NJ ODs Step Closer to Avoid Vision Care Contracts

“A bill sponsored by Assembly Republicans Dave Rible and Anthony M. Bucco was approved today by the General Assembly that provides vision patients more freedom to choose the in-network eye doctor of their choice. The bill, A-1035, prohibits health insurance carriers from requiring optometrists to accept a vision care plan contract before becoming part of their network…,” according to PolitickerNJ. “Currently, health insurance carriers may require optometrists to accept a contract with a Vision Care Plan as a condition for participation in the carrier’s provider networks for the provision of medically necessary physician services.” Read more.

British Courts Fine Man after Row with OD about CLs

“A dad has been fined in court after shouting abuse at Vision Express staff in a row over contact lenses,” according to a post from the Warrington Guardian. “Barry Dilworth, of Brambling Way, Lowton, screamed at an optometrist at the store in Golden Square as he was unhappy at the service. The 52-year-old then burst into a consultation room to confront the optometrist, who had gone to see another customer, and demanded an apology.” Read more.

Poser OD Closes Shop in NY

"A Tonawanda man has been sentenced for running an unlicensed optometrist practice near Rochester," according to WIVB. "Shamil Tadros, 45, attended optometry school but [reportedly] did not pass state exams. He was operating the practice from his store, Pittsford Optical in Pittsford, NY, which is outside of Rochester, when he was caught. Tadros was given a conditional discharge Monday on the conditions he pay back $116,821 in criminal restitution, complete 150 hours of community service, and consent to random practice checks of his optical shop." Read more.

Meeting Mandela at the ODs

“I was sitting at the Optometrist waiting for my first pair of glasses and the receptionist said if you wait around a bit longer you will meet the president,” according to News24 based in Capetown, South Africa. “I stupidly said ‘which President.’ Of course she looked at me in horror and said ‘Nelson Mandela who else?’ I was so embarrassed. Never the less I hung around and low and behold a bunch of body guards walked in followed by our president. He chose to sit right next to me and he took my hand and asked me what my name was, what I did, how old I was and general chit-chat.” Read more.

Cloud-Based Fundus Photographs

“A new tool for ophthalmologists and optometrists is now available online, making it easier to monitor changes in the eye,” according to MedGadget. “EyeIC has released a cloud-based application that allows to easily compare fundus photographs taken at different times of the same patient, or across patients.” Read more.

OD Must Register as a Sex Offender

"Diego Posada, the former Walmart eye doctor accused of molesting children in his office, has been sentenced in a plea deal that avoids a trial on felony charges that could have stripped him of his professional license," according to 9News. "District Court Judge John E. Popovich, Jr sentenced Posada to one year in the Adams County Jail, the maximum for a Class 2 misdemeanor. Posada will be required to register as a sex offender." Read more.

Eye Doc Must Face Sex Assault Charge

"A judge has denied a former Mankato Clinic eye doctor’s request to have two of six criminal sexual conduct charges against him dismissed for a lack of evidence," reports the Mankato (Minnesota) Free Press. "District Court Judge Bradley Walker’s written ruling said the fact Todd Gavin didn’t have an assistant with him when he examined two women was a key point. Doing so is required by Mankato Clinic policies. The motion only dealt with charges stemming from one of the victims, a woman who had been referred to Gavin to have an eye checked after she was treated for shingles by two other doctors. Gavin had her strip from the waist up, which she did, explaining he was checking for shingles. He also asked her to strip from the waist down, but she refused and told him she no longer had shingles below her waist. The victim reported Gavin then pulled the back of her pants back and looked down at her buttocks." Read more.

OD Crashes into Lumberyard

"The 71-year-old Conway optometrist whose vintage airplane crashed in a local lumberyard was listed in fair condition in a Maine hospital Monday and is expected to recover from his injuries, authorities said," according to the Union Leader. "Dr. Gary Cole of Soaring Heights Aviation Community was flown by helicopter from the Freedom Woodyard shortly after 1:30 p.m. Sunday to Maine Medical Center, Freedom Police Chief Josh Shackford said." Read more.

Professor Named Most Influential Optometrist

The University of Houston awarded Professor Brien Holden its honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. The Australian professor has been at the forefront of vision correction research for more than four decades, has been called “the most influential optometrist of our generation. ” Holden’s research focus has been in the area of vision correction and ocular health, in particular with contact lenses, spectacles and surgery. He has been a driving force behind the development of a number of lens products--most notably, the third generation of soft contact lenses to correct astigmatism and the highly oxygen permeable silicone hydrogel lenses.

His humanitarian efforts have helped to create organizations that build sustainable eye care systems in developing communities, including the International Centre for Eyecare Education, where he serves as CEO, and Optometry Giving Sight, of which he is executive chair. Under his direction, the Brien Holden Vision Institute was a founding partner and continues to be a major contributor to these organizations.

OD Suspended for Unwanted Advances

"An optometrist  who [reportedly] had sex with a patient on the floor of his clinic during business hours has been suspended by health authorities," according to a post on The Hepburn Advocate. "David John Ford, a partner at the Eyecare Plus clinic in Grafton on the north coast, has been prevented from practising for two months by the Optometry Tribunal of NSW, which found his conduct 'unethical and improper.' A complaint was brought against Mr Ford by a female patient after he ended a year-long affair to reconcile with his wife. The woman withdrew her complaint but the Health Care Complaints Commission believed her accusations to be serious enough to warrant an investigation." Read more.

A Few Words from John Lennon's OD

"I was John Lennon’s optometrist for the last four years of his life, when he and Yoko lived on the Upper West Side of New York City. Thirty years later, patients are still asking what he was like. Here are some of my memories." That's the intriguing start of a post by Gary Tracy, OD, for MidwestLens. Read more.

ODs Helping Mississippi's Babies

Mississippi optometrists will offer appointments throughout the year to no-cost, comprehensive eye and vision assessments for infants between six to 12 months of age through InfantSEE, according to a press release. To call attention to and emphasize the importance of this effort, Governor Haley Barbour has proclaimed September 24 through October 1, 2011 InfantSEE Week in Mississippi. InfantSEE, an ongoing public health program developed by Optometry Cares - The AOA Foundation and Vistakon, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., was designed to provide professional eye care for infants nationwide at no-cost, regardless of family income or number of eligible children.  Read more.

ODs Marketing Practice Through Facebook

Doctors Vision Center recently launched its new customized Facebook page which features the introduction of the Digital Eye Doctor program or what is being referred to as the “Digital Doc.” Th program allows individuals and families easy access for answers on eye care, eye disease and other vision related topics by simply posting questions directly on Facebook. The questions are reviewed within 24 hours of being posted and answered by a North Carolina licensed doctor of optometry who practices at Doctors Vision Center, according to the center's press release. Read more.

Hoosier ODs Protest Medicaid Cuts

"Indiana eye care professionals are worried Medicaid cuts by the state could have a negative impact on the health of Hoosiers and end up costing taxpayers more in the long run," goes the post on TheIndyChannel. "Beginning in July, the state implemented a 5 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursement for eye care and vision wear provided by optometrists." Read more.


This increasingly is occurring across the United States as more legislatures grapple with budget deficits and an electorate reluctant to raise taxes.

Private Practice ODs Best Paid

"The recently released 2010 Census of Optometric Practice Income from Optometry report, conducted by the American Optometric Association, showed an average net income of $130,856 for the primary practice of optometry in 2009," according to a post on the PConSuperSite.

How Much Training Do ODs Need to Do What MDs Do?

"Doctors on Thursday debated the amount of training needed for optometrists to perform some minor eye surgeries allowed under legislation approved in February by the Kentucky General Assembly," according to a post on NKY.Cincinnati. "Senate Bill 110 raised eyebrows for the short time it took both chambers to pass the bill - 10 days - and the Kentucky Optometric Association's political action committee giving more than $400,000 in campaign contributions to lawmakers and the gubernatorial campaigns of Gov. Steve Beshear and Senate President David Williams in the past two years. The bill will allow optometrists to do some procedures previously reserved only for ophthalmologists. Kentucky becomes the second state to allow optometrists to perform these types of surgeries, behind Oklahoma." Read more.

OD Creates Gold and DIamond CL--Why?

"An Indian optometrist has created the world's first contact lenses to be embedded with diamonds and gold," writes Wired.Co.Uk. "The lenses are on sale now for INR 700,000 (£9,736) per pair, creator Chandrashekhar Chawan has confirmed to Wired.co.uk. They are part of the company's La SER Jewelry range and will be available in four designs: 18 diamonds on white gold, 18 diamonds on yellow gold, just white gold and yellow gold." Read more.

Brit OD Saves Woman's Sight

"When Patricia Thompson visited Michael James Opticians...she had been suffering from a tingling sensation down the side of her face and that her left eye ‘felt like it was bulging’. Her vision was also affected," according to a post on GooleCourier. "Garrey Haase - a professional optometrist ... - used advanced Ocular Coherence Tomography (OCT) screening equipment to take a series of 3D images of Patricia’s eyes. He explained: 'The images of the back of Patricia’s eyes were very clear and I was able to confirm that there was a swelling of the optic nerve. I telephoned the eye department at Hull Royal Infirmary and arranged for Patricia to go there straight away with copies of the images that we’d taken.'” Read more.