Volume 8, Issue 34 │September 6, 2024

Time is Running Out: Book Your Hotel Room Now!

Reserve your hotel room by September 19 for the 2024 Annual Meeting. We have a room block reserved at President Abraham Lincoln Springfield - a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel for October 3, through October 6.

One complimentary parking pass per guest room is included. This pass will be given out at check-in and one pass will work for the duration of the event. We're looking forward to seeing you in October!

September is Paraoptometric Appreciation Month!

Timothy Earley, OD

Dr. Tim Earley is a 1998 graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He is currently practicing at Northeast Ohio Eye Surgeons, an OD/MD group practice in Medina, OH. Dr. Earley has a special interest in the diagnosis and management of dry eye disease, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and other diseases of the retina. He is a national lecturer, educator, consultant, and presenter on numerous optometric topics from practice management to presbyopia correction. When not consulting or treating patients, Dr. Tim enjoys spending time outdoors with his family and friends.

Dr. Earley will be speaking on Friday October 4 on The Benefits of Proper Nutrition and Supplementation for Managing Chronic Ocular Diseases.

From Inspiration to Impact: New Grad Finds Career at Alma Mater

Women in Optometry | By Staff

September 3, 2024



Kashifa Ansari, OD, always knew she wanted to pursue a career in health care. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, she was fascinated by the idea of helping others. But it wasn’t until middle school that she seriously considered optometry. A pivotal moment came when she stumbled upon a student blog from the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) during a casual Google search. The students’ experiences at ICO resonated deeply with her—she could see herself following in their footsteps.

A DEFINING MOMENT

The final decision to pursue optometry came during Dr. Ansari’s senior class trip to Colorado. “I took a train ride to the top of a mountain in Colorado Springs,” she recalls. “We had the opportunity to climb, and when I got to the top, all I could see for miles were trees and snow-capped mountain peaks.” For a girl from the flatlands of Illinois, the view was breathtaking. It was in that moment, surrounded by the raw beauty of nature, that Dr. Ansari realized her true calling: “I wanted to help others see the beauty that I can see.”



STARTING THE JOURNEY

Dr. Ansari began her journey by earning a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in accounting from Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. She was actively involved in the pre-optometry club, where a hands-on experience with eye dissection solidified her interest. “I was in awe of all the structures inside the eye,” she says. When class was dismissed, she called her mom with the news. “I told her that I had found my dream job. Optometry was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

Dr. Ansari (left) dissects an eyeball during her undergrad studies.

In addition to her studies, Dr. Ansari worked as a technician at LensCrafters and interned at a local arboretum in education and research. While she enjoyed her time at the arboretum, her enthusiasm for patient interaction and eye care pulled her focus toward a career in optometry.

It wasn’t until she took on roles as a teaching assistant and tutor during her time at ICO that she discovered a newfound passion for academia. She was also interested in ocular disease and low vision, eventually completing her residency in both. “Residency training is key to not only expanding your knowledge exponentially in a short amount of time, but it also opens doors for a wide range of practice modalities,” she says.

RETURNING TO ICO

Returning to ICO as a clinical instructor felt like coming full circle for Dr. Ansari. “ICO has always been my home, and the people here have a special place in my heart,” she says. The timing was perfect—ICO was looking for new, full-time faculty members, and Dr. Ansari was eager to begin her career in academia. After a series of interviews, including one with the associate dean for faculty, she was offered the position and officially started on August 1, just one year after graduating from ICO in 2023.

Today, Dr. Ansari is a clinical instructor for second- through fourth-year students. “I find my job extremely rewarding and look forward to coming to the clinic every day,” she says. She currently precepts students in urgent care clinic, contact lens clinic and primary care clinic. Her love for the field is constantly fueled by her interactions with students. “I love the excitement that students get from learning new things or catching a difficult find on a patient. That ‘aha!’ moment is what drives me to do more.”

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF EYE CARE

As a relatively recent graduate, Dr. Ansari vividly remembers how her instructors at ICO shaped her professional journey. “My attendings often reassured me to help me gain confidence but also gave me tough love when needed,” she reflects. Now, she strives to be the same kind of mentor to her students. She emphasizes the importance of adapting her teaching style to each student’s unique personality, helping them grow without being too hard on themselves. “I had a great support system of faculty members and mentors at ICO who saw the spark in me and encouraged me,” she says.

Dr. Ansari displays her badge in front of ICO.

Dr. Ansari working with students at ICO.

Currently, Dr. Ansari works with three to four students per clinic session, across seven sessions per week. Her role in urgent care also allows her to collaborate with an ICO resident and fourth-year students, further enriching her teaching experience.

Outside of her professional life, Dr. Ansari enjoys spending time with her family, taking walks, practicing yoga and exploring new restaurants. She’s also active on Instagram @dr.k.ansari, where she shares her journey as a Muslim female optometrist. Recently, she participated in the Chicago Vision Walk with the Foundation Fighting Blindness.

Photo Source: Women in Optometry

IOA Members Chelsey Moore, OD and Brian Moore, OD attended Indiana University's State Day to represent the IOA, it was a successful day!

Illinois Fox Valley Optometric Society hosted a CE event where IOA members Lindsey Stull, OD, Steve Butzon, OD, and Ryan Edwards, OD presented to the group, they had a great turn out!

Pictured above (left to right): Jency Elakkatt, OD, Ryan Edwards, OD, Lindsey Stull, OD, Steve Butzon, OD, Viktoria Loydall, OD, Connor Robbs, OD.

Mandatory Medicaid-Enrolled Healthcare Provider Revalidation Resuming, Following Pandemic Pause

Illinois HFS | Press Release

September 3, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: melissa.kula@illinois.gov jamie.munks@illinois.gov

Providers actively enrolled in the Illinois Medicaid program will need to revalidate their enrollment status to continue providing services to Medicaid customers and bill Medicaid. This federal requirement was temporarily discontinued during the COVID-19 federal public health emergency. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), which administers the Illinois Medicaid program, is resuming that practice effective today.

“We want to make this process as seamless as possible for providers,” HFS Director Elizabeth Whitehorn said. “Providers who care for Medicaid customers need to take this important step to ensure they can continue their critical work serving the millions of Illinoisans who are enrolled in Medicaid without disruption.”

Providers will receive revalidation notifications 90 days before their due date, which is based on when they initially enrolled. Providers with November deadlines will receive their notifications in September, for example. Once providers receive the email notification about the revalidation cycle starting, it is their responsibility to verify that all information contained in HFS’ IMPACT system is accurate and up to date. They will also receive a reminder email 30 days before their revalidation deadline.

These notifications will prompt providers to complete the revalidation process, which includes logging into the HFS IMPACT system to review their current enrollment information and make necessary updates. A failure to revalidate before their due date will result in a provider being terminated from the Medicaid program, which means all payments will cease for any services provided beginning the day after the revalidation due date.

HFS has also implemented multifactor authentication for the IMPACT system for the first time. Providers will need to set up multifactor authentication to complete their revalidation. HFS encourages all providers to set this up now, whether or not their revalidation is coming due.

To raise awareness about revalidation, HFS launched a multi-platform 'Stay Connected' outreach campaign. To help them to discuss the process with their networks, key stakeholders such as medical associations, managed care organizations and legislators are being provided with turnkey communications materials and webinars. HFS conducted a similar outreach called 'Ready to Renew' when customer redeterminations resumed after the public health emergency.

Step-by-step instructions, Frequently Asked Questions, a video tutorial, and stakeholder toolkit are available on the IMPACT website to assist providers. If providers need further assistance in completing revalidation, Provider Enrollment call center staff are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 877-782-5565. A significant number of staff have been added to the call center in anticipation of a potential increase in call volume.

HFS will be holding a series of virtual town hall meetings in the coming weeks to provide an overview of the revalidation process, and answer questions from providers. The first virtual session is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 5. Providers must register to participate in advance and can do so here. Subsequent virtual sessions will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 26 and 3 p.m. Oct. 24.

Completing revalidation in a timely manner is crucial because federal regulations do not allow for retroactive reinstatements. A provider may seek to be revalidated after the due date, but if approved, payments can only begin again effective on the new enrollment date, creating a gap in enrollment and eligibility for payment. 

HFS to Host Listening Sessions Ahead of Managed Care Procurement Process

Health News Illinois | By Ryan Voyles

September 3, 2024

The Department of Healthcare and Family Services will host a series of meetings for feedback on the managed care procurement process.

Five listening sessions are scheduled, including in-person events Sept. 12 in Chicago and Sept. 17 in Springfield. The others will be virtual discussions held during meetings of the Medicaid Advisory Committee.

The agency said last month they “strongly prefer” customer perspective on the current state of HealthChoice Illinois, which covers roughly 80 percent of all the state’s Medicaid enrollees, and advice on what steps to take to improve services.

The views of advocates, providers and associations are also welcome, HFS said. The department has launched an online form individuals can use to provide input.

HFS said the design of the procurement request is expected to begin in November. The requests are set to be published next summer, with new contracts to start in 2027.

The current contracts with Medicaid managed care organizations in the HealthChoice Illinois program were extended another year to give HFS’ new leadership time to settle in.

The Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program Releases Updated 2023 Prescription Totals

Health News Illinois | By Ryan Voyles

September 3, 2024

The ILPMP user-friendly data dashboards on ilpmp.org are regularly updated, de-identified data and available to the public for viewing. Offering this data allows for further analysis of trends in specified regions, assisting in the ability to target geographical areas for healthcare provider education outreach and assess the effectiveness of public health interventions.

The data dashboard, Total Prescriptions by Drug Type, has been updated showing dispensing totals from pharmacies in Illinois for the years 2010 through 2023. Drug types that have been analyzed include benzodiazepine, stimulant, ketamine, opioid, buprenorphine, and fentanyl. Click the dashboard image (below) to see full screen view. 

Report Vision Plan Abuses to the IOA



The IOA recognizes that Vision Care Plan Regulation Act constitutes a significant stride forward for optometry. However, it doesn't signal the conclusion of our efforts to champion fair contracting with vision plans. In the next few years, our members will be renewing and amending their contracts to reflect the changes in the new law. Throughout this process, we will gain valuable insight directly from our members regarding instances of vision plan abuses.

If you encounter vision plan abuses, we ask that you fill out the form below to report abuse. The IOA will collect this information to prevent further vision plan abuses on behalf of our members.

Check out the newest IOA classifieds here!

ODs Wanted:

Central IL:

Optometrist position available in a large multi-specialty ophthalmology practice (Read more)

OD needed in Champaign, IL offering highly flexible, family-friendly scheduling arrangements (Read more)

Chicago IL:

Friendly and family-oriented part-time optometrist needed for a private practice in Oak Park 2 days/week. (Read more)

Optometrist Needed at University of Chicago's Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Read more)

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

Chicago Suburbs:

Optometrist with commitment to patient care needed in the Chicago suburbs (Read more)

Part-time or Full-Time OD needed in the Western Suburbs of Chicago (Read more)

Looking for Full Time OD (30+ hrs) in Highland Park (Read more)

Southern IL:

Optometrist Neede for Part-Time Subcontracts in Southern IL locations (Read more)

Optometrist Needed at Olney EyeCare which is a family-friendly practice that gives you a clear pathway to debt relief and practice ownership, turning your “if only” dream into a reality (Read more)

Top Three Reasons Targeting the Elusive “Passive Seeker” Should Be Part of Your Hiring Strategy

When hiring a new optometrist for your practice, casting a wide net to attract top talent is crucial. One group that’s often overlooked by hiring practice owners is passive job seekers – ODs who are not actively searching job boards but might be open to a new opportunity if the right one comes along. Here are three compelling reasons why targeting passive seekers should be included in your hiring strategy.

1.     Massive Untapped Market – Studies show that 70-75% of the global workforce is made up of passive candidates who are not actively searching for a job. Engaging with this segment can put your opening in front of hard-to-reach, highly skilled ODs.

2.     Reduced Competition – Passive job seekers aren’t actively pursuing new opportunities, which means they’re not engaging in multiple interviews or weighing offers from other employers. This reduces your competition and allows you to engage with potential hires who might otherwise fly under the radar.

3.     Dedication – While passive job seekers aren’t actively job-hunting, they are open to change for the right opportunity. If a passive job seeker expresses interest in your position, it’s often because they see it as a significant career move. This can, in turn, result in a highly motivated, committed hire for your practice.

Targeting passive job seekers can help you find an OD who is a perfect fit for your practice – someone you might not have reached through traditional job postings. The AOAExcel Career Center has resources available to help you position your listing in front of passive seekers, including the monthly Spotlight e-newsletter, which delivers featured job listings directly to the inboxes of our carefully curated database of working ODs.

AOAExcel Career Center experts are available to guide you in creating a compelling listing and devising a strategic hiring plan. Plus, AOA members receive up to 50% off on job listings. To learn more about the AOAExcel Career Center and how to get your listing in front of passive seekers, visit aoa.org/career-center/employers. 

Prevent Blindness Launches 2024 World Sight Day Activities

-Prevent Blindness launches World Sight Day with Capitol Hill Briefing, new partnerships, and nationwide vision screening and eye health education events.

Invision | By Press Releases

September 4, 2024

(PRESS RELEASE) CHICAGO — Prevent Blindness, the nation’s leading eye health and safety organization, is uniting with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and its member organizations around the world in support of “World Sight Day.” This year’s World Sight Day theme, “Love Your Eyes,” will focus on the unique needs of children’s vision and eye health.

Prevent Blindness is planning a series of events and program partnerships leading up to World Sight Day on Oct. 10, 2024. With support from the Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington, on Thursday, Sept. 12, Prevent Blindness will host a vision screening and eye health education event, and a Congressional Briefing in Washington, D.C.

Laura's Story: Costume Contacts Scarred My Eye

AAO | By Anna Schmitt

September 4, 2024

Decorative and cosmetic contact lenses are popular ways to change eye color or add the finishing touch to a Halloween costume with vampire eyes, lizard eyes or other crazy and colorful lenses. But if you don't have a prescription for these contacts (regardless of whether or not they correct your vision), you could be risking your eyesight. Unfortunately, Robyn Rouse learned this the hard way.

When Robyn was 14, many of her friends were changing their eye color by using cosmetic contact lenses. One afternoon, Robyn bought a pair of green contacts at the local corner store and was excited to change her brown eyes to a new shade. She tried them out that night, even though she didn't regularly wear contacts and had not gotten a prescription for these. After having the contacts in for a short time, she took them out and went to bed. The next morning she woke up to strange fluid leaking out of her left eye, but thought nothing of it as she headed out the door to school.

Throughout the day the condition of her eye grew worse, until she finally left school and went home.

"I had to keep a tissue under my eye, because there was so much fluid coming out," Robyn explained. "Then my vision became increasingly sensitive to light, and I realized I needed to leave school."

Feeling feverish, Robyn lay down for a nap until her mother returned from work and realized something was seriously wrong with her daughter's eye. The eye had swollen shut, and was continuing to ooze a thick white discharge. Robyn's mother took her to the emergency room that evening, where Robyn was admitted to the hospital and remained for over a week.

"It's heartbreaking to see a young person go through something as painful as what Robyn experienced," says Thomas Steinemann, M.D., Robyn's ophthalmologist and clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. "It's illegal to sell any contacts without a prescription, but they are still easily available on many websites and in novelty shops, making many consumers assume that it's safe to purchase and use them without prescriptions. It is so important to understand that there is the possibility for serious, long-term damage to your vision if you don't get a prescription for any type of contact lenses, even if you have perfect vision."

The contacts caused an infection in Robyn's eye which led to years of treatment from an ophthalmologist, including a corneal transplant one year after the original injury. Even 12 years after the incident, Robyn continues to have blurry vision in her left eye and must use eye drops on a daily basis to help combat dry eye that was a result of her injury.

"If I could go back to that day, I would never have bought those contacts," Robyn says. "To any other young people thinking of getting decorative contacts, I just want to say: don't do it! It's not worth it. Go to your ophthalmologist, get a prescription, and make sure you are getting contacts from an approved store. Believe me; you don't want to spend a week in the hospital just for one night of dress-up."

Photo Source: AAO

FDA Clears Investigational New Drug Application for Photoreceptor Disease Therapy

Healio | By Christine Klimanskis, ELS

September 3, 2024

The FDA cleared an investigational new drug application for OpCT-001, an investigational cell therapy for the treatment of primary photoreceptor diseases, according to a press release from BlueRock Therapeutics.



“We believe that, if approved, OpCT-001 has potential as a treatment for people living with primary photoreceptor diseases, which are a subgroup of inherited retinal disorders that includes retinitis pigmentosa and cone-rod dystrophy,” Amit Rakhit, MD, MBA, chief development and medical officer at BlueRock Therapeutics, told Healio. “Currently, no treatment options exist for these diseases, which affect the function and structure of the photoreceptor cells in the retina, leading to irreversible vision loss in both children and adults.”

The induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cell therapy is the first to be clinically evaluated for primary photoreceptor diseases, including disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa and cone-rod dystrophy. The therapy was exclusively licensed in January 2024 as part of a collaboration between BlueRock Therapeutics, Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics and Opsis Therapeutics.

BlueRock plans to evaluate the safety and tolerability of subretinal administration of several dose levels of OpCT-001 in a phase 1/2a clinical study. The trial will enroll participants from across the U.S. and assess the effect of the therapy on retinal structure, visual function and functional vision, according to the release.

US Will Still Pay at Least Twice as Much After Negotiating Drug Prices

Reuters | By Deena Beasley

September 3, 2024

Sept 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. government's first-ever negotiated prices for prescription drugs are still on average more than double, and in some cases five times, what drugmakers have agreed to in four other high-income countries, a Reuters review has found.

The U.S. Medicare health plan, which covers more than 67 million people, recently unveiled new maximum prices, for the first 10 high-cost medicines negotiated under the Biden Administration's Inflation Reduction Act.

This is the first time Medicare has disclosed actual drug prices, which are largely hidden behind a complicated U.S. system of rebates and discounts. The lower prices will result in savings of $6 billion in 2026, the first year they take effect, Medicare said.

A Reuters review of publicly available maximum prices set by other wealthy nations - Australia, Japan, Canada and Sweden - show that they have negotiated far lower prices for the same drugs.

A 30-day supply of nine of the 10 drugs will cost $17,581 for Medicare in 2026, compared with $6,725 in Sweden this year. Comparable prices were not available for the 10th drug, Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO), insulin Novolog.

"In the U.S. we've always accepted that we are the country that overpays relative to the rest of the world," said Stacie Dusetzina, professor of health policy at Nashville's Vanderbilt University.

The U.S. sees value in being the preferred customer, she said, pointing to early availability of COVID vaccines as an example of that advantage.

Many countries have universal prescription drug coverage that relies on centralized price negotiation with manufacturers, but U.S. law previously prevented Medicare - the nation's single biggest government program - from doing so.

Bristol Myers (BMY.N), said pricing was country specific and depended on national health systems and their regulatory policies, while Merck (MRK.N), said it was not valid to compare U.S. prices to overseas generics. Amgen (AMGN.O), declined to comment and the others drugmakers did not respond.

A spokesperson for the U.S. agency that oversees Medicare said the new law requires consideration of factors such as manufacturer data and availability of alternative treatments, but Congress did not include review of international prices in the negotiations.

U.S. ALWAYS PAYS MORE

A study by the non-profit RAND Corp looking at 2022 prescription prices found that U.S. health plans paid more than three times as much, for brand-name pharmaceuticals, even after estimated discounts.

Studies have shown that faster uptake of new and more expensive drugs helps drive U.S. prices, while other high-income countries directly footing the bill for healthcare place tighter restrictions on prescriptions.

Iran-based Cyber Actors Enabling Ransomware Attacks on US Organizations

CISA | By Press Release

August 28, 2024

Summary

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) are releasing this joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) to warn network defenders that, as of August 2024, a group of Iran-based cyber actors continues to exploit U.S. and foreign organizations. This includes organizations across several sectors in the U.S. (including in the education, finance, healthcare, and defense sectors as well as local government entities) and other countries (including in Israel, Azerbaijan, and the United Arab Emirates). The FBI assesses a significant percentage of these threat actors’ operations against US organizations are intended to obtain and develop network access to then collaborate with ransomware affiliate actors to deploy ransomware. The FBI further assesses these Iran-based cyber actors are associated with the Government of Iran (GOI) and—separate from the ransomware activity—conduct computer network exploitation activity in support of the GOI (such as intrusions enabling the theft of sensitive technical data against organizations in Israel and Azerbaijan).

This CSA provides the threat actor’s tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs), as well as highlights similar activity from a previous advisory (Iran-Based Threat Actor Exploits VPN Vulnerabilities) that the FBI and CISA published on Sept. 15, 2020. The information and guidance in this advisory are derived from FBI investigative activity and technical analysis of this group’s intrusion activity against U.S. organizations and engagements with numerous entities impacted by this malicious activity.

The FBI recommends all organizations follow guidance provided in the Mitigations section of this advisory to defend against the Iranian cyber actors’ activity.

If organizations believe they have been targeted or compromised by the Iranian cyber actors, the FBI and CISA recommend immediately contacting your local FBI field office for assistance and/or reporting the incident via CISA’s Incident Reporting Form (see the Reporting section of this advisory for more details and contact methods).

Threat Actor Details

Background on Threat Group and Prior Activity

This advisory outlines activity by a specific group of Iranian cyber actors that has conducted a high volume of computer network intrusion attempts against U.S. organizations since 2017 and as recently as August 2024. Compromised organizations include U.S.-based schools, municipal governments, financial institutions, and healthcare facilities. This group is known in the private sector by the names Pioneer Kitten, Fox Kitten, UNC757, Parisite, RUBIDIUM, and Lemon Sandstorm.[1][2] The actors also refer to themselves by the moniker Br0k3r, and as of 2024, they have been operating under the moniker “xplfinder” in their channels. FBI analysis and investigation indicate the group’s activity is consistent with a cyber actor with Iranian state-sponsorship.

The FBI previously observed these actors attempt to monetize their access to victim organizations on cyber marketplaces. A significant percentage of the group’s US-focused cyber activity is in furtherance of obtaining and maintaining technical access to victim networks to enable future ransomware attacks. The actors offer full domain control privileges, as well as domain admin credentials, to numerous networks worldwide. More recently, the FBI identified these actors collaborating directly with ransomware affiliates to enable encryption operations in exchange for a percentage of the ransom payments. These actors have collaborated with the ransomware affiliates NoEscape[3], Ransomhouse[4], and ALPHV (aka BlackCat)

(#StopRansomware: ALPHV Blackcat). The Iranian cyber actors’ involvement in these ransomware attacks goes beyond providing access; they work closely with ransomware affiliates to lock victim networks and strategize on approaches to extort victims. The FBI assesses these actors do not disclose their Iran-based location to their ransomware affiliate contacts and are intentionally vague as to their nationality and origin.

Furthermore, the FBI has historically observed this actor conduct hack-and-leak campaigns, such as the late 2020 campaign known as Pay2Key.[5],[6] The actors operated a .onion site (reachable through the Tor browser) hosted on cloud infrastructure registered to an organization previously compromised by the actors. (The actors created the server leveraging their prior access to this victim.) Following the compromise and the subsequent unauthorized acquisition of victim data, the actors publicized news of their compromise (including on social media), tagging accounts of victim and media organizations, and leaking victim data on their .onion site. While this technique has traditionally been used to influence victims to pay ransoms, the FBI does not believe the objective of Pay2Key was to obtain ransom payments. Rather, the FBI assesses Pay2Key was an information operation aimed at undermining the security of Israel-based cyber infrastructure.