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http://www.revoptom.com/content/c/20600/
VOLUME 2, NUMBER 34
JANUARY 9, 2012

WHAT INSTRUMENTS AND/OR TESTING DEVICES ARE MOST HELPFUL FOR ESTABLISHING A DRY EYE SUBSPECIALTY CLINIC?
I hear this question fairly often. And, with the start of a New Year, now is an ideal time to install a strong medical component within an optometric practice. In this two-part Practice Pearl series, I'll discuss many of the diagnostic instruments I'd want to include in my "dream dry eye practice."
  • The TearLab Osmolarity System. If you truely want to make dry eye care a key component of your practice, you may wish to consider the TearLab Osmolarity System. In approximately five seconds, the test measures the osmolarity of a patient's tears. It has an almost 90% positive predictive value, which is three times more accurate than any other screening evaluation, including tear film break-up time or Schirmer's testing. Addtionally, TearLab indicates if the topical medications I have chosen for the patient are working based on an improvement in osmolarity after one month's treatment. And, after receiving a CLIA waiver this last month, I now receive a $23 reimbursement per eye tested. No other dry eye test is as accurate or as cost effective.
  • The icare Tonometer. Consider the use of a tonometer that doesn't require anesthetic drops, which can affect the ocular surface and tearfilm. The icare tonometer does not use an air puff, so patient response generally is positive. Also, the device is portable, making it easy to use on any dry eye patient in any exam lane.
  • TelScreen EyeRes System. I don't know of a more effective way to educate patients about their ocular condition than to show them an image of their own eyes. With TelScreen's high-resolution capabilities, you can capture any image or video in the exam lane and then show it to the patient.
  • Eyemaginations LUMA. LUMA is an amazing patient education tool that allows me to easily explain dry eye conditions, or any other disease states, to my patients. This technology can be used to show the patient clinical images and animated visuals; draw additional illustrations on the screen; or simplify complex information about a specific condition. In just 30 to 60 seconds, I can thoroughly educate a patient about dry eye or punctal occlusion—a process that used to take at least two to three minutes.
Next week, I will discuss four additional technologies you may wish to include in a dry eye subspeciality clinic.
http://www.revoptom.com/content/c/20600/

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
–Charles Darwin
       
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