While most people differentiate the eastern European region by political, socioeconomic, and geographical aspects, optometrists differentiate the highly industrialized countries of Europe by the leading causes of vision loss in children and adults.

According to the British Journal of Ophthalmology, the leading causes of childhood vision loss in the eastern European region are “lesions of the central nervous system, congenital anomalies and retinal disorders.” The leading causes among adults in these countries, however, are age-related macular degeneration, cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and uncorrected or uncorrectable refractive errors and low vision in general. Working age individuals are commonly diagnosed with similar conditions, as well as optic atrophy. In middle income countries, the leading causes of vision loss are reported to be congenital cataract, advanced cataract, glaucoma, retinopathy of prematurity and diabetic retinopathy.

The article further notes that as many of these causes of partial and/or total vision loss are preventable, European countries will have to increase their public health efforts to be able to effectively combat vision loss. The five eye health issues that healthcare professionals need to focus on were identified as cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, retinopathy of prematurity and low vision and refraction. However, most of these …

Do any of your patients seem flustered when entering the exam room? If so, it might be because they are experiencing one or more of the common causes of dissatisfaction as identified by a Consumer Reports survey and a report featured on ABC News.

The Consumer Reports survey was cited to reveal the following as the things patients dislike most about visiting the doctor:

24% of patients surveyed said the amount of time spent in the waiting was most annoying, with almost one in four patients revealing that they waited no less than 30 minutes; ABC News shared that patients often feel the doctors think their time is more valuable than the patients’. 19% said they couldn’t schedule an appointment within a week. 9% felt that their doctors didn’t spend enough time with them. In relation to this, ABC News reported that many patients feel their doctors aren’t really listening to them in the time they do spend with their patients. 7% responded that test results were not provided in a timely manner. And 6% of the respondents felt phone calls were not responded to promptly.

While it may not be easy to hear some of this not-so-positive feedback, it …

First impressions are extremely important when it comes to a patient’s experience at a doctor’s office, and that experience begins in the waiting room. Some patients may feel a bit anxious about their appointment, and the time they spend in the waiting room can have an effect on whether or not their nerves are eased. Still others see the wait as an annoyance.

Taking some time to consider how your waiting room currently affects the patient experience can reveal ways to improve the space, and in turn make the patient’s visit more positive. A Spanish design consultancy, Fuelfor, conducted a case study called “Rethink the waiting room,” which pointed out six ways a waiting room can be improved for a better patient experience. Here are some of the ideas we found most impactful.

Greet patients with signs that offer a warm welcome. Fuelfor recommends injecting your signage with personality by introducing the doctors in the office that day with their name and photo, and other information like suggestions of activities that cater to a healthy lifestyle.

Create a comfortable environment by providing patients with thoughtfully-chosen seating. Also, consider decorating with planters and adding acoustic separators for patient privacy. …

We believe that everyone should have access to doctors and eye exams in order to maintain healthy vision and prevent blindness. Sadly, there are many locations around the world where vision disorders and blindness are a huge problem among the population and the ability to receive proper treatment is not always an option.

As part of our commitment to help create and maintain strong, healthy communities, Optos is proud to support organizations that provide medical assistance to some of the most under-served populations around the world. One such organization is the Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP).

The HCP was founded in 1995 by Drs. Sanduk Ruit and Geoff Tabin, a pair of ophthalmologists that shared an ambition to eliminate as much unnecessary blindness as they could during their lifetimes. The organization is rooted in the Tilganga Eye Centre in Kathmandu, Nepal – the first outpatient cataract surgery facility of its kind in the Himalayan region. The Himalayan region, as Dr. Tabin says, is an area where blindness has long been viewed as a death sentence: “People long thought that as you grow old, your hair turns white, your eyes turn white and you die.”

Drs. Tabin and Ruit …

We’re all familiar with the saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” and how a balanced diet is essential for one’s health. But can certain foods actually help save the vision of your patients?

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) conducted over a decade ago revealed that there are nutritional supplements that can minimize the risk of AMD. The AREDS2 preliminary findings also reveal that lifestyle adjustments and nutritional supplements can help reduce one’s risk for AMD.

As Robert Able Jr., MD, shared with Ophthalmology Management, most treatments for age-related eye diseases can be quite expensive, but these procedures can be prevented if ocular nutrition is taken seriously and patients start adding the right foods and supplements to their diet.

So which foods and supplements might be able to help save the vision of your patients dealing with age-related eye problems? Below are a few recommendations.

Fish, spinach, kale, turnip greens, corn, squash, and pumpkins that are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin are helpful for patients who have cataracts, category 3 or 4 AMD, or a family history of AMD. Lutein and zeaxanthin help decrease the risk of damage to the inner eye caused …

Do you find reducing patient anxiety to be your biggest challenge some days? According to Optometry Today, a study of 366 patients once revealed that practitioners “cannot assume that anxiety is reserved for one ‘type’ of patient,” but rather those patients that fall into a certain classification, such as high anxiety personality types, patients expecting to receive some bad news, and those who currently don’t wear glasses or contact lenses.

Anxiety can make an eye exam uncomfortable and very stressful for your patients. Optometry Today further notes that there is a distinct tie between patient anxiety and lower levels of satisfaction after their exam, which is why you should not only take the time to learn what makes patients feel anxious, but also learn how you can effectively use strategies to decrease anxiety. Below are a few suggestions outlined by Optometry Today:

Identify the Source of Anxiety – Talk with patients before the exam to see if they feel nervous about any aspect of it and then modify routines as needed to help reduce anxiety.

Be a Good Communicator – Practitioners should communicate in a way that’s easy for the patients to understand, such as putting their condition …

Computers and smart devices are a constant part of our daily lives. They offer a convenient way to stay connected with the happenings of the world, but too much screen time could be harming your patients’ eyes.

People who spend extended periods of time working at a computer usually experience several physical aches associated with hours of computer use. However, the American Optometric Association shares that the most prevalent issues of patients who spend long periods of time at a computer include eye-strain, blurred vision, and other computer vision syndrome symptoms.

As vision problems are the most commonly reported symptoms of computer vision syndrome, it’s important to encourage all patients, but especially those who work with computers for many hours a day, to adopt better computer use and eye care habits, such as the following:

Blinking regularly to wash the eyes with natural tears and using artificial tears as needed.

Incorporating the 20-20-20 rule into their daily routines – Take a 20 second break every20 minutes to look at something that’s 20 feet or further away.

Remind them of proper workstation setup, which will help ease vision issues as well as other physical pain sitting …

The first retinal implant has recently been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As reported by Reuters, this device will help replicate some of the functions of the retina that have been destroyed by retinitis pigmentosa.

The implant, called the Argus II, is composed of a special pair of glasses with a video camera and video processing unit, as well as a wireless receiver that is implanted in the eye. The entire device mimics the retinal functions that process what we see and relay it to the optic nerve. While the implant doesn’t provide total vision restoration, it can help patients with everyday activities like recognizing large letters or shapes.

The Argus II was first approved for use in Europe in 2011. Since the beginning of a clinical trial in 2007, the device has been implanted in 30 patients. Mark Humayun of the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering shared with Reuters “In the patients that have been implanted to date, the improvement in the quality of life has been invaluable.”

The news that this retinal implant has been approved by the FDA is certainly …

Blurred vision in one or both eyes can be a sign of a simple change in vision or something much more serious, especially when it occurs suddenly and persists for a few days. A 36-year-old new patient of Dr. Paula Koch, OD, noticed a “blob-like, blurry-ness” in his left eye and knew a visit to the eye doctor was necessary to get to the bottom of the issue.

While the patient’s medical history was unremarkable, his ocular history included a high keratoconic prescription, partial albinism, and amblyopia. Based on his ocular history and current symptoms, Dr. Koch recommended an optomap exam. The patient agreed to the exam, which revealed a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment spanning the 11-to 7-o’clock region of the nasal retina OS, as well as a small tear at 9 o’clock and some chorioretinal scarring in the far periphery and Weiss’ ring inferior to the disc. Because of the patient’s partial albinism and other unusual aspects of the optomap’s finding, including the blister-like appearance of the detachment, Dr. Koch referred the patient to a retinal specialist within 20 minutes of the optomap exam.

The retinal specialist performed a pneumatic retinopexy, which was unsuccessful and lead to a …

When you’re driving to a place you’ve never visited before, a map is a helpful tool that can aid you finding the place you need to be. A street view provides you with an up-close look at where you’re going, but it may cut off certain signs or landmarks you’ll need to look for. A wider view of a map shows you more of what you need to see in order to arrive at your destination with ease.

Similar things can be said for an eye exam. In a standard eye exam, conventional equipment limits you to a 45-degree field of view of the retina, showing very small portions of the retina at a time. With such limitations, there is a good possibility that signs or symptoms of an eye or systemic disease are left out of your field of view.

Ultra-widefield retinal imagining provides you with a more complete picture of your patient’s eyes. Optos’ ultra-widefield technology allows you to see up to 200 degrees of the retina in just one capture. With a wider field of view, you have a better opportunity to detect issues like retinal detachment or tears you might have otherwise missed.

The images …