LOS ANGELES — There are several techniques and strategies that can help improve outcomes after LASIK surgery, according to a speaker here.“One, be wary of presbyopic patients. If we had our ideal patient, we’d pick someone who is 30 years old. The presbyopic patients, you have to deal with the counseling of the readers, trying to figure out what to do with distance, middle, intermediate, and that borderline process of trying to decide on natural lens replacement vs. LASIK,” David R. Hardten, MD, said at Refractive Subspecialty Day preceding the (Read more...)
Author: Healio ophthalmology
SightLife works to enhance access to corneal tissue in remote areas
LOS ANGELES — Policy changes are needed in developing countries to bridge the gap between supply and demand for eye tissue.“Access to tissue is king,” Claire Bonilla, chief global officer at SightLife, said at Cornea Subspecialty Day preceding the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting, where she addressed “how to build capability to eliminate corneal blindness in developing countries.”
White House budget proposal slashes funding for drug control office by 95%
The fiscal 2018 budget developed by President Donald J. Trump would all but eliminate funding for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the agency spearheading the fight against the national opioid epidemic, according to a report from Politico.The White House’s budget proposal allots $24 million for fiscal 2018, a 95% decrease from the $388 million in federal funds the office received in 2017.
TearScience introduces disposable activator for LipiFlow system
LOS ANGELES — TearScience has introduced the LipiFlow Activator II, a disposable version of the Activator, part of the LipiFlow system for treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction.“We’ve been able to remove the head from the cable on our disposable in order to save a significant amount of medical waste and also give us some pricing flexibility on our disposable,” Joe Boorady, president and CEO of TearScience, told Healio.com/OSN during the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit here.
Avedro implements reimbursement pathway for cross-linking products
LOS ANGELES — Avedro has undertaken an initiative to secure coverage and support reimbursement for its cross-linking system for treatment of keratoconus and corneal disease.“Our plan going forward is to expand the market for keratoconus,” Reza Zadno, president and CEO of Avedro, told Healio.com/OSN during the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit here. Securing such reimbursement would advance that goal by allowing greater patient access to the treatment.
VIDEO: eSight introduces wearable technology for patients with vision loss
LOS ANGELES ― At the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit, Brian Mech, CEO of eSight, discusses the company’s wearable technology that provides functional vision in patients who have vision loss from numerous conditions.
VIDEO: Lensar introduces Streamline 3 platform
LOS ANGELES ― Nick Curtis, CEO of Lensar, discusses at the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit the introduction of Streamline 3, the third platform upgrade the company has made to its femtosecond laser cataract surgery system.
VIDEO: Refocus Group introduces scleral micro-implant presbyopia-correction technology
LOS ANGELES ― At the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit here, Mike Judy, CEO of Refocus Group, discusses the introduction of VisAbility micro-inserts for the correction of presbyopia.
VIDEO: TearLab introduces TearLab Discovery, its next generation platform
LOS ANGELES ― Seph Jensen, CEO of TearLab, discusses the introduction of the company’s newest platform called TearLab Discovery, which the company is working to launch. But Jensen said at the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit here that the company will structure pricing in a way that should not discourage customers from purchasing the current technology.
VIDEO: Bausch + Lomb touts four new technologies for 2017
LOS ANGELES ― Chuck Hess, vice president and general manager of surgical business at Bausch + Lomb, discusses at the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit the new technologies incorporated into the Stellaris Elite surgical platform.
VIDEO: TrueTear stimulates trigeminal nerve to produce natural tears for dry eye
LOS ANGELES ― John D. Sheppard, MD, MMSc, explains at the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit how the TrueTear from Allergan works to stimulate the trigeminal nerve in a novel dry eye treatment approach.
VIDEO: Small aperture optic technology creates depth of focus
LOS ANGELES ― At the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit here, Yari Mitchell, vice president of medical affairs and business strategy for AcuFocus, discusses the technology behind the Kamra small aperture inlay and IC-8 IOL.
VIDEO: Small optic technology creates depth of focus
LOS ANGELES ― At the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit here, Yari Mitchell, vice president of medical affairs and business strategy for AcuFocus, discusses the technology behind the Kamra small aperture inlay and IC-8 IOL.
VIDEO: Ocular Therapeutix readies to become commercial company in near future
LOS ANGELES ― At the Ophthalmology Innovation Summit here, Jonathan H. Talamo, MD, chief medical officer of Ocular Therapeutix, discusses the company’s near-term plans and products in its pipeline.
SightLife Surgical to bring potential corneal blindness treatment to US
SightLife Surgical plans to market a treatment for corneal blindness that involves culturing donated human eye endothelial cells and injecting them into the anterior chamber of a patient’s eye, the organization announced in a press release.The innovative treatment has shown “promising” results in Japanese trials in which more than 30 patients have been treated over the past 2 years.
ACP, AMA, AAFP disappointed with passage of AHCA
Today, the House of Representatives narrowly approved the American Health Care Act. Soon after, the ACP, AMA and the American Academy of Family Physicians released statements urging the Senate to reject the bill and craft bipartisan solutions to improve health care coverage and access for all Americans. “This vote makes coverage unaffordable for people with pre-existing conditions, allows insurers to opt-out of covering essential benefits like cancer screening, mental health and maternity care, and cuts and caps the federal contribution to Medicaid while sunsetting Medicaid expansion,” Jack Ende, MD, MACP, (Read more...)
VIDEO: AHCA still faces ‘uphill battle’ in Senate, speaker says
Allison Shuren, MSN, JD, of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, offers a legal perspective on the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives today with 217 votes. The bill aims to replace the Affordable Health Care Act.
Deadline approaching for Open Payments review, dispute period
Certain physicians and teaching hospitals have until May 15 to review, and if appropriate, dispute, information submitted about them through the Open Payment Program before it goes public, according to CMS.The program — also known as the Physician Payment Sunshine Act and created under the Affordable Care Act — gathers data on payments that drug and medical device companies make to physicians and teaching hospitals for items such as travel, research, gifts, speaking fees, and food and drinks.
House narrowly passes Republican health care bill to replace Obamacare
The U.S. House of Representatives today narrowly approved legislation to overhaul the nation’s health care system, voting by a slim margin to replace the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, with a refurbished version of a Republican-penned bill that was pulled just weeks ago because of a lack of support. All 217 “yea” votes for the American Health Care Act (AHCA) — one more than was needed for passage — came from Republicans. Twenty GOP members and all 193 Democrats voted against the bill, which now moves to the Senate for (Read more...)
Study follow-up completed for VisAbility micro-insert system
A 12-month follow-up on 360 patients in a phase 3 clinical trial of the VisAbility micro-insert system for presbyopia has been completed, Refocus Group announced in a press release.The company said it can now prepare a premarket approval submission to …