Partner or perish. This could be a motto for all of us – with a shared vision we can achieve much more by working together than we can by working alone.
When I spoke with Professor Kovin Naidoo, CEO of Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI) for this month’s lead
story, I was impressed by his desire and determination to work with partners in an effort to overcome preventable vision loss and blindness. Impressed but not surprised – he is, after all, a former activist who campaigned for equality during Africa’s apartheid era.
Prof. Naidoo told me about the Institute’s new strategy to encourage individuals and organisations to bring their intellectual property (IP) to BHVI for assistance with research, development and commercialisation. Recognising its own scarcity of resources, the Institute is also sharing its IP with Australian and
international organisations in an effort to get its own products to market faster.
The end goal is to commercialise products sooner for the broader good of global eye health: consumers will benefit from the latest technology in eye health, corporates and individuals will see their concepts
come to fruition (and hopefully profit), and BHVI hopes to survive and thrive thanks to multiple revenue streams. BHVI profiles are invested back into multi-pronged campaigns involving education, advocacy and public health aimed at overcoming preventable vision loss and blindness. Full circle.
My discussion with Prof. Naidoo was fascinating, I hope you enjoy reading the article.
This year National Diabetes Awareness Week runs from 10–16 July. We know diabetes is a significant medical problem and its prevalence is on the rise. What many members of the general public
don’t realise is just how destructive this disease can be. In this issue, NZ optometrist Ryan O’Connor writes about the use of diet to control Type 2 diabetes, and specifically about a diet promoted by Professor Grant Schofield, who recommends tipping the whole low fat food paradigm upside down and instead adopting a low carb, healthy fat diet.
As guest editor of our ophthalmology column, Dr. Smita Agarwal continues the discussion with an article about ocular complications associated with diabetes, paying particular attention to its association with cataracts. Of course the most common and potentially blinding complication of diabetes is diabetic
retinopathy. This is the leading cause of blindness in working age Australians, making National Diabetes Awareness Week the perfect time to educate your diabetic patients about the need for regular eye checks, especially if they show any signs of diabetic eye disease.
Consumer privacy has been in the spotlight recently, especially following the global Wanna Cry ransomware
attack. Our education article will draw your attention to the importance of safe guarding your patient records. Written by Oculo CEO Dr. Kate Taylor, in collaboration with lawyer Alison Choy Flannigan, this is a must read to ensure your practice is legally compliant.
Our second education article, written by Dr. Colin Chan, explores some of the reasons behind why dry eye treatments might be failing your patients.
ODMA17 takes place from 7–9 July, back in Sydney for the first since 2011. In this issue we preview some of the frames and lenses you can expect to see there. We also profile Safilo, an Italian eyewear company
with a heritage dating back to 1878!
As always, it’s a packed issue.
Melanie Kell
Editor
