Optometric Management Special Edition

2015

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42 S P E C I A L E D I T I O N 2 0 1 5 • O P T O M E T R I C M A N A G E M E N T . C O M CLINICAL DIVERSIF Y YOUR PORTFOLIO W ITHOUT THE g a me - c h a n g i n g innovations in eye care tech- nology that has been developed throughout the years, we wouldn't be able to diversify our practices to provide a range of life-changing products and services to our patients. Tis means many of our dry eye disease patients would remain undiag- nosed and, more importantly, go un- treated; many of our ocular disease patients would be blind, losing their ability to live independently; and those patients who desire contact lens wear would have no choice but to remain in spectacles. Let's look at this from the perspec- tive of a retinal disease patient. PHARMACOLOGY Without diagnostic agents, it would be much more difcult, if not impossible, to provide top-notch retinal care. Further, without the use of sight- saving medications, there would be no way for optometrists to treat such conditions as cystoid macular edema, among others that respond well to topical NSAIDS and steroids. DIAGNOSTIC TECHNOLOGY Without OCT, we would not be able to detect retinal disease early, giving our patients an excellent chance of maintaining their vision. Think about it. In addition, this device enables us to see patholog y that we did not even know existed. A great example of this is vitreomacu- lar traction (VMT). Although we may not be able to "treat" VMT, it is nonetheless important to identif y in order to properly edu- cate patients and possibly save on glasses remakes. Without digitally created diag- nostic lenses, we would still have to sacrifice some magnification to get the desired field of view. PATIENT EDUCATION Another great byproduct of OCT is patient education. VMT, for ex- ample, is not easy to describe to patients who don't have a back- ground in science, and attempting to explain it can take up a lot of time. But show them a clinical photo of it vs. a normal retina, and they'll understand within a minute why their vision can't be corrected with a new pair of glasses. THE OUTCOME With evolving innovations in eye care, we are not only able to further our oferings to our patients, but also improve how patients perceive our profession. It's truly a win-win. As we move forward, there are likely to be advances in treatment options that hopefully will be a part of furthering this improvement of care. OM JEFFRY D. GERSON, O.D., F.A.A.O. practices at Grin Eyecare in Olathe, Kan., a full-scope com- bined O.D./M.D. practice. Email him at jgerson@hotmail.com or visit tinyurl.com/ OMcomment to comment on this article. A valuable visual aid: Clinical images obtained via newer technologies, such as OCT, can be a great patient education tool, helping them to better understand their test results. EVOLVING INNOVATIONS WHERE WOULD OUR PATIENTS BE WITHOUT THEM?

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