Lumenis has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed public offering of its ordinary shares, according to a press release. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering hav…
Author: Healio ophthalmology
COMMENTARY: Generic medications pose more questions than answers
In recent years, in most countries almost all medical specialties have been faced by the emergence of new players: generic medications. They have entered the field of interest and the lives of many individuals, caregivers, payers and eventually the pat…
VIDEO: Surgeon discusses experience implementing femtosecond cataract surgery in a large ASC
Jonathan H. Talamo, MD, describes his experience in implementing femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery in a large ASC at the American Academy of Ophthalmology in New Orleans.
BLOG: What you need to know about forced infusion vs. gravity feed irrigation in phaco surgery
In this issue of Ocular Surgery News, our cover story addresses phaco fluidics and the benefits some surgeons advocate of forced infusion of balanced salt solution. There are two schools of thought on this:
Judge bars UnitedHealthcare from dropping Medicare Advantage network physicians
A federal judge has agreed to a request by two Connecticut medical associations to temporarily block UnitedHealthcare from terminating physicians from its Medicare Advantage plan network.Medical associations in Fairfield and Hartford counties filed a legal challenge in November to block UnitedHealthcare from terminating as many as 2,250 physicians, which the associations estimate is approximately 20% of the company’s Connecticut physician network.“We won’t let UnitedHealthcare get away with interfering with the doctor-patient relationship,” Robin Oshman, MD, president of the Fairfield County Medical Association, said in a statement responding to the judge’s (Read more...)
Dosing frequency, expenditures similar for two anti-VEGFs for wet AMD treatment
Two intravitreal anti-VEGF agents for the first-line treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration were used in similar frequency, incurring similar health care expenditures, according to a study. The retrospective cohort study included 319 patient…
BLOG: The cash flow benefits of continuity of care, part 1
Influenced, perhaps, by the now-rampant business mantra of efficiency at any cost, we live in an era of cutting corners. “Can we do without that test? Can we skip that last step of documentation?” I’m all for efficiency, especially in practices larded with rules and routines that drag down profits and don’t add value to patients. But taken to extremes in your practice, cutting corners can have an unintended and remarkably large adverse effect on practice growth. This is no more evident than in the area of patient recall systems, (Read more...)
Cycloplegic eye drops needed when measuring refraction in children under general anesthesia
If accurate refractive measurements are needed, cycloplegic eye drops are necessary to reduce the accommodative tone in children when general anesthesia is used, according to a study. The study comprised 41 children with an average age of 3.7 years who underwent cycloplegic retinoscopy and subsequent streak retinoscopy under general anesthesia without cycloplegia after 6 months. Myopic measurements were significantly higher for the sphere and spherical equivalent with retinoscopy under general anesthesia compared with cycloplegic retinoscopy (P
Phase 3 study of new dry eye treatment shows promising top-line results
Top-line results from OPUS-2, a phase 3 efficacy and safety study of 5.0% lifitegrast ophthalmic solution, describe statistically significant improvement in patient-reported dry eye symptoms, according to a Shire press release. At week 12, lifitegrast …
Study: Green, yellow laser treatment results similar in diabetic macular edema
Whether wavelength for yellow or green laser is chosen for treatment of diabetic macular edema, little clinical difference is seen between the two, according to a review of data.Differences in visual acuity and OCT parameters for eyes assigned to sham …
Generic substitutions raise growing concerns among ophthalmologists
While the generic drug market steadily grows in Europe, and generic substitution has become the rule in all countries, concern exists among ophthalmologists about tolerance and efficacy, as well as their power to to maintain proper control of a patient’s treatment. “The problem in ophthalmology is that bioequivalence cannot be tested. Therefore, if patients ask me whether a generic I prescribe is equivalent to the brand, I cannot answer,” Jean-Philippe Nordmann, MD, said in the cover story of Ocular Surgery News: Europe Edition’s latest issue.
VIDEO: Surgeon discusses femtosecond cataract literature review
Michael Lawless, MD, discusses his review of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery literature as well as his experience during Refractive Surgery Subspecialty Day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology in New Orleans.
One-year global study results give reassuring view of real-life intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment
One-year findings of the LUMINOUS study, the first global, large-scale observational study on ranibizumab in routine clinical practice, showed good disease control, with maintained or increased vision and a complication rate comparable to that of clinical trial settings. The study is gradually recruiting a total of 30,000 patients with age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema and retinal vein occlusion over a period of 3 years, with a possible extension to 4 years and an additional 10,000 patients. The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, China and Russia are involved, and other countries (Read more...)
SD-OCT shows mechanisms, risk factors involved in RPE tears
VIENNA — High-definition spectral-domain optical coherence tomography analysis helped clarify mechanisms and risk factors of retinal pigment epithelium tears occurring in fibrovascular pigment epithelium detachment, according to one specialist. “Fibrovascular PED develops tears in 10% to 15% of the eyes in a variety of retinal disorders. They tend to grow over time, with significant consequences on vision. As they reach the large diameter of grade 3 and 4, they are difficult to treat,” David Sarraf, MD, said at the Advanced Retinal Therapy meeting.
Treatment protocols for VEGF inhibitors in DME await results of major trials
VIENNA — VEGF inhibitors are now first-line therapy for center-involved diabetic macular edema with reduced vision, and treatment protocols are rapidly evolving. However, data regarding many aspects of initiation, cessation and restarting of therapy remain unknown, a speaker said at the Advanced Retinal Therapy meeting here. The Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net) protocol trial demonstrated that Lucentis (ranibizumab, Novartis/Genentech) with deferred or prompt focal/grid laser resulted in superior visual acuity outcomes compared with laser alone, Lloyd A. Aiello, MD, said. Over 3 years, more than half of the eyes (Read more...)
Optometry, ophthalmology academies plan educational collaboration
The American Academy of Optometry and the American Academy of Ophthalmology announced in a joint press release that the organizations plan to “advance mutual continuing education programs for enhanced patient care.The release said the groups are fostering a collaborative approach to providing care for the growing number of U.S. patients who will seek eye care in the near future due to the increasing prevalence of chronic disease and health care reform.
New primary care delivery approaches could reduce projected physician shortage
A RAND Corp. analysis concluded that several ongoing health care innovations could significantly reduce physician shortages projected to occur as the Affordable Care Act is implemented.RAND researchers examined how two models, the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) and the nurse-managed health center (NMHC), might impact future shortages of primary care physicians (PCPs). Concluding that shortage predictions may be “far from the mark,” researchers wrote that “projected physician shortages can be substantially reduced by using new models of primary care, even without increases in the number of physicians.”
Pharmacokinetics of anti-VEGF drugs suggest reinjection between 4 weeks and 8 weeks
VIENNA — Calculation of the half-life of anti-VEGF drugs supports reinjection intervals between 4 weeks and 8 weeks, according to studies presented by one speaker. “We developed an enzyme ELISA test to determine the concentration of unbound bevacizumab and ranibizumab in the anterior chamber at different time points after injection and used it in a series of prospective trials,” Carsten H. Meyer, MD, said at the Advanced Retinal Therapy meeting.
Selective, targeted laser treatment effective in patients with diabetes
VIENNA — Initial experience with the 577 nm subthreshold yellow Pascal laser in patients with diabetes shows that the technology may provide selective, targeted treatment with minimal damage to surrounding areas and reduced side effects. “Diabetics need treatment for life, usually from a young age, and we need minimal laser to stabilize the condition at every recurrence,” Paulo Stanga, MD, said at the Advanced Retinal Therapy meeting.
Permanent J-code established for Jetrea in US
The Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services has published a permanent Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System code for Jetrea, which will be effective January 2014, according to a press release from ThromboGenics. The permanent J-code is J7316.