UV Protection Drive Moves Ahead

The Vision Care Institute, a Johnson & Johnson Co., has released a UV Protection App that reportedly will help eye care professionals educate patients about the causes and effects of UV exposure and steps they can take to help protect their eyes. Australians have been using a similar app call SunSmart for years. Meanwhile the Vision Council and the AAO are pushing the need for UV protection on the consumer level. “Less than half of parents enforce sunglass use for their children, according to recent surveys by the Vision Council, a trade group, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology,” goes an excellent story in the Wall Street Journal about UV protection and dangers. “Years of overexposure can lead to cancer of the eye or eyelid. It has also been linked to an increased risk later in life for cataracts, a clouding of the lens of the eye, and macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in adults. About half of Americans have lighter colored eyes that make them more susceptible to UV-related damage.” Read more or print out for your patients.

VCI's Grading Scale App and Its Guide

Colleen Jones, director of the Vision Care Institute, sent an email to many ECPs with great news: the available of VCI's Clinical Grading Scales App and its guide. She explained: "Adapted from the Efron Grading Scales, this free, interactive and easy-to-use app can be downloaded via the Apple App Store for use on an iPhone."

VCI also has provided a guide for using the app. It "provides straightforward instructions for using the app to grade a condition, perform side-by-side comparisons, generate reports, and leverage valuable resources to excel in techniques and continue to refresh and expand your clinical knowledge. The guide can also be downloaded from our website. Click here to download the manual from...[VCI's] website."

If you are not familiar with the institute's app, here's what it can do, as noted by the VCI director:

• "Evaluate nine common eye conditions that lessen and increase with real-time morphing animation of severity levels.
• "Evaluate the progression of complications by comparing severity levels in 0.1 increments side-by-side.
• "Demonstrate clinical assessment to patients.
• "Export (print or email) a clinical assessment report for each patient record and/or patient education without collecting or releasing personal data.
• "View a comprehensive assessment guide including slit lamp illumination techniques, corneal inflammation vs. infection, signs of oxygen deficiency, staining and lid assessments and more...

"We believe this tool will be a valuable asset to your practice, aiding the delivery of efficient, high quality care to help patients maintain healthy contact lens wear. We would like to thank Nathan Efron for use of the grading scales and his partnership in this effort to assist eye care professionals.

"Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact The Vision Care Institute, LLC, at theinstitute@vcius.jnj.com or (800) 874-6690."