Volume 8, Issue 23│June 7, 2024

Members of the Fox Valley Optometric Society met on June 5 where they thanked Dr. Toseef Hasan for volunteering his time as President since 2020 and welcomed Dr. Connor Robbs as the new Fox Valley President. They hosted 2 hours of CE in which Michael Andreoli, MD & Sachin Jain, MD discussed ocular oncology and advances in cataract surgery.

Dr. Hasan reflects on his time spent as FVOS President, stating, "January 2020 is when I took over as Fox Valley Society President from Dr. Rick Butz. Those were big shoes to fill; my only desire was to move the FVOS forward. I am leaving a society that is financially successful, has the most active members, and hosts regular well-attended meetings. I was truly honored to take the reigns, but this would not have been possible if it wasn't for the leadership team. I would like to specifically acknowledge Drs. Ryan Ewards, Lindsey Stull, Jency Elakkatt, and Viktoria Loydall. They did all the work and I received too much of the credit. I can't wait to see where Connor Robbs takes the society in 2024 and beyond. My most humble farewell."

Dr. Robbs shares his excitement with us, stating, "I am very grateful for the opportunity that Dr. Hasan has given me to take over as President of the Fox Valley Society. I am most excited to work with our Fox Valley Team in putting on meaningful, intriguing CE courses in addition to increasing community membership for years to come." Congratulations and thank you to the entire Fox Valley Optometric Society leadership team!

Making Being Environmentally Friendly a Competitive Advantage

Reviewob| Interview By Margery Weinstien

June 5, 2024

IOA member Michele Andrews, OD and CooperVision Vice President Professional and Government Affairs sits down with members of CooperVision executive team and Review of Optometric Business to discuss choosing environmentally friendly industry partners.

The CooperVision executive team of Alex Wilkes, President of the Americas, Melissa Kiewe, Vice President of Marketing, and Michele Andrews, OD, Vice President, Professional and Government Affairs, share details on their company’s plastic net neutrality initiative, and how ODs can leverage partnering with environmentally friendly companies as a competitive advantage.

8/7/24 - IL Valley Optometric Society Meeting & CE

10/3 - 10/5/2024 - IOA Annual Meeting

Check out the newest IOA classifieds here!

Equipment for sale in Barrington, IL including custom receptionist desk, dispensing tables, and optical displays! (Read more)

Practice for sale in Northwest, IL Retiring optometrist wishes to sell a well-established practice of 45 years. Only private practice in immediate area. The patient base consists of a broad age range, with good retention (Read more)

ODs Wanted:

Central IL:

We are looking for a full time associate OD to join our very busy, medical based small town practice. We are located in Brighton IL (Read more)

Chicago IL:

Immediate need for short and long term needs for optometrist in Chicago area (Read more)

Chicago Suburbs:

Part-Time optometrist needed to provide exceptional, comprehensive eye care to our family practice patients (Read more)

Optometrist Needed for Independent Practice in Outer Suburbs with coverage needed for 2-4 days per week (Read more)

Great FT or PT opportunities to practice full scope optometry at North Suburban Vision Consultants (Deerfield, IL) and Primary Eyecare Centers (Crystal Lake, IL)! (Read more)

Great FT opportunity to practice full scope optometry at Eyecare Dimensions in Byron, IL! (Read more)

Southern IL:

Amazing opportunity for Optometrist (FT) to join a highly distinguished and established group in Southern IL (Read more)

Out of State:

Optometrist Wanted - Black Optical

St. Louis / Clayton Missouri

Pay: $60-$75 an hour

Job Type: Part or full time (Read more)

AOA Leadership Institute Is Accepting Applications for 2025

Ideal Participants:

We are looking for applicants who have demonstrated dedication and leadership in our profession and meet the following criteria:

• Active AOA membership.
• 5 to 10 years in practice.
• Show interest or potential in leadership roles.

Nominations and applications are reviewed by a committee comprised of experienced doctors, champions and leaders of optometry.

Review Process:

We are accepting nominations and applications for the 2025 Leadership Institute. If you would like to nominate someone or apply for the program, please contact leadershipinstitute@aoa.org

Participate resources and recorded sessions can be found on EyeLearn Professional Development Hub, the AOA's member-exclusive, centralized education portal.

Applications for the 2025 Leadership Institute class will be due this fall.

About the Leadership Institute:

The AOA Leadership Institute program was developed by the AOA Leadership Development Committee to inspire the next generation of leaders within the AOA and its affiliates. The AOA Leadership Institute is a 12-month program with virtual components throughout the year as well as in-person lectures, focus groups and a reception at Optometry’s Meeting ®.

The aim is to energize and equip the next generation of champions for optometry, who will then be ready to step in and lead at all levels—local, state and beyond. The goal is to have a diverse leadership class each year that accurately represents the demographics of our rising generation of doctors of optometry. The Leadership Institute program will provide valuable lessons that can be applied to participants’ personal and professional development.

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Researchers Caution Clinicians Against Using Two Devices for Red-Light Myopia Treatment

Healio | By Kate Young Fact checked by Heather Biele

June 4, 2024

Researchers cautioned clinicians to strongly reconsider using low-level red-light therapy in children with myopia, citing safety concerns revealed by a study published in Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics.

“To date, there are no published studies that have used sensitive enough functional testing and high-resolution imaging to assess the retina,” study author Lisa A. Ostrin, OD, PhD, FAAO, FARVO, associate professor at University of Houston College of Optometry, told Healio. “Additionally, there are no long-term studies; therefore, potential long-term side effects remain unknown.”

Ostrin and colleague, Alexander W. Schill, PhD, examined two Class 1 low-level red-light (LLRL) devices, Sky-n1201a and Future Vision.

According to the study, the Sky-n1201a device delivered laser light with a 654 nm wavelength at 0.2 mW power, 1.17 mW/cm² corneal irradiance and 7.2 W/cm² retinal irradiance. The maximum permissible exposure (MPE) for photochemical damage is 0.55 seconds to 7 seconds for 2 mm to 7 mm pupils and 0.41 seconds to 10 seconds for thermal damage for 4.25 mm to 7 mm pupils.

The Future Vision device delivered a laser light with a 652 nm wavelength, at 0.06 mW power, 0.624 mW/cm² corneal irradiance and 0.08 W/cm² retinal irradiance. The MPE for photochemical damage is 50 seconds to 625 seconds for 2 mm to 7 mm pupils, but this device does not put the retina at risk for thermal damage, the researchers noted.

Three minutes of continuous viewing with either device “approached or surpassed the MPE, putting the retina at risk of photochemical and thermal damage,” they wrote.

“We caution both clinicians and parents in using the devices we tested, particularly the Sky-1201n, for red-light therapy,” Ostrin told Healio. “There are many different devices on the market, and they have not all gone through thorough testing and safety cannot be assumed. From an evidence-based standpoint, the exact specifications required for effective red-light therapy in myopia management are unknown.”

Since the publication of the study, Eyerising International, the manufacturer of the Eyerising Myopia Management Device, submitted a letter to the editor at Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics written by John Battersby, public relations contact for Eyerising, to address alleged inaccuracies and misrepresentations in the study. He wrote that “only two devices were tested in their laboratory, and neither of them was an Eyerising device.”

Paul Cooke, Eyerising CEO, told Healio that the company has “every confidence in the safety of [its] device.”

“We were not surprised by the response to our study,” Ostrin told Healio. “We recognize that our findings have broad implications in clinical practice. Since the publication of our paper, several colleagues and researchers have reached out and confirmed our initial findings and conclusions. There is widespread concern that, at least from some manufacturers, these devices might not be safe for children to be viewing.

“We hope that our study increases the quality and depth of research related to low-level red-light devices,” she added.

Study Finds Extended Benefits When Treating TED Patients with TEPEZZA

— The high-level analysis found in treatment follow-up that 82% of patients administered with TEPEZZA did not report needing any additional thyroid eye disease

treatment for nearly 2 years.

Optometry Times | By Lynda Charters

June 5, 2024

New data from a study of TEPEZZA (teprotumumab-trbw, Amgen) indicate the long-lasting effect of the treatment in patients with thyroid eye disease (TED).

According to the company’s press release, the high-level analysis found that 82% of TEPEZZA-treated patients in the follow-up did not report needing any additional TED treatment, that is, steroids, surgery, or an additional course of TEPEZZA if 2-mm proptosis improvement from baseline was not maintained, for nearly 2 years following TEPEZZA therapy (99 weeks). The company notes that this is the longest follow-up to date.

Of the 106 reporting patients, 18% (19/106) received additional medication, that included either systemic steroids or teprotumumab and/or remedial periocular surgery as of 99 weeks after the therapy.

The full study findings were scheduled to be released at ENDO 2024 running from June 1-4 in Boston, and published in the journal Thyroid.

Some additional reported findings were that the patient response to TEPEZZA was mostly maintained 51 weeks after therapy at week 72 and was similar to week 24 results in the controlled clinical trials.

The company reported that at the end of the formal follow-up on week 72, most participants maintained the following results: response for composite outcome (51/57, 89.5%), clinical activity score (52/57, 91.2%), diplopia (35/48, 72.9%), proptosis (38/56, 67.9%), and overall response (37/56, 66.1%), respectively.

The adverse effects observed in this follow-up were consistent with the drug’s known safety profile. Four cases of hyperglycemia were newly reported during the follow-up; three of which were resolved and one was ongoing as the patient discontinued the study due to a flare. Three cases of hearing impairment were newly reported; two of which were unrelated to TEPEZZA.



Treatment importance

“TED is a lifelong autoimmune disease that can worsen or flare, regardless of how it has been treated. This is the case for many autoimmune diseases,” said George Kahaly, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and endocrinology at Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center in Mainz, Germany.

He continued, “Given the enduring nature of TED, it is important to understand whether patients who are treated with a full course of teprotumumab (8 infusions) can expect to experience lasting improvements in signs and symptoms, like eye bulging and double vision.”

Due to the longevity of TED, Kahaly added, it was important to look at longer-term results after treating patients with teprotumumab. He and his colleagues sought to answer whether or not patients with TED would see sustained improvements in proptosis and diplopia.



In addition, these findings are important to physicians considering treatment for their patients, with TED, in that they now have longer-term data to support the use of teprotumumab in appropriate patients, Kahaly said.

US FDA Warns on Risks Linked to Sulfite-Containing Compounded Drugs

Reuters | By Puyaan Singh

June 5, 2024

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday it had alerted healthcare professionals, drug compounders and patients about the risk of allergic reactions to sulfite-containing compounded drugs.

The FDA said it had received reports of complaints of conjunctivitis or pink eye, itchy eyes, swollen eyelids and breathing difficulty with low blood oxygen, potentially related to sulfite-containing compounded drugs.

It also said sulfites may cause severe allergic reactions and life-threatening or less severe asthmatic episodes in susceptible people.

"Sulfites are substances that may be added to certain drug products as preservatives, to help prevent the active drug ingredient from breaking down and becoming less effective," the regulator said.

Examples include sodium bisulfite, sodium metabisulfite, sodium sulfite, potassium bisulfite, potassium metabisulfite.

The regulator has asked compounders to indicate the presence of sulfites on product labels or include a sulfite warning statement.

Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, but sulfite-containing drugs approved by the regulator are required to include a warning statement on their labels.

Drug compounding is the process of combining, mixing, or altering ingredients to create a medication tailored to the needs of an individual patient, the FDA said.

UnitedHealth Hack Fuels Bids to Shield Americans' Medical Data

Bloomberg Law | By Ian Lopez & Alex Ruoff

June 4, 2024

Cyberattacks compromising the health information of millions of Americans are prompting Congress and the Biden administration to take action to better protect highly sensitive personal data that’s profitable for hackers.

Up to a third of Americans had their private health information exposed in the cyberattack on Change Healthcare in recent months. The breach is believed to be the largest in health care in US history and has cost parent company UnitedHealth Group Inc. up to $1.6 billion in profits this year.

Lawmakers and regulators have been scrambling in their response. In May, Senate lawmakers grilled UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty over the attack, pressing the embattled executive on why the company left so much health information vulnerable and what should be done to avoid a repeat. Shortly after, the White House said it was weighing standards for hospitals to better protect patient information.

Now, senators on both sides of the aisle are keeping an open line with Witty and weighing legislation to better protect health information. They’ve also upped the pressure on the Biden administration’s labor and health departments to take on a greater role in both preventing and responding to cyberattacks.

The Department of Labor didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. However, a Health and Human Services Department spokesperson said the agency is considering issuing new enforceable cybersecurity standards for the health-care sector, a move that could face a backlash from hospitals.

Trade group American Hospital Association has been vocal in its opposition to mandatory cybersecurity requirements for hospitals. In a May interview, the AHA’s national adviser for cybersecurity and risk, John Riggi, said that should the government take regulatory action, “hospitals alone should not be singled out.”

“The government needs to do more on offense against the fundamental source of cyber risk, foreign hackers and ransomware gangs attacking health care, ” Riggi said. “That’s not hospitals’ job. That’s the US government’s job.”

Lawmaker Response

The FBI said in a report that in 2023, the health-care and public health sector flagged the most ransomware attacks, with organizations having filed almost 250 complaints with the agency. That’s more than critical manufacturing, which flagged fewer than 220, and government facilities, the third-most hit sector in the report, which came in at 156.

The full extent of Change’s breach has yet to be determined. The company processes pharmacy requests and insurance claims for over 340,000 physicians and 60,000 pharmacies. The hack was discovered Feb. 21, and the company severed connections that distribute data and money across the health-care system, leading to a backlog of payments and claims.