In Box Benefits for Members
Susana Guzmán Optometrist Óptica Siman Miraflores Guatemala
de
at The Vision Care 1 Course InstituteTM in Latin America The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member will attend a course to experience the facilities at The Vision Care InstituteTM in Bogotá and Puerto Rico. The studiylan is a perfect balance between continuous knowledge in contact lenses and company abilities topics.
2
visitors
High Level
of contactology
The Vision Care TM First Class Community
Colombia, september 12th and 13th.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member will receive periodically the Magazine Revista Panamericana de Lentes de Contacto, which contains important scientific advances, exclusive information on the visual health union and specialized articles on a great variety of topics related to Contact Lenses.
6 Web/Blogs Community
Fitting hydrogel silicone contact lenses in teenagers The new contact lens materials have raised a revolution in the way of fitting, even more in adolescents and kids. What before was not possible and had barriers can be reached today quicker and more efficiently.
¿How to look for academic information about contact lenses on the web? Making systemic research with filters, and in the proper places allows for interesting and accurate findings in less time. For doing this, it is necessary to acquire basic but necessary tools, know the sites related to our professions and have motivation and interest to achieve it.
Astigmatism
and comfort
Go to www.rpalc.com, participate, update in the new technologies and take advantage of the possibility of discussing about frequent cases. Send your comments or article to the Revista Panamericana de Lentes de Contacto (RPALC) email address submision@rpalc.com.
Dra. Cristina Schnider, from Jacksonville (Estados Unidos)
Benefits
In Box Chile, september 22th and 23th.
of new contact lenses users
This means that we have started to resize the advantage of correcting astigmatism with soft toric lenses with an accelerated stabilization design, from the possible values of 0.75 to almost 3.50 cylinder diopters, having a test performed in advanced. It also depends in each case on the combination of sphere and cylinder. I would like to point out the importance of reassessing the spherical equivalent as a precise, simple and easy way to correct adjustments since the toric lenses have replaced it. However, spherical lens sales have not decreased, and this means we have obtained new users and a steady growth in the disposable contact lens category. I know very well that the teamwork of the company and each member of FirstClass has been a daily task. We understand the commitment we have, and that we understand this is a clinical task, not a business task, and that profitability is a long term goal.
The last number of the Revista Panamericana de Lentes de Contacto (RPALC). has been launched. We present the advances of the principal articles. Importance of frequent replacement of contact lenses Nowadays, there are several options of contact lenses that allow the specialist to have a great variety of alternatives to recommend a scheduled replacement plan, which adapts to the patient’s life style.
Exclusive Educational Materials
Dr. Nelson Merchán Professional Affairs Manager Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Central and South America
I have seen, with great surprise and satisfaction, how the growth of new contact lenses users and astigmatic users have been increasing gradually in the Latin American region. It is very surprising because even in some local markets, it account for 40% of disposable contact lenses sales; this figure was just a dream when we talked about toric lenses two years ago.
de Lentes de Contacto
Argentina, september 5th - 6th and 7th.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class members will have exclusive access to our webpage www.tvcibogota.com, where they will find diverse tools to complement their professional development such as a forum, blogs, news, galleries, professional profiles and online videos.
Evolution and growth
Second local meetting
Revista Panamericana
Three- Monthly News
Journal Revista Panamericana de Lentes de Contacto
OCTOBER - DECEMBER EDITION, 2011
Peru, august 18th and 19th.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member will periodically receive the most relevant printed material for his or her practice. Scales useful for diagnostic and treatment, new tools, useful advice, anamnesis special forms, patient orientation, trading tools and more.
5
I would like to thank you for the opportunity you gave us to send optometrists to The Vision Care InstituteTM of Bogota. They came back highly motivated and with many expectations about their professional and personal lives; but we are especially grateful for this wonderful opportunity Johnson & Johnson gave them to live this enriching experience. As usual, the logistics was excellent, and they were really well treated. Again a million thanks.
News
Best regards and I hope to see you soon again!
A hug for all.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member will receive an exclusive News Bulletin with all the most important events and news about Contact Lenses and short and interesting comments about the latest news in the field. There will also appear Interviews with the most experienced visual health professionals on important topics.
4
It is very pleasant to share with you how glad and excited I came back from The Vision Care InstituteTM. I would like to comment that I am very grateful with you for this pleasant experience, which contributes to our knowledge, creates new friends, and a new vision as well as high motivation. . Therefore, all I can do is to express my thankfulness and congratulations for doing such enriching activities, which are very useful for those who participate in them.
National and Local Meetings
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member has the opportunity to go again to the local Meetings at The Vision Care InstituteTM . The answer to new contacts and businesses among members are these local meetings at The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class in each country, at no cost, as well as the rest of the activities of this program.
3
Our International
Ana Lidia Kury Eye care professional OPTILAB, S.A. de C.V. San Salvador, El Salvador
de
Now, every time opportunity comes in a better way, and we are starting to explore toric lenses fitting with an accelerated stabilization design in cases of post refractive surgery, keratoconus, corneal ectasias, and several irregular astigmatisms of different classifications, with successful results and wide clinical and scientific value. We have already seen these results in other academic scenarios, lectures, articles, posters and papers, among others. I believe this may be our invitation to continue the task of eliminating the concept of spherical equivalent in the adjustment of astigmatisms of less than 3.50 diopters. It is also an invitation to promote the dual use of contact lenses and glasses by those same users, as well as to challenge the interesting cases and to grow in Contactology, as we have been doing so far; committed to the health, comfortability and life style factors of our new users.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class Bogotá Comunity
High Level
Contactology
Last September, Bogota had the great visit of Doctor Cristina Schnider, optometrist, Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, and senior manager of Professional Affairs, at the Vision Care for the United States. She also holds several titles of no less importance and commitment in Contactology, especially in the soft disposable contact lens research and development process in Asia Pacific (Japan) and the United States.
Dr. Nelson Merchán Professional Affairs Manager Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Central and South America
For many reasons it was a very important week for those who had the opportunity to share with Doctor Schnider. Many discovered her knowledge and achievements on the level of global contactology, and realized that there is a lot of work to do in the field. Everyone’s perception is different. The students saw a very important person who displayed a great deal of professionalism and a high level of knowledge in contactology. The professors at The Vision Care InstituteTM had entertaining and insightful discussions about the important role of education in contact lenses and about the separation of the brand from the educational and growth processes. Contact lens fitters enjoyed the visit of an international speaker of a different level. And, finally, the professional affairs team members said they felt proud working in this company’s department with coworkers such as Doctor Schnider. The most relevant topics addressed by Doctor Schnider were astigmatism, safe fitting, clinic tips and proactivity recommendations; eye comfort from the clinical proposal of the eye professional, communication, life style and monitoring after the fitting, UV filter and added values to a disposable silicone hydrogel soft contact lenses. All of these are current and highly relevant topics for the modern fitter who is concerned with the correct and precise adjustment of lenses for their patients. Doctor Schnider was surprised with the high clinical and scientific level she discovered during her interactions with Colombians and, actually, with the benefits program offered by the FirstClass Community at The Vision Care Institute0 in Latin America. She talked about the possibilities for research development, new developments in fitting contact lenses in special cases and about the high level of the educational meetings seen in Latin America nowadays, recognizing that this is the region of the world with the highest number of new users in the category of soft disposable lenses. For all the people who were around Doctor Schnider, it was a real pleasure to enjoy her simplicity and share her broad and accurate knowledge in contact lenses, her permanent reflection about education processes and her loyal commitment with the professional of visual health. Thank you again, Doctor Schnider, for your outstanding contributions, and your humbleness in accepting the invitation of The Vision Care InstituteTM.
Factors in the management of the astigmatic patient users of contact lenses Last September 22nd, at La Salle University facilities, the second most important meeting for fitters of The Vision Care InstituteTM FirstClass community of Bogotá took place with an impeccable presentation by Doctor Cristina Schnider, who comes from Jacksonville, Florida (USA). She addressed the topic of management of the astigmatic patients, and gave clinical and proactivity tips. There was an elegant dinner offered by the program to its active members who are committed to the nonformal and innovative education that the program offers. It was a special evening, and every year we intend to have an academic event of this type of activity that enriches our knowledge and contributes to strengthening the field and develop culture. Let’s remember that two years ago, in this same type of event, we attended the lecture of Doctor Abner Lobao Neto, from Brazil, who talked about the challenge of adjusting astigmatism with toric lenses, and now two years later, we continue talking about it with more authority and how the tools used for this challenge is proactive and profitable for professionals. We have always seen this from a perspective of civil and health responsibility with the new users.
¿Is the Astigmatism, around the world, a refractive error resolved by the opticians, optometrists or any ocular health specialist? Astigmatism is most commonly resolved by opticians for glasses, and optometrists for contact lenses. In some countries where only ophthalmologists are able to practice, penetration of contact lens fitting for astigmatism tends to be much lower (such as in Japan). ¿Was the toric contact lens the right decision to fit in astigmatic patients, since the beginning of the trials and studies, or it could wait a little more time, in order to demonstrate its best performance? (¿The first toric contact lens, didn’t be a right answer to astigmatic patients, now, are they?) Early toric lenses had many issues with on-eye stability and repeatability of manufacture. However, most of the frequent replacement lenses on the market today have exceptional stability, so we can be more confident that they will settle quickly, and remain stable after the patient leaves the office. In fact, most designs are now so good that you should be able to go from a refraction (even an auto-refraction in some cases) to a final prescription in 1 lens between 80 and 90% of the time. With a simple correction for vertex distance (charts are available to assist in this conversion), you can fit a toric lens almost as easily and as quickly as fitting a sphere. The important change is to put the toric lens on FIRST. Visual acuity is a poor indicator of uncorrected astigmatism, so it is easy to let ourselves believe the patient sees “well enough” with a sphere. But think about the decision you would make with a spectacle lens, and do the same thing for contact lenses. ¿Which professional criteria, fitters has to take in count, in order to fit a right toric contact lens in any patient? It is important to think about prescribing a UV blocking lens for all your patients. Research has shown this to be critical for protecting eyes from harmful UV radiation which occurs at every altitude, every latitude, and throughout the days. The younger we start with UV protection, the better. Younger patients have clearer lenses, larger pupils, and are outside more, so the need for UV protection is very high for our children and teens, but protection is important for everyone at all times when outside. Also consider some of the newer technologies which permanently embed moisture rich ingredients in the lens. These can help your more difficult patients achieve more comfortable wear and better vision. ¿Definitively, is the slit lamp, a necessary or mandatory tool for fit contact lens ? Even though most lenses fit most patients very well today, it is important to use the slit lamp to record the baseline ocular condition so you can see small changes that may indicate problems later. Staining, lid redness or roughness and limbal or conjunctival redness are all im-
A fraternal embrace The opinions expressed in articles reflect solely the viewpoint of their authors, and not necessarily the views and policies of The Vision Care InstituteTM.
Nelson L. Merchán
portant signs of problems. The slit lamp is a very important patient education tool as well. You can give a patient a “report card” of their eye health each time you see them – this differentiates the service you provide from the lenses you sell, and adds value to you as a medical professional. ¿If the “spheric equivalent” was an important tool to fit contact lens in the past, Today isn’t it? Several research studies have shown that even when Visual Acuity is not better in the consulting room compared to the spherical equivanent, patients do find benefit to correcting even small amounts (0.75D) of astigmatism. One important question to ask patients with uncorrected astigmatism is how FAST they are able to see things, or how confident they are that they will be able to make a quick visual decision. ¿What aspects/ practices do you think, the current fitter in latin America, should be try to improve, in order to do better fittings of Toric Contact lenses? As I said before, consider fitting toric lenses FIRST to those patients with astigmatism. If your prescribe it, most will buy it. It you give them a choice of a cheaper lens, you are also giving them the message that in your professional opinion, they are the same – which we know they are not. Most modern designs are very good, but remember that your patient does many more interesting things with their eyes and head outside of your consultation room, so select a lens that is stable under lots of gravity and gaze situations. ¿Comfort is a definitively, a new indicator of successful fittings? Comfort is the one thing the patient can measure that we can’t, so it is very important to success. It is the most common reason for drop out, so we must always keep looking for better alternatives. Remember that visual comfort is also part of the equation, so ensure that patients are well corrected optically as well as comfortable physically.
From Jacksonville (Estados Unidos) with Dra. Cristina Schnider
Editorial
Face to Face
Astigmatism and comfort
Second local meeting
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class Bogotá Comunity
High Level
Contactology
Last September, Bogota had the great visit of Doctor Cristina Schnider, optometrist, Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, and senior manager of Professional Affairs, at the Vision Care for the United States. She also holds several titles of no less importance and commitment in Contactology, especially in the soft disposable contact lens research and development process in Asia Pacific (Japan) and the United States.
Dr. Nelson Merchán Professional Affairs Manager Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Central and South America
For many reasons it was a very important week for those who had the opportunity to share with Doctor Schnider. Many discovered her knowledge and achievements on the level of global contactology, and realized that there is a lot of work to do in the field. Everyone’s perception is different. The students saw a very important person who displayed a great deal of professionalism and a high level of knowledge in contactology. The professors at The Vision Care InstituteTM had entertaining and insightful discussions about the important role of education in contact lenses and about the separation of the brand from the educational and growth processes. Contact lens fitters enjoyed the visit of an international speaker of a different level. And, finally, the professional affairs team members said they felt proud working in this company’s department with coworkers such as Doctor Schnider. The most relevant topics addressed by Doctor Schnider were astigmatism, safe fitting, clinic tips and proactivity recommendations; eye comfort from the clinical proposal of the eye professional, communication, life style and monitoring after the fitting, UV filter and added values to a disposable silicone hydrogel soft contact lenses. All of these are current and highly relevant topics for the modern fitter who is concerned with the correct and precise adjustment of lenses for their patients. Doctor Schnider was surprised with the high clinical and scientific level she discovered during her interactions with Colombians and, actually, with the benefits program offered by the FirstClass Community at The Vision Care Institute0 in Latin America. She talked about the possibilities for research development, new developments in fitting contact lenses in special cases and about the high level of the educational meetings seen in Latin America nowadays, recognizing that this is the region of the world with the highest number of new users in the category of soft disposable lenses. For all the people who were around Doctor Schnider, it was a real pleasure to enjoy her simplicity and share her broad and accurate knowledge in contact lenses, her permanent reflection about education processes and her loyal commitment with the professional of visual health. Thank you again, Doctor Schnider, for your outstanding contributions, and your humbleness in accepting the invitation of The Vision Care InstituteTM.
Factors in the management of the astigmatic patient users of contact lenses Last September 22nd, at La Salle University facilities, the second most important meeting for fitters of The Vision Care InstituteTM FirstClass community of Bogotá took place with an impeccable presentation by Doctor Cristina Schnider, who comes from Jacksonville, Florida (USA). She addressed the topic of management of the astigmatic patients, and gave clinical and proactivity tips. There was an elegant dinner offered by the program to its active members who are committed to the nonformal and innovative education that the program offers. It was a special evening, and every year we intend to have an academic event of this type of activity that enriches our knowledge and contributes to strengthening the field and develop culture. Let’s remember that two years ago, in this same type of event, we attended the lecture of Doctor Abner Lobao Neto, from Brazil, who talked about the challenge of adjusting astigmatism with toric lenses, and now two years later, we continue talking about it with more authority and how the tools used for this challenge is proactive and profitable for professionals. We have always seen this from a perspective of civil and health responsibility with the new users.
¿Is the Astigmatism, around the world, a refractive error resolved by the opticians, optometrists or any ocular health specialist? Astigmatism is most commonly resolved by opticians for glasses, and optometrists for contact lenses. In some countries where only ophthalmologists are able to practice, penetration of contact lens fitting for astigmatism tends to be much lower (such as in Japan). ¿Was the toric contact lens the right decision to fit in astigmatic patients, since the beginning of the trials and studies, or it could wait a little more time, in order to demonstrate its best performance? (¿The first toric contact lens, didn’t be a right answer to astigmatic patients, now, are they?) Early toric lenses had many issues with on-eye stability and repeatability of manufacture. However, most of the frequent replacement lenses on the market today have exceptional stability, so we can be more confident that they will settle quickly, and remain stable after the patient leaves the office. In fact, most designs are now so good that you should be able to go from a refraction (even an auto-refraction in some cases) to a final prescription in 1 lens between 80 and 90% of the time. With a simple correction for vertex distance (charts are available to assist in this conversion), you can fit a toric lens almost as easily and as quickly as fitting a sphere. The important change is to put the toric lens on FIRST. Visual acuity is a poor indicator of uncorrected astigmatism, so it is easy to let ourselves believe the patient sees “well enough” with a sphere. But think about the decision you would make with a spectacle lens, and do the same thing for contact lenses. ¿Which professional criteria, fitters has to take in count, in order to fit a right toric contact lens in any patient? It is important to think about prescribing a UV blocking lens for all your patients. Research has shown this to be critical for protecting eyes from harmful UV radiation which occurs at every altitude, every latitude, and throughout the days. The younger we start with UV protection, the better. Younger patients have clearer lenses, larger pupils, and are outside more, so the need for UV protection is very high for our children and teens, but protection is important for everyone at all times when outside. Also consider some of the newer technologies which permanently embed moisture rich ingredients in the lens. These can help your more difficult patients achieve more comfortable wear and better vision. ¿Definitively, is the slit lamp, a necessary or mandatory tool for fit contact lens ? Even though most lenses fit most patients very well today, it is important to use the slit lamp to record the baseline ocular condition so you can see small changes that may indicate problems later. Staining, lid redness or roughness and limbal or conjunctival redness are all im-
A fraternal embrace The opinions expressed in articles reflect solely the viewpoint of their authors, and not necessarily the views and policies of The Vision Care InstituteTM.
Nelson L. Merchán
portant signs of problems. The slit lamp is a very important patient education tool as well. You can give a patient a “report card” of their eye health each time you see them – this differentiates the service you provide from the lenses you sell, and adds value to you as a medical professional. ¿If the “spheric equivalent” was an important tool to fit contact lens in the past, Today isn’t it? Several research studies have shown that even when Visual Acuity is not better in the consulting room compared to the spherical equivanent, patients do find benefit to correcting even small amounts (0.75D) of astigmatism. One important question to ask patients with uncorrected astigmatism is how FAST they are able to see things, or how confident they are that they will be able to make a quick visual decision. ¿What aspects/ practices do you think, the current fitter in latin America, should be try to improve, in order to do better fittings of Toric Contact lenses? As I said before, consider fitting toric lenses FIRST to those patients with astigmatism. If your prescribe it, most will buy it. It you give them a choice of a cheaper lens, you are also giving them the message that in your professional opinion, they are the same – which we know they are not. Most modern designs are very good, but remember that your patient does many more interesting things with their eyes and head outside of your consultation room, so select a lens that is stable under lots of gravity and gaze situations. ¿Comfort is a definitively, a new indicator of successful fittings? Comfort is the one thing the patient can measure that we can’t, so it is very important to success. It is the most common reason for drop out, so we must always keep looking for better alternatives. Remember that visual comfort is also part of the equation, so ensure that patients are well corrected optically as well as comfortable physically.
From Jacksonville (Estados Unidos) with Dra. Cristina Schnider
Editorial
Face to Face
Astigmatism and comfort
Second local meeting
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class Bogotá Comunity
High Level
Contactology
Last September, Bogota had the great visit of Doctor Cristina Schnider, optometrist, Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, and senior manager of Professional Affairs, at the Vision Care for the United States. She also holds several titles of no less importance and commitment in Contactology, especially in the soft disposable contact lens research and development process in Asia Pacific (Japan) and the United States.
Dr. Nelson Merchán Professional Affairs Manager Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Central and South America
For many reasons it was a very important week for those who had the opportunity to share with Doctor Schnider. Many discovered her knowledge and achievements on the level of global contactology, and realized that there is a lot of work to do in the field. Everyone’s perception is different. The students saw a very important person who displayed a great deal of professionalism and a high level of knowledge in contactology. The professors at The Vision Care InstituteTM had entertaining and insightful discussions about the important role of education in contact lenses and about the separation of the brand from the educational and growth processes. Contact lens fitters enjoyed the visit of an international speaker of a different level. And, finally, the professional affairs team members said they felt proud working in this company’s department with coworkers such as Doctor Schnider. The most relevant topics addressed by Doctor Schnider were astigmatism, safe fitting, clinic tips and proactivity recommendations; eye comfort from the clinical proposal of the eye professional, communication, life style and monitoring after the fitting, UV filter and added values to a disposable silicone hydrogel soft contact lenses. All of these are current and highly relevant topics for the modern fitter who is concerned with the correct and precise adjustment of lenses for their patients. Doctor Schnider was surprised with the high clinical and scientific level she discovered during her interactions with Colombians and, actually, with the benefits program offered by the FirstClass Community at The Vision Care Institute0 in Latin America. She talked about the possibilities for research development, new developments in fitting contact lenses in special cases and about the high level of the educational meetings seen in Latin America nowadays, recognizing that this is the region of the world with the highest number of new users in the category of soft disposable lenses. For all the people who were around Doctor Schnider, it was a real pleasure to enjoy her simplicity and share her broad and accurate knowledge in contact lenses, her permanent reflection about education processes and her loyal commitment with the professional of visual health. Thank you again, Doctor Schnider, for your outstanding contributions, and your humbleness in accepting the invitation of The Vision Care InstituteTM.
Factors in the management of the astigmatic patient users of contact lenses Last September 22nd, at La Salle University facilities, the second most important meeting for fitters of The Vision Care InstituteTM FirstClass community of Bogotá took place with an impeccable presentation by Doctor Cristina Schnider, who comes from Jacksonville, Florida (USA). She addressed the topic of management of the astigmatic patients, and gave clinical and proactivity tips. There was an elegant dinner offered by the program to its active members who are committed to the nonformal and innovative education that the program offers. It was a special evening, and every year we intend to have an academic event of this type of activity that enriches our knowledge and contributes to strengthening the field and develop culture. Let’s remember that two years ago, in this same type of event, we attended the lecture of Doctor Abner Lobao Neto, from Brazil, who talked about the challenge of adjusting astigmatism with toric lenses, and now two years later, we continue talking about it with more authority and how the tools used for this challenge is proactive and profitable for professionals. We have always seen this from a perspective of civil and health responsibility with the new users.
¿Is the Astigmatism, around the world, a refractive error resolved by the opticians, optometrists or any ocular health specialist? Astigmatism is most commonly resolved by opticians for glasses, and optometrists for contact lenses. In some countries where only ophthalmologists are able to practice, penetration of contact lens fitting for astigmatism tends to be much lower (such as in Japan). ¿Was the toric contact lens the right decision to fit in astigmatic patients, since the beginning of the trials and studies, or it could wait a little more time, in order to demonstrate its best performance? (¿The first toric contact lens, didn’t be a right answer to astigmatic patients, now, are they?) Early toric lenses had many issues with on-eye stability and repeatability of manufacture. However, most of the frequent replacement lenses on the market today have exceptional stability, so we can be more confident that they will settle quickly, and remain stable after the patient leaves the office. In fact, most designs are now so good that you should be able to go from a refraction (even an auto-refraction in some cases) to a final prescription in 1 lens between 80 and 90% of the time. With a simple correction for vertex distance (charts are available to assist in this conversion), you can fit a toric lens almost as easily and as quickly as fitting a sphere. The important change is to put the toric lens on FIRST. Visual acuity is a poor indicator of uncorrected astigmatism, so it is easy to let ourselves believe the patient sees “well enough” with a sphere. But think about the decision you would make with a spectacle lens, and do the same thing for contact lenses. ¿Which professional criteria, fitters has to take in count, in order to fit a right toric contact lens in any patient? It is important to think about prescribing a UV blocking lens for all your patients. Research has shown this to be critical for protecting eyes from harmful UV radiation which occurs at every altitude, every latitude, and throughout the days. The younger we start with UV protection, the better. Younger patients have clearer lenses, larger pupils, and are outside more, so the need for UV protection is very high for our children and teens, but protection is important for everyone at all times when outside. Also consider some of the newer technologies which permanently embed moisture rich ingredients in the lens. These can help your more difficult patients achieve more comfortable wear and better vision. ¿Definitively, is the slit lamp, a necessary or mandatory tool for fit contact lens ? Even though most lenses fit most patients very well today, it is important to use the slit lamp to record the baseline ocular condition so you can see small changes that may indicate problems later. Staining, lid redness or roughness and limbal or conjunctival redness are all im-
A fraternal embrace The opinions expressed in articles reflect solely the viewpoint of their authors, and not necessarily the views and policies of The Vision Care InstituteTM.
Nelson L. Merchán
portant signs of problems. The slit lamp is a very important patient education tool as well. You can give a patient a “report card” of their eye health each time you see them – this differentiates the service you provide from the lenses you sell, and adds value to you as a medical professional. ¿If the “spheric equivalent” was an important tool to fit contact lens in the past, Today isn’t it? Several research studies have shown that even when Visual Acuity is not better in the consulting room compared to the spherical equivanent, patients do find benefit to correcting even small amounts (0.75D) of astigmatism. One important question to ask patients with uncorrected astigmatism is how FAST they are able to see things, or how confident they are that they will be able to make a quick visual decision. ¿What aspects/ practices do you think, the current fitter in latin America, should be try to improve, in order to do better fittings of Toric Contact lenses? As I said before, consider fitting toric lenses FIRST to those patients with astigmatism. If your prescribe it, most will buy it. It you give them a choice of a cheaper lens, you are also giving them the message that in your professional opinion, they are the same – which we know they are not. Most modern designs are very good, but remember that your patient does many more interesting things with their eyes and head outside of your consultation room, so select a lens that is stable under lots of gravity and gaze situations. ¿Comfort is a definitively, a new indicator of successful fittings? Comfort is the one thing the patient can measure that we can’t, so it is very important to success. It is the most common reason for drop out, so we must always keep looking for better alternatives. Remember that visual comfort is also part of the equation, so ensure that patients are well corrected optically as well as comfortable physically.
From Jacksonville (Estados Unidos) with Dra. Cristina Schnider
Editorial
Face to Face
Astigmatism and comfort
Second local meeting
In Box Benefits for Members
Susana Guzmán Optometrist Óptica Siman Miraflores Guatemala
de
at The Vision Care 1 Course InstituteTM in Latin America The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member will attend a course to experience the facilities at The Vision Care InstituteTM in Bogotá and Puerto Rico. The studiylan is a perfect balance between continuous knowledge in contact lenses and company abilities topics.
2
visitors
High Level
of contactology
The Vision Care TM First Class Community
Colombia, september 12th and 13th.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member will receive periodically the Magazine Revista Panamericana de Lentes de Contacto, which contains important scientific advances, exclusive information on the visual health union and specialized articles on a great variety of topics related to Contact Lenses.
6 Web/Blogs Community
Fitting hydrogel silicone contact lenses in teenagers The new contact lens materials have raised a revolution in the way of fitting, even more in adolescents and kids. What before was not possible and had barriers can be reached today quicker and more efficiently.
¿How to look for academic information about contact lenses on the web? Making systemic research with filters, and in the proper places allows for interesting and accurate findings in less time. For doing this, it is necessary to acquire basic but necessary tools, know the sites related to our professions and have motivation and interest to achieve it.
Astigmatism
and comfort
Go to www.rpalc.com, participate, update in the new technologies and take advantage of the possibility of discussing about frequent cases. Send your comments or article to the Revista Panamericana de Lentes de Contacto (RPALC) email address submision@rpalc.com.
Dra. Cristina Schnider, from Jacksonville (Estados Unidos)
Benefits
In Box Chile, september 22th and 23th.
of new contact lenses users
This means that we have started to resize the advantage of correcting astigmatism with soft toric lenses with an accelerated stabilization design, from the possible values of 0.75 to almost 3.50 cylinder diopters, having a test performed in advanced. It also depends in each case on the combination of sphere and cylinder. I would like to point out the importance of reassessing the spherical equivalent as a precise, simple and easy way to correct adjustments since the toric lenses have replaced it. However, spherical lens sales have not decreased, and this means we have obtained new users and a steady growth in the disposable contact lens category. I know very well that the teamwork of the company and each member of FirstClass has been a daily task. We understand the commitment we have, and that we understand this is a clinical task, not a business task, and that profitability is a long term goal.
The last number of the Revista Panamericana de Lentes de Contacto (RPALC). has been launched. We present the advances of the principal articles. Importance of frequent replacement of contact lenses Nowadays, there are several options of contact lenses that allow the specialist to have a great variety of alternatives to recommend a scheduled replacement plan, which adapts to the patient’s life style.
Exclusive Educational Materials
Dr. Nelson Merchán Professional Affairs Manager Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Central and South America
I have seen, with great surprise and satisfaction, how the growth of new contact lenses users and astigmatic users have been increasing gradually in the Latin American region. It is very surprising because even in some local markets, it account for 40% of disposable contact lenses sales; this figure was just a dream when we talked about toric lenses two years ago.
de Lentes de Contacto
Argentina, september 5th - 6th and 7th.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class members will have exclusive access to our webpage www.tvcibogota.com, where they will find diverse tools to complement their professional development such as a forum, blogs, news, galleries, professional profiles and online videos.
Evolution and growth
Second local meetting
Revista Panamericana
Three- Monthly News
Journal Revista Panamericana de Lentes de Contacto
OCTOBER - DECEMBER EDITION, 2011
Peru, august 18th and 19th.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member will periodically receive the most relevant printed material for his or her practice. Scales useful for diagnostic and treatment, new tools, useful advice, anamnesis special forms, patient orientation, trading tools and more.
5
I would like to thank you for the opportunity you gave us to send optometrists to The Vision Care InstituteTM of Bogota. They came back highly motivated and with many expectations about their professional and personal lives; but we are especially grateful for this wonderful opportunity Johnson & Johnson gave them to live this enriching experience. As usual, the logistics was excellent, and they were really well treated. Again a million thanks.
News
Best regards and I hope to see you soon again!
A hug for all.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member will receive an exclusive News Bulletin with all the most important events and news about Contact Lenses and short and interesting comments about the latest news in the field. There will also appear Interviews with the most experienced visual health professionals on important topics.
4
It is very pleasant to share with you how glad and excited I came back from The Vision Care InstituteTM. I would like to comment that I am very grateful with you for this pleasant experience, which contributes to our knowledge, creates new friends, and a new vision as well as high motivation. . Therefore, all I can do is to express my thankfulness and congratulations for doing such enriching activities, which are very useful for those who participate in them.
National and Local Meetings
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member has the opportunity to go again to the local Meetings at The Vision Care InstituteTM . The answer to new contacts and businesses among members are these local meetings at The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class in each country, at no cost, as well as the rest of the activities of this program.
3
Our International
Ana Lidia Kury Eye care professional OPTILAB, S.A. de C.V. San Salvador, El Salvador
de
Now, every time opportunity comes in a better way, and we are starting to explore toric lenses fitting with an accelerated stabilization design in cases of post refractive surgery, keratoconus, corneal ectasias, and several irregular astigmatisms of different classifications, with successful results and wide clinical and scientific value. We have already seen these results in other academic scenarios, lectures, articles, posters and papers, among others. I believe this may be our invitation to continue the task of eliminating the concept of spherical equivalent in the adjustment of astigmatisms of less than 3.50 diopters. It is also an invitation to promote the dual use of contact lenses and glasses by those same users, as well as to challenge the interesting cases and to grow in Contactology, as we have been doing so far; committed to the health, comfortability and life style factors of our new users.
In Box Benefits for Members
Susana Guzmán Optometrist Óptica Siman Miraflores Guatemala
de
at The Vision Care 1 Course InstituteTM in Latin America The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member will attend a course to experience the facilities at The Vision Care InstituteTM in Bogotá and Puerto Rico. The studiylan is a perfect balance between continuous knowledge in contact lenses and company abilities topics.
2
visitors
High Level
of contactology
The Vision Care TM First Class Community
Colombia, september 12th and 13th.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member will receive periodically the Magazine Revista Panamericana de Lentes de Contacto, which contains important scientific advances, exclusive information on the visual health union and specialized articles on a great variety of topics related to Contact Lenses.
6 Web/Blogs Community
Fitting hydrogel silicone contact lenses in teenagers The new contact lens materials have raised a revolution in the way of fitting, even more in adolescents and kids. What before was not possible and had barriers can be reached today quicker and more efficiently.
¿How to look for academic information about contact lenses on the web? Making systemic research with filters, and in the proper places allows for interesting and accurate findings in less time. For doing this, it is necessary to acquire basic but necessary tools, know the sites related to our professions and have motivation and interest to achieve it.
Astigmatism
and comfort
Go to www.rpalc.com, participate, update in the new technologies and take advantage of the possibility of discussing about frequent cases. Send your comments or article to the Revista Panamericana de Lentes de Contacto (RPALC) email address submision@rpalc.com.
Dra. Cristina Schnider, from Jacksonville (Estados Unidos)
Benefits
In Box Chile, september 22th and 23th.
of new contact lenses users
This means that we have started to resize the advantage of correcting astigmatism with soft toric lenses with an accelerated stabilization design, from the possible values of 0.75 to almost 3.50 cylinder diopters, having a test performed in advanced. It also depends in each case on the combination of sphere and cylinder. I would like to point out the importance of reassessing the spherical equivalent as a precise, simple and easy way to correct adjustments since the toric lenses have replaced it. However, spherical lens sales have not decreased, and this means we have obtained new users and a steady growth in the disposable contact lens category. I know very well that the teamwork of the company and each member of FirstClass has been a daily task. We understand the commitment we have, and that we understand this is a clinical task, not a business task, and that profitability is a long term goal.
The last number of the Revista Panamericana de Lentes de Contacto (RPALC). has been launched. We present the advances of the principal articles. Importance of frequent replacement of contact lenses Nowadays, there are several options of contact lenses that allow the specialist to have a great variety of alternatives to recommend a scheduled replacement plan, which adapts to the patient’s life style.
Exclusive Educational Materials
Dr. Nelson Merchán Professional Affairs Manager Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Central and South America
I have seen, with great surprise and satisfaction, how the growth of new contact lenses users and astigmatic users have been increasing gradually in the Latin American region. It is very surprising because even in some local markets, it account for 40% of disposable contact lenses sales; this figure was just a dream when we talked about toric lenses two years ago.
de Lentes de Contacto
Argentina, september 5th - 6th and 7th.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class members will have exclusive access to our webpage www.tvcibogota.com, where they will find diverse tools to complement their professional development such as a forum, blogs, news, galleries, professional profiles and online videos.
Evolution and growth
Second local meetting
Revista Panamericana
Three- Monthly News
Journal Revista Panamericana de Lentes de Contacto
OCTOBER - DECEMBER EDITION, 2011
Peru, august 18th and 19th.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member will periodically receive the most relevant printed material for his or her practice. Scales useful for diagnostic and treatment, new tools, useful advice, anamnesis special forms, patient orientation, trading tools and more.
5
I would like to thank you for the opportunity you gave us to send optometrists to The Vision Care InstituteTM of Bogota. They came back highly motivated and with many expectations about their professional and personal lives; but we are especially grateful for this wonderful opportunity Johnson & Johnson gave them to live this enriching experience. As usual, the logistics was excellent, and they were really well treated. Again a million thanks.
News
Best regards and I hope to see you soon again!
A hug for all.
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member will receive an exclusive News Bulletin with all the most important events and news about Contact Lenses and short and interesting comments about the latest news in the field. There will also appear Interviews with the most experienced visual health professionals on important topics.
4
It is very pleasant to share with you how glad and excited I came back from The Vision Care InstituteTM. I would like to comment that I am very grateful with you for this pleasant experience, which contributes to our knowledge, creates new friends, and a new vision as well as high motivation. . Therefore, all I can do is to express my thankfulness and congratulations for doing such enriching activities, which are very useful for those who participate in them.
National and Local Meetings
The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class member has the opportunity to go again to the local Meetings at The Vision Care InstituteTM . The answer to new contacts and businesses among members are these local meetings at The Vision Care InstituteTM First Class in each country, at no cost, as well as the rest of the activities of this program.
3
Our International
Ana Lidia Kury Eye care professional OPTILAB, S.A. de C.V. San Salvador, El Salvador
de
Now, every time opportunity comes in a better way, and we are starting to explore toric lenses fitting with an accelerated stabilization design in cases of post refractive surgery, keratoconus, corneal ectasias, and several irregular astigmatisms of different classifications, with successful results and wide clinical and scientific value. We have already seen these results in other academic scenarios, lectures, articles, posters and papers, among others. I believe this may be our invitation to continue the task of eliminating the concept of spherical equivalent in the adjustment of astigmatisms of less than 3.50 diopters. It is also an invitation to promote the dual use of contact lenses and glasses by those same users, as well as to challenge the interesting cases and to grow in Contactology, as we have been doing so far; committed to the health, comfortability and life style factors of our new users.