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U.S. House Approves
AOA-backed Vision Care
for Kids Act; Now on to the Senate
On March 31st, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 404-17 to approve the AOA-backed Vision Care for Kids Act (HR 577), a bill to establish a Federal grant program to
bolster state children's vision initiatives. Please thank your congressman for the swift
action on HR 577.
Please urge your senators to co-sponsor S. 259, the Senate version of the Vision Care for Kids Act
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Provisions of the “Stimulus” Bill
After changes backed by AOA were added to the economic recovery “stimulus” bill’s
health information technology (HIT) provisions, optometrists were included in physician
and hospital incentive payment programs, totaling $19 billion, to expand use of electronic
health records (EHR). Beginning in 2011, physicians “including optometrists“ will be
eligible for incentive payments through Medicare totaling more than $40,000 for meeting
EHR standards to be developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Scientists Awarded Grant for Eye Injury
Research
Ocular wounds have become among the most common and
devastating form of battlefield injury. An estimated 10 to 13 percent
of wounded Iraq war veterans have sustained direct and penetrating
eye damage. Recently, Peter Reinach, Ph.D., Distinguished
Teaching Professor at the SUNY College of Optometry, and Maj.
Jose Capo-Aponte, O.D., Ph.D., Adjunct Research Associate, received a one-year,
$235,000 grant from the US Department of Defense to identify novel strategies to reduce
ocular injury-induced persistent and severe corneal inflammation and restore tissue
transparency.
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 Freckles, Moles May Indicate Risk for Eye Cancer
Eating Too Much Red Meat Can Raise the Risk of Blindness
Eye Care Checkups Ties to Insurance Status
Action Video Games Sharpen Eyesight
FTC ‘RED FLAGS’ RULE
The Federal Trade Commission recently rejected requests from physician associations to
not subject physician practices to the “Red Flags” rule, which requires creditors to
establish programs to prevent and detect identity theft. The FTC continues to maintain
that doctors are “creditors” subject to the rule because they received payment for services
after the services are provided... 
BE ONE GET ONE! SPECIAL MEMBER INCENTIVE PROGRAM
This year the AOA has developed the Drive for 65 Program to help grow our national
membership to 65% of all optometrists. You will receive a $50 American Express gift
card for each new member that you recruit to join the NYSOA 'til June 2009..
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Looking for an eye doctor?
Trying to find an eye doctor in your area? Look through our list of member optometrists. |
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Message From The President - Dr. Fran Reinstein
It finally feels like spring time in New York. My
family spent the entire day outside riding bikes, throwing
baseballs, rollerblading and playing basketball. I am
exhausted. Tomorrow I get to start cooking for all of the
upcoming holidays. I am hoping that everyone takes time
to forget about their financial woes to “smell the flowers”.
Between the awful economy and the awful weather, the
overall mood around town has been fairly grim. A few
nice days may bring about some hope for the future.
I am going to repeat some of my newsletter from last month. The hot topic is still Board
Certification. I urge all of our dues paying members to attend the House of Delegates
meeting on May 31 at the college. The main topic for discussion will be Board
Certification. Everyone who attends can have a say and will certainly leave with a better
understanding of the impending process...
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 7:00 P.M.
Jessica O. Yu O.D.
Ralph Gundel O.D.
Use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Agents in the Pain Management of Keratoconus
Business Meeting
Meeting Place:
State College of Optometry
33 West 42 Street, New York
Buffet Sponsored by
Bausch & Lomb
In this month's meeting:
Until recently, keratoconus has been defined as a non-inflammatory condition. There
have been several recent publications, however, which report an increased presence of
inflammatory markers in the pre-corneal tear film of keratoconic patients. In an in-depth
analysis of the nature of the discomfort and pain usually associated with keratoconus, a
pilot study was conducted to determine the efficacy of ketorolac tromethamine 0.4% in
conjunction with the use of rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses. Symptomatic
subjects were sought out from non-symptomatic keratoconics through feedback from a
questionnaire. Subjects were treated on the basis of each eye separately in a modified
monocular trial, with a placebo control. Any potential side effects and complications of
such an application were examined, as well as any noted differences in contact lens
wearing time.
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