April 26, 2017
Gary Gerber, OD, believes that myopia control is the next big challenge and opportunity for ODs. Create a specialty that allows you to “put a stake in the ground” in halting the progression, and even, eliminating myopia in pediatric patients. The tools available to you include rigid overnight contacts, soft custom multi-focal contacts and Atropine eye drops.
Capture Opportunities in Myopia Control |
Myopia Control: Providing Better Vision for Life |
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A GROWING OPPORTUNITY. Twenty-five percent of children in the U.S. are currently myopic. By 2050, the Brien Holden Vision Institute estimates that half the world will be myopic. PRIORITIZE MYOPIA CONTROL. Make a commitment to stop, or even reverse, the progression of myopia in children patients. OPTIMIZE TREATMENTS. The treatment tools available include overnight rigid contact lenses, soft, custom multi-focal contact lenses and Atropine eye drops. DEVOTE CHAIR TIME. Anticipate significant time needed to answer parents’ many questions, and to conduct needed tests and measurements on antsy children.
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MAKE LIFE-LONG IMPACT. Stopping myopia progression in children means lessening the chances of the child developing conditions like retinal detachments and glaucoma as an adult. SHARE DATA. As more ODs specialize in myopia control, data can be shared via online, cloud-based databases, so you can more easily see the best treatment plan for each child. MAKE IT A GLOBAL EFFORT. As myopia is better controlled in children in the U.S., the data can be used to help children in other parts of the world, like Asia, where myopia is even more prevalent than in the U.S.
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Gary Gerber, OD, is Chief Myopia Reduction Officer for Treehouse Eyes. He also is the founder of The Power Practice and hosts the weekly radio show The Power Hour. Contact: DrGerber@PowerPractice.com
