Author: Healio ophthalmology

European Commission approves Actavis’ pending acquisition of Allergan

by  •  • 0 Comments

The European Commission has granted clearance for Actavis’ pending acquisition of Allergan, the two companies announced today.The clearance fulfilled the final regulatory condition necessary to close the pending acquisition, which is expected to be effective on or around March 17 and remains subject to customary closing conditions, according to a press release.

Read more →

Publication Exclusive: 20 ways to be a better board member

by  •  • 0 Comments

“Corporate Governance: The manner in which boards direct a corporation … the set of processes, customs, policies, laws and institutions affecting the way people direct, administer or control a corporation.”–Wikipedia“People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.” – Thomas SowellMeetings are the Rodney Dangerfield of business management, getting no respect and lots of eye rolling. But practice meetings are indispensable in a business as braided and fast-changing as health care, and as perfectionistic as ophthalmology.

Read more →

Girl presents with lifelong history of poor vision in both eyes

by  •  • 0 Comments

A 15-year-old girl presented to the eye clinic at the New England Eye Center for a second opinion regarding reduced vision in both eyes since infancy.She was born at 36 weeks’ gestation with an unremarkable birth history. Her mother denied any history of perinatal infections or prolonged perinatal hospitalizations. During infancy, her mother noted the patient would close her eyes or fall asleep whenever outside during daylight hours and was more interactive at night. In early childhood, she was taken to an ophthalmologist and was documented to have poor vision (Read more...)

The learning curve: Is it really worth it?

by  •  • 0 Comments

Premium surgeons face many challenges on a daily basis, from managing patient expectations, managing the ocular surface and treating corneal astigmatism to calculating proper IOL powers, but the most daunting challenge is learning about and/or implementing a new surgical maneuver or device. Wikipedia describes the familiar expression “a steep learning curve” as intended to mean that the activity is difficult to learn, although a learning curve with a steep start actually represents rapid progress. Either way the steep learning curve is interpreted, the premium surgeon has to encounter it, whether (Read more...)

Higher incidence of Acanthamoeba keratitis persists more than 10 years after outbreak

by  •  • 0 Comments

PHILADELPHIA — The incidence of Acanthamoeba keratitis, although still rare, is about 10 times greater than before an outbreak of the disease occurred in 2004, according to a study presented here.“Acanthamoeba keratitis, after the outbreak in 2004, really reached a peak in 2007, but we saw that the incidence never returned to its pre-2004 baseline,” Travis C. Jenkins, MD, said at the Wills Eye Alumni Conference.

Read more →

Speaker: Diabetic retinopathy screening may be possible at hemodialysis centers

by  •  • 0 Comments

PHILADELPHIA — Hemodialysis centers may be an ideal setting for patients with diabetes to undergo diabetic retinopathy screening, a speaker said here.“Patients with diabetes on dialysis have increased barriers to getting access to eye care,” Nika Bagheri, MD, said at the Wills Eye Alumni Conference. “Teleophthalmology provides an opportunity to improve access to eye care in this high-risk population.”

Read more →

Shareholders approve Actavis’ planned acquisition of Allergan

by  •  • 0 Comments

Shareholders of Actavis and Allergan today approved all proposals related to Actavis’ planned acquisition of Allergan, the companies announced in a press release.The shareholder approvals satisfy some conditions of the closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2015, according to the release. In November, Actavis announced plans to acquire Allergan in a transaction valued at $66 billion, or $219 per share in cash and Actavis shares.

Read more →