By Staff
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 12:30 AM
NEW YORK—Nationally, optical sales returned to their levels prior to the Labor Day Holiday during the most recent week for which metrics have been tracked (Sept. 14 – Sept. 20). Following substantial decreases resulting from the Labor Day holiday for the previous week tracked (Sept. 7 – Sept. 13), overall optical sales in all categories bounced back to where they had been on a national level during the week of Aug. 31 to Sept. 6. Regionally, although all four Census regions being monitored (Northeast, Midwest, West, South) had states reporting increases in cases of COVID-19 (according to the
CDC COVID Data Tracker), this had little to no impact on optical sales, according to the tracker. With every state in the West and nearly every state in the Midwest and South reporting increasing numbers of cases of COVID-19 over the past week, optical sales returned to the same level or within at least 1 or 2 index points of where they had been during the week prior to the Labor Day weekend.
By Staff
Tuesday, September 22, 2020 12:24 AM
OSAKA, Japan and FORT WORTH, Texas—
Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.and
Eyevance Holdings have announced that Santen Holdings U.S. Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Santen, and Eyevance Holdings entered into a share purchase agreement where Santen Holdings acquires all of the outstanding shares of Eyevance Pharmaceuticals Holdings.
By Staff
Tuesday, September 22, 2020 12:15 AM
MANALAPAN, N.J.—The
Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association, International (NORA) announced the appointments of its new executive and advisory board members. For the executive board, DeAnn Fitzgerald, OD, assumes the position of president, succeeding Susan Daniel, OD, who now joins the NORA Advisory Board; Charles Shidlofsky, OD, FCOVD is appointed vice president; and Tanya Polec, OD, FNORA, FCOVD, joins the executive board as secretary/treasurer. Drs. Shirley Blanc and Melissa Zarn Urankar are new members of the NORA Advisory Board, joining returning members Patti Andrich, MA, OTR/L, COVT, CINPP , Shirley Ha, OD, FCOVD , and Gina Kim, MOT, OTR/L, CBIS.
By Staff
Monday, September 21, 2020 10:00 AM
NEW YORK—For the third week in a row, optical sales experienced a decline on the national level. This past week’s substantial decreases in optical sales can be attributed to the Labor Day holiday, which was the first day of the most recent week for which metrics were tracked (Sept. 7-Sept. 13). All service/product categories were down by index points in the mid-teens, ranging from minus 14 index points for contact lenses to minus 17 index points for frame units and lens pairs. Overall ECP gross revenues and overall eye exams/refractions declined 16 index points, This follows declines of index points of only the single digits for the past couple of weeks.
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By Staff
Monday, September 21, 2020 12:36 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—In an effort to offset language in the FTC’s updated Contact Lens Rule, Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) last week introduced in the
U.S. Senate the Contact Lens Rule Modernization Act, which would eliminate the use of robocalls to verify contact lens prescriptions, according to a statement by the Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety (APS). The bill, which APS endorsed, is co-sponsored by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
By Staff
Monday, September 21, 2020 12:33 AM
BEDFORD, Texas—
TruForm Optics, a leader in specialty gas permeable contact lens design and manufacturing, has acquired the
DreamLens brand from its founder, Tom Reim, OD. Details of the transaction were not announced.
By Staff
Monday, September 21, 2020 12:30 AM
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Optometrists in Arkansas had won the right to expand their scope of practice under a 2019 law, but these rights had been held in abeyance while an opposition group sought to have the law put to a vote in a state ballot referendum.
By Julie Bos
Monday, September 21, 2020 12:30 AM
Long before COVID-19 turned our world upside-down, concerns over too much screen time and the rise of Digital Eye Strain (DES) were already escalating. But it’s safe to say the COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating the situation for people everywhere, and especially for children who have multiplied their time on-screen—using digital devices for both virtual education and recreational down-time.
While more time at home has been good for slowing the spread of COVID-19, it’s forcing many people’s eyes to suffer. Our new reliance on digital devices for work, school and entertainment is more all-encompassing than ever.
By Staff
Monday, September 21, 2020 12:27 AM
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—As part of a larger initiative announced last November between
VSP Global and the
American Diabetes Association (ADA), the VSP Global Premier Program announced that it will offer an ADA-accredited virtual continuing education (CE) course to all VSP network doctors at no cost through
PremierAcademy360.
By Staff
Monday, September 21, 2020 12:18 AM
NEW YORK—
Jobson Optical Research’s 2020 Optical Retailer Report & Directory is now available. The directory contains a comprehensive list of the top optical retailers in the U.S., including contact information for the company headquarters, key executives, buyer names for all product categories, and trade names including DBAs. The list includes 72 headquarter locations. In addition, the report and directory includes
Vision Monday’s annual
“Top 50 U.S. Optical Retailers” ranking and analysis, which includes 2019 estimated sales and business unity counts for each retailer.
By Staff
Sunday, September 20, 2020 12:41 PM
We were expecting 2020 to be the year highlighting our essential role in primary healthcare. Instead, it quickly became the year of COVID-19. The pandemic still leaves many questions, including how best to incorporate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) into our practices moving forward.