From Paper to Clinic, Episode 1: The Interventional Glaucoma Paradigm

Welcome to From Paper to Clinic, a podcast focused on evidence-based eye care and real-world clinical decision-making, hosted by Hamza Shah, OD, MS, FAAO, a faculty member at the University of Houston College of Optometry. His work spans clinical patient care, education, and mentoring, and his clinical interests include ocular disease, dry eye, perioperative care, and—above all—the challenge of translating information into meaningful patient outcomes.

In Episode 1, “The Interventional Glaucoma Paradigm,” Austin Lifferth, OD, FAAO, joins the show to discuss interventional glaucoma. In the conversation, the pair emphasizes a proactive approach over only traditional topical treatments, highlighting the benefits of procedural treatments like selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), which offers better disease control, reduced productivity loss, and improved patient outcomes. They also discuss the importance of goniotomy as an initial step and the need for optometrists to adopt interventional glaucoma practices.

Lifford also outlines the stages of glaucoma and the frequency of follow-ups, stressing the importance of correlation between tests. They collectively predict a future shift towards more procedural treatments, aiming for a proactive approach to glaucoma management.

The paper inspiring this discussion is the "Interventional glaucoma consensus treatment protocol" from Funke et al, published in Expert Review of Ophthalmology.

Do you want to only listen to this episode? Check out the audio player below.

Episode 2 is coming on Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 AM ET

The second episode of From Paper to Clinic will debut in early April and will feature Raman Bhakhri, OD, focusing on geographic atrophy and its categorization as a peripheral retinal disease. Listeners are invited to join the conversation as the series explores how evidence moves… from paper to clinic.