Tag: myopia

Specsavers Supports Clinic Owners with Implementation of Myopia Management

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Dr. Nieka Sabeti, OD
Dr. Nieka Sabeti, OD

“As a practising optometrist, I see what an impact myopia has to my patients’ lives, not just as a refractive error, but more so as a sight-threatening condition that can ultimately impact quality of life.”

Dr. Nieka Sabeti, OD, independent consultant of the clinical support team at Specsavers Canada, discusses how myopia management care was introduced at Specsavers by optometrists, opticians and their store teams.

 

Why did clinic owners feel it was important to introduce myopia management into their practice?

Myopia currently affects approximately 30% of the world’s population1. The World Health Organization and other international health bodies have declared it a global public health concern because of its potential to become the most common cause of irreversible visual impairment and blindness worldwide, with approximately half of the global population predicted to have myopia by the year 20502. Addressing the growing prevalence, the Specsavers network of optometrists is working together to make a greater impact on community eye health.

Given that myopia progresses mainly during childhood, there is a key window to intervene with preventative strategies, when the eye is more susceptible to growth and subsequent vision changes. This can reduce the risk of a patient developing sight-threatening conditions later in life due to the structural changes of the eye.

How did Specsavers support the development of a myopia management program for optometrists?

The optometrists within the Specsavers network raised an interest in introducing myopia management into their practice. Specsavers recognizes its importance as a standard of care in Canada and other regions, so we engaged and consulted our Optometry Steering Groups, a committee of independent optometrists in each province, on developing a training program and the option to introduce it to their practice.

My role was to work alongside an incredibly talented group, spearheaded by the clinical team, at the support office that were dedicated to this mission and bringing this program to life. After trials in several locations within BC, we were able to take learnings and successes to develop our official launch plan.

We also partnered with industry leaders to offer an accreditation course to allow optometrists, opticians and their teams to receive comprehensive training to provide myopia management care and products and to go through case studies to prepare them for various patient scenarios.

 

 Specsavers Dr. and patient

What are you hearing from clinic owners since starting the program?

So far, we’ve received very positive feedback on the accreditation, training, support, and overall approach for the program. Many eyecare professionals who may have already been accredited have commented on the extensive training that is provided through our program at Specsavers. So, they appreciate how comprehensive it is as it builds more confidence around this practice area.

When everyone is offered comprehensive training, it results in a more accurate, consistent, and unified approach at all points of the patient journey. Many of the teams have already reported impressive numbers of patients receiving this care.

Being able to provide tools and resources that can help empower eyecare professionals to become active participants in getting ahead of the curve to change the predicted trajectory of myopia brings me so much joy. Together we’re helping to make an impact in changing lives through better sight – not just in the short-term, but also in the future.

  1. Holden BA, Wilson DA, Jong M, Sankaridurg P, Fricke TR, Smith EL III, Resnikoff S. Myopia: a growing global problem with sight-threatening complications. Community Eye Health. 2015;28(90):35. PMID: 26692649; PMCID: PMC4675264.
  2. Nouraeinejad A. More Than Fifty Percent of the World Population Will Be Myopic by 2050. Beyoglu Eye J. 2021 Dec 17;6(4):255-256. doi: 10.14744/bej.2021.27146. PMID: 35059569; PMCID: PMC8759558.2. Holden BA, et al. Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology, 2016. 123(5): p. 1036-42.

 

 

 

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THE Myopia Meeting Makes its Canadian Debut

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THE Myopia Meeting, presented by CRO (Clinical & Refractive Optometry) Journal and Review of Myopia Management, took place at the International Center in Mississauga on Sunday, November 6th. This full-day event was the first of its kind in Canada and included lectures and workshops from leading researchers, clinicians, and industry partners.

Dr. Debbie Jones, BSc, FCOptom started off the first COPE-accredited continuing education lecture by acknowledging that Canada is a world leader in myopia management; Canada has endorsed the World Council of Optometry’s resolution to make evidence-based myopia management the standard of care.

She then provided a review of the various therapies available and discussed what the future of myopia control might look like.

Leading Canadian Experts Lend Advice
Dr. Vishakha Thakrar, OD, FSLS, FAAO talked about the practical applications of myopia management using her experience in private practice, such as the importance of having a supportive and well-trained team.

Dr. Langis Michaud, OD, MSc discussed myopia as a failure in emmetropization, the importance of the quality of the visual signal in myopia control management, and ongoing research. He detailed how he tailors treatment to each individual patient and gave the audience some of his very own clinical pearls.

Dr. Stephanie Ramdass OD, MS, MBA finished off the lectures for the day by presenting case examples and her tips for troubleshooting myopia management.

Leading Myopia Players Present Options
Key manufacturers displayed their latest in myopia control technology through workshops and table displays in an adjacent exhibit room.

HOYA’s MiYOSMART lenses use Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (D.I.M.S) Technology and have been available in Canada since 2020. Their most recent data shows that the myopia control effect was sustained over six years.

EssilorLuxottica is committed to supporting ECPs in their management of myopia. As one of the founding members of the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC), they aim to increase public awareness of myopia as a treatable disease, with campaign expansions into Canada coming soon. EssilorLuxottica has also created training programs for ECPs and their staff, and developed Stellest spectacle lenses as an effective myopia control therapy which uses Highly Aspheric Lenslet Target (HALT) Technology.

CooperVision’s MiSight 1 day lenses use ActivControl Technology (dual focus) in their Proclear material. Their most recent data (Part 3 of their 7-year study) show that there is no rebound effect with MiSight. This is the longest continuous soft contact lens study for myopia management.

Johnson & Johnson Vision’s ACUVUE Abiliti 1-Day Soft Therapeutic Lenses for Myopia Management have received approval from Health Canada. Made of the same material as ACUVUE OASYS 1-Day, the Abiliti lens has the same benefits in a smaller diameter for pediatric eyes. These lenses use RingBoost Technology, which allows for a stronger treatment power while maintaining visual quality.

Attendees of THE Myopia Meeting were able to obtain a comprehensive look into the best practices of myopia management today.

Hopefully this event is the first of many!

Dr. Jaclyn Chang graduated from the University of Waterloo (UW) with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences before continuing at Waterloo to complete her Doctor of Optometry degree. She is currently a practicing optometrist in Toronto.

Dr. Chang is committed to sharing information and bringing new resources to her colleagues. As a student, she sat on the Board of Trustees for the American Optometric Student Association, organizing events to connect students with industry. She was the Co-Founder/Co-President of the award-winning UW Advancement of Independent Optometry Club, the first club at UW dedicated to private practice optometry. Dr. Chang is also a passionate writer, who aims to make information accessible and easily digestible to her colleagues. She has published in Optometry & Vision Science and has contributed to Foresight and  Optik magazine.

JACLYN CHANG, OD

Editor NewOptometrist.ca

Dr. Jaclyn Chang graduated from the University of Waterloo (UW) with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences before continuing at Waterloo to complete her Doctor of Optometry degree. She is currently a practicing optometrist in Toronto.

Dr. Chang is committed to sharing information and bringing new resources to her colleagues. As a student, she sat on the Board of Trustees for the American Optometric Student Association, organizing events to connect students with industry. She was the Co-Founder/Co-President of the award-winning UW Advancement of Independent Optometry Club, the first club at UW dedicated to private practice optometry. Dr. Chang is also a passionate writer, who aims to make information accessible and easily digestible to her colleagues. She has published in Optometry & Vision Science and Foresight magazine and contributed to Optik magazine. She is excited to bring valuable resources to Canada’s next generation of optometrists with NewOptometrist.ca.

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Myopia and Optometry: It’s Ours to Own

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I’m honoured to be speaking to you along with my colleagues, friends and people within our optometric community whom I respect and admire for the impact they have on our profession.  I will start us off in my capacity with the World Council of Optometry (WCO) to give you a global perspective of myopia and the impact that its upcoming epidemic will have on our patients, our practices, but even more so its impact the world over.  I hope to illustrate to you the etiology, some new findings and current realities, and the risks to adult vision.

I think it is important, first, for everyone to have a brief history, specifically of WCO’s role and its relationship with myopia and myopia control and how central it is to this talk in a broader sense.

The reason WCO is important to us in Canada is because even though we are the beneficiaries of all those who have created our position and our role in the Canadian healthcare system, there currently is no official national strategy on vision care in Canada.  One of the reasons that Canada is not mandated to have one is because the vision care sector has virtually no presence at the World Health Organization.  There is no secretariat or office dedicated to vision.  As a matter of fact, we are under Non-Communicable Diseases and currently in Disabilities and Rehabilitation.  It’s actually very difficult to find us there!

Because there is no such directive from the WHO to its member countries, including Canada, there is no formal national mandate.  This is a bigger issue globally where optometry is often not recognized as a healthcare player, including in much of Africa, Asia and Latin America.  And you will be shocked to hear that even France does not recognize our profession and, as a matter of fact, it’s illegal to be an optometrist in France.

The World Health Organization estimates that 285 million people suffer from moderate to severe vision loss with 39 million considered blind.  Of these, 123 million or 43% have uncorrected distance refractive errors.  Uncorrected refractive error is the leading cause of visual impairment globally which places a financial burden on the economy, is a significant contributing factor to poverty, and is avoidable.

Our WCO Councils and Presidents have done a tremendous job of advocacy with our federal governments in recent years.  In the last 15 years, Canada has signed on to the only two WHO-recognized vision care sector programs: VISION 2020: The Right To Sight, and the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Avoidable Blindness and Visual Impairment 2014 to 2019, where the goal is to reduce avoidable blindness by 25% by 2019.

So why is WCO and its relationship with the WHO important to us as Canadian optometrists?  The next wave of WHO Sustainable Development Goals will be passed at the General Assembly for the WHO in 2020 and one item under the mandate of the new Director General is Universal Health Coverage.  It is our aim, along with our partners in the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, to have the vision care sector recognized globally by the WHO within the broader public health arena.  That has never happened before, and if we don’t get in this time it will be 10 years before we have another chance at this.

This directive runs until 2030.  We have the attention of WHO and this directive is not being led by ophthalmology, and that is a first.  Having such a WHO directive given to the federal government officially opens the door for formal dialogue for a National Vision Care strategy that is good for the public and our profession.

Remember, we own myopia and this impending crisis is ours to lead.  But if we don’t take the lead, others are already lining up to own it.  Along with the Brien Holden Vision Institute, the WCO recently announced Myopia Awareness Week for 2019. There are details to follow.

I felt it imperative to lay the groundwork for this talk by giving everyone an update on how optometry is recognized globally and what role we need to play in the management of myopia both here in Canada and globally.

 

SCOTT MUNDLE

OD, President, World Council of Optometry

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Canadian Myopia Management Webinar Registration Now Open – 2 hours COPE Approved

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Canadian Eye Care Business Review and Clinical & Refractive Optometry are pleased to announce a COPE approved (2 credit hours) live CE webinar on Monday, October 29 at 8 PM (EDT):
Myopia Management:  New perspectives. New Opportunities.  
Registration for the webinar is now open.

COPE Course ID: 59812-GO      Qualified Credit: 2 hour(s)

Speakers and topics for the webinar include

  • Scott Mundle, OD, President, World Council of Optometry
    • The Challenge of Myopia 
  • Debbie Jones, FCOptom, DipCLP FAAO, CORE/Univ. of Waterloo,
    • Myopia Management from Research to Clinical Practice 
  • Jeff Goodhew, OD, Chief Co-editor Canadian Eye Care Business Review
    • Myopia Control in Practice 

Myopia can no longer be considered a benign condition. It must be addressed as a potentially sight-threatening treatable disease.  Dr Mundle will share the WCO perspectives and plans for a global Myopia awareness week in 2019. All optometrists will understand the coordinated effort toward raising awareness of Myopia as a treatable condition. Dr. Debbie Jones,will review some of the interesting research and clinical studies, and Dr Jeff Goodhew will provide pointers on how optometry can integrate myopia control to patients in the optometric practice.

Presentations will be followed by a panel discussion. Dr. Farrah Sunderji, Calgary, Alberta and Dr. Thomas Gosling, Colorado will join in a panel discussion moderated by the hosts Drs Tina and Jeff Goodhew.  Questions from the audience will be addressed.

The webinar is made possible through the generous support of CooperVision Canada,  Carl Zeiss Vision Canada and HOYA Vision Care.

Pacific University, School of Optometry is the COPE sponsoring organization and administrator for this course.

 

REGISTER

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