It’s easy to become so immersed in your own profession and consumed with managing patient relationships, staff and running the business, that there’s little time left to ‘think’ much less ‘think outside the square’ or work ‘on’ the business.
It makes for interesting reading, particularly when you couple this article with a perspective from optometrist Ed Kosmak who gives a first hand account of his experiences partnering with health funds, all for the benefit in his case, he discovered, of the funds.
One industry partnership that does appear to be gaining ground among independents is the Optical Alliance. You might wonder how, given there are already several professional networks in existence for independent practitioners, there could be the appetite for another. However, this group is heading for a membership base of 100 eye care practices after just seven months.
Speaking of networks, in the past couple of months West Australia and Tasmania have welcomed eye care professionals from around Australia and beyond to their annual conferences. We caught up with speakers from WAVE 2013 and asked about their key presentations, and Andrew Hogan reviewed the educational and social programs that engaged so many at the ninth Tasmanian Lifestyle Conference.
As you’d expect we have our own educational article as well, this issue on diagnosing the Meibomian gland dysfunction, believed to be one of the leading factors behind dry eye. With dry eye affecting the quality of life for more than four million people in Australia alone, this is definitely a CPD article to
get your head around.
We also highlight the growing concern about the effect on the macula of blue light from LED screens used to illuminate televisions, smartphones and computers.
And we chat with Damien King – an ultra-marathon runner who was so inspired by the work of Cambodia Vision that he ran 1,000km from Brisbane to Sydney to raise funds for this not-for-profit’s incredible work. Damien knows there’s little he can to do to physically assist the team that travels to Cambodia at their own cost each year to perform cataract surgery, but impressively, he thought outside the square to raise an incredible AU$50,000 for the cause. You can read about Damien’s travels, and so much more, including the latest results from the AREDS2 study, in this edition of mivision.
Enjoy
Mark Cushway
Editor
