication Whose Name We Do Not Utter’ keeps on telling porkies about its
relevance to the Australian and New Zealand ophthalmic markets, the latest being that it is a “leading communicator in every optical media in Australia and New Zealand”.
How can that be when, for example, Insight has 22 per cent more circulation than it has in Australia and when New Zealand Optics has al-most four times more circulation?
It can’t.
FIGURES just released by the Australia Bureau of Statistics show wages rose by 2.5 per cent in
the year to December 2013, while in the same pe-riod, gross corporate profits were up 9.5 per cent. So what are the captains of industry complain-ing about?
MAY 2014 51www.insightnews.com.au
THE goings on concerning federal assistant health minister Senator Fiona Nash, her
former chief of staff and of late the special min-ister of state grow murkier and murkier as time goes on.
As reported last issue, now it turns out that an outfit called the government staffing com-mittee, which vets and approves staffing ap-pointments to ministerial offices, is in it up to its neck.
That august body is chaired by social servic-es minister Kevin ‘Rug’ Andrews and includes special minister of state Michael Ronaldson, Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s chief of staff Peta Credlin and Andrew Hirst, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss’s chief of staff, David Whitrow.
And from time to time, Ms Credlin’s hus-band, Brian Loughnane sits in on its meetings.
It’s bad enough that Peta Credlin and David Whitrow are unelected public servants who can wield such power, but worse is that Brian Loughnane is not even that, being an employee (i.e. director) of the Liberal Party.
Just how is all that in the best interests of the nation?
WIDE temples on frames and sunglasses have been the rage for some years, al-
though lighter-weight, slimmer styles are now making a comeback.
The wide temples have suited some de-signers, who have loaded them up with logos, stripes, stars, stones and anything else they can think of. Some look good, others look cheap and nasty, but they sell like hot cakes; seem-ingly the more bling, the better.
One problem is that they interfere with side vision when driving, so much so that in the event of an accident, a smart lawyer might be able to successfully put up a case that wear-ing wide-temple frames contributed so much to the accident and was in fact the reason it happened.
So it could be a way to expand eyewear sales on safety grounds – one pair for ordinary wear and one for driving (probably a lightweight frame incorporating Drivewear photochromic lenses would be ideal).
Worth a try.
THE day that piles of legislation that is no longer of use to the community were to be
scrapped by the federal parliament has been and gone.
One piece of legislation that was missed is that
enforcinging the Therapeutic Goods Authority’s insistence that new products and procedures be trialled here before being released onto the mar-ket, despite similar trialling having been satisfac-torily carried out in overseas markets.
Countries such as the United States and Japan have Food and Drug Administrations that handle new products and are renown for being tough on companies. The TGA (the equivalent of the FDAs) insists on local trials as well, causing huge collec-tive expense for drug and medical-equipment companies for what is largely duplication.
Wasteful, to put it mildly, with the consumer eventually ending up paying for it all.
JUST what is it about the word ‘optician’ that bamboozles many, using it when the words
‘optical dispenser’ are the correct ones to use to describe what they are.
The latest offender is one of the larger drug companies, which should know better. It offers its products to ‘opticians’ as if they are different to ‘optometrists’, which they aren’t in jurisdictions, particularly New South Wales.
Perhaps it’s all to do with the dog-in-the-manger attitude of the leaders of optometry in NSW, who simply won’t let go of the exclusive use of ‘optician’ granted to optometrists under the former Optometrists Act 1930 even though it’s hardly, if ever, used today. Members of the Australian Dispensing Opticians Association for years have pined to use ‘optician’, as is the case all over the world, but NSW OAA has successfully fought that off.
Until the late 1970s, optometrists in NSW (and other jurisdictions) used both ‘optometrist’ and ‘optician’ titles as fits-alls to cover any likely incursions by those who are now called ‘optical dispensers’, particularly OPSM when it was a dis-pensing company in bed with ophthalmologists versus now being one of the two biggest employ-ers of optometrists nationwide.
But use of such dual-titles has now almost died off completely, as hardly anybody regards optometrists as ‘opticians’, particularly optom-etrists themselves.
Maybe the offending drug company could lead a push for a more-descriptive name for op-tical dispensers. Then its offerings would make more sense.
DID you know that by 2040 there will be 55,000 Australians who are over 100,
and 5000 of them will be 110. The largest seg-ment of our population will be those between 85 and 100. More immediately, the number
of 65-year-olds will double within the next decade.
Based on the above facts and figures and other demographics, the outlook for optical re-tailing in total has to be positive, however just who gets the benefits will have to be decided on a practice-to-practice basis, sort of like house-to- house fighting in wartime.
I’VE just read an earnest (and serious) pro-posal by a group of no-doubt-well-meaning
optometrists in England who are concerned about marketing activities by what they call ‘scandalous behavior’ by ‘the chains’, such as offers of ‘free sight tests’, ‘free glasses’, ‘free con-tact lenses’ and so on, while claiming the full tax-payer-funded fee for a sight test.
They propose that those who make such of-fers in their advertising should not be able to claim one penny more for their sight-testing than their advertised lowest price – i.e. in many instances nothing.
The sad part of it all is that, crazy and unre-alistic as it is, they expect their proposal to be taken seriously.
If that’s what the supposed ‘thinkers’ can come up with, it’s little wonder that ‘the chains’ are doing so well over there.
THE various chat-lines for optometrists and optical dispensers from time to time
become alive with discussion on the pros and cons of doing adjustments of frames bought at other practices or bought online.
There’s talk of legal aspects (onerous) ver-sus risk (always present) versus creating good-will (desirable) versus practice-building (also desirable).
The reality is that consumers/clients/pa-tients are now largely accustomed to no-charge adjustments. Isn’t it too late now try to charge for them for the privilege?
Yes, most likely.And the same most likely also applies to
charging for measuring PDs, axes, etc.
DID you know that disputes between cus-tomers and banks have fallen for the first
time since the global financial crisis?According to the Financial Ombudsman,
the number of disputes fell 11 per cent dur-ing 2012-13, backing a steady downward trend since 2008-09.
Very impressive?Not when you consider the number of dis-
putes – 32,307 for the year!
