Our podcast with Omar Punjabi, MD, retinal specialist at Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat, discusses the science behind solar retinopathy and how eclipse glasses give protection that standard eyewear can’t.

Tami L. Hagemeyer, ABOC, FNAO, discusses dealing with unhappy patients, how to diffuse the situation, and maintaining patient loyalty.

Here are the top five ways to advise your patients on how to view the total solar eclipse from their own backyards using direct or indirect viewing.

I've been witness of late to a lot of workplace conflict. It is my nature to avoid conflict. I'm certain it’s because I dealt with a lifetime of workplace conflict when I was a supervisor in the coal mines.

In order to continue this dialogue, and in an attempt to help bring some clarity to the landscape around vision plans, I have put together this five-part blog series. Part 1 of this series outlined the four big topics ODs seem to have the most complaints with vison care plans (VCP). In Part 2 of the series, we covered if it has to be this difficult.

Sometimes you just want to know what the experts do.

You know the statistics. Nearly 40% of Americans don’t go to the eye doctor because they feel like their eyes are “fine,” and despite efforts by the AOA and outreach campaigns, the average American is also getting bombarded by telemedicine ads painting eyecare as “inconvenient” and “expensive.”

Sometimes you have to let them fail to make a point.

With great anticipation, the updated report of the TFOS Dry Eye WorkShop (DEWS II) was released last week. The first DEWS report was released in 2007.

When is the last time that you performed an eye exam for an energetic two-year-old? Does the thought scare you, or do you refer these patients to the nearest pediatric specialist? With just a little patience and a quick response time, you, too, can perform a 2-year-old eye exam as smoothly as an adult eye exam (sometimes even easier).

Not starting meetings on time and waiting for late staff sends the message that on-time people’s time is not important, says Anthony Record, LDO, FNAO, ABO, of Tampa, FL at Vison Expo East.

So much basic science research is presented at this meeting, and most of it will be years before it makes its way to clinical trials. Let’s concentrate on research that might be of use to us in the exam room very soon.

As a lecturer and clinical instructor in vision therapy and pediatrics, it is important to have a literature base for what I am teaching. My top 10 favorite vision therapy books provide that evidence base and offer a varied clinical approach for all optometrists who to offer vision therapy in their practices or simply understand the visual process on a higher level.

As an allergy sufferer myself, I tend to pore over the journals and literature to learn what new exciting technologies may be on the horizon. When I came across epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT), my mind went in a multitude of different directions about the endless possibilities for both systemic and ocular allergy management.

Scott Schachter, OD, discusses dry eye and how incorporating a dry eye checklist may help improve patient treatment.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients is a common finding in optometric practices. When we grade the level of retinopathy, we often do so with findings of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS)in mind.

Pediatric optometry, cosmetology, and giant tubs of popcorn

Innovative technology is certainly one way to catch a patient’s attention. Most patients will appreciate ODs who are not only current but use state-of-the art technology.

How often have you heard a post-LASIK patient say his surgery “isn’t working anymore” or it has “expired?” While the corneal tissue that was ablated is gone forever, eyes can change over time, and laser vision correction does not stop time.

Best practice guidelines are just that-guidelines. They’re not religious dogma designed to herd everyone into the same line. We are rightly moving toward more evidence-based medicine, such as increased use of bandage lenses and less pressure patching in the management of corneal abrasions and erosions.