The World Council of Optometry (WCO) Myopia Management Navigator has now been available to optometrists around the globe for over a year, with several hundred practitioners in Australia and New Zealand embracing this valuable resource.
Australia and New Zealand are particularly well-positioned to benefit from the navigator, as practitioners have access to all myopia control options including MiSight, Stellest, orthokeratology products, various concentrations of atropine, and even red light therapy. However, not all practitioners are experienced in myopia management.
Developed with support from CooperVision, the navigator serves as a comprehensive tool for practitioners who are new to myopia management or lack confidence in this area.
The browser-based tool is free and regularly updated with the latest evidence-based information.
The navigator is designed for practitioners who are getting into myopia management and don’t know where to start or what to do.
Breaking Down Barriers
“The navigator is designed for practitioners who are getting into myopia management and don’t know where to start or what to do,” explained Jagrut Lallu, a New Zealand-based optometrist, and the Asia Pacific Myopia Navigator Ambassador for the WCO Myopia Navigator.
“What it actually does is provide an excellent summarised resource that walks people through the tool, step by step, from measurement, mitigation, and management. It helps the practitioner and the patient understand what the problem is, what we need to do about it, and importantly, what the options are.”
As well as providing support for those new to myopia management, Mr Lallu said the tool is particularly valuable for locum optometrists or those who haven’t had time to produce their own resources on the topic.
Patient Communication Tool
As well as supporting clinical decision making, the navigator is intended to be used as a communication tool, in consultation with patients.
“Myopia is a topic that takes more than the last two minutes of a patient exam to discuss. So ideally, an optometrist will ask the patient to come back to spend a quarter of an hour going through how we treat and manage myopia.
“We can point the patient to the website to review in the meantime, and then work through the information with them when they return to the practice.”
Evidence-Based Information
The WCO Myopia Management Navigator, found at myopia.worldcouncilofoptometry.info, features three key sections: mitigation, measurement, and management. It has been validated by leading researchers in the field, ensuring all information is evidence-based.
For practitioners hesitant about getting started with myopia management, Mr Lallu offers reassurance: “If you’re sitting there thinking, ‘I don’t know what to do, I need help’, just start looking at the navigator as a resource. Then reach out to one of the WCO myopia ambassadors when you’re ready.
“The more myopia we can treat, the fewer retinal detachments, less glaucoma and maculopathy. There’s a massive health cost to this.”
Contact Lens Prescribing Survey
In a related initiative, Mr Lallu is encouraging optometrists who prescribe contact lenses to participate in the international Contact Lens Prescriber Survey led by Phillip Morgan.
“If you’re treating and managing myopia, please fill out the prescribing survey, whatever country you’re in,” urged Mr Lallu. “We need to get as many practitioners as possible to complete the survey so that we can gain a detailed picture of contact lens prescribing habits… That’s going to help us describe prescribing trends and understand how well we are doing.”
The survey collects valuable data on demographics, types of lenses prescribed, preferred materials, dropout rates, and other metrics. This information is published in the Contact Lens Prescribing journal and helps inform prescribing habits globally.
For Australia, Professor Nathan Efron coordinates data collection, while Mr Lallu is responsible for New Zealand. “We have managed to maintain a continuous run of 25 annual contact lens prescribing surveys in Australia since 2000,” said Prof Efron. “We frequently publish updates of this ongoing survey, providing practitioners, researchers, and industry with a rich tapestry of information that serves as a valuable benchmark of prescribing patterns in Australia compared to world-wide trends.”
The survey is straightforward, requiring basic information about the practitioner followed by brief details of each contact lens fitting. To participate, visit: contactlensprescribing.com.
