News

Most ophthalmologists agree that the Internet is a valuable resourcefor provider education. In addition to e-mail, physicians probably mostfrequently use the Internet to access information on diseases and medications.Increasingly they are also using it to access major medical journals andonline continuing medical education programs.

As a result of efforts by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO),the proposed Medicare fee schedule for 2002 includes new coverage for glaucomascreening, as well as increases in two ophthalmic services.

The FDA has given pre-marketapproval to STAAR Surgical Co. for its AquaFlow collagen glaucoma drainagedevice for use in the correction of open-angle glaucoma.

The FDA has approved phase I clinicaltrials on Medical Developmental Research Inc.'s Hydroflex II Advanced SeriesHydrophilic Acrylic IOL.

The FDA has approved Visudyne (verteporfinfor injection) therapy for the treatment of predominantly classic subfovealchoroidal neovascularization (CNV) caused by pathologic myopia and presumedocular histoplasmosis.

Every comprehensive ophthalmologist performs anterior vitrectomy in association with cataract surgery complicated by vitreous prolapse. Even in the best of hands, rupture of the posterior capsule and vitreous prolapse occur in 1% to 2% of cataract operations.

Allowing patients to listen to the music of their choiceduring cataract or glaucoma surgery can help reduce the cardiovascular effectscaused by both pre- and peri-operative feelings of stress, according toKaren Allen, PhD.

Leading refractive experts discuss the possible events that lead tomicro and macro striae and how they handle them

Ophthalmic Women Leaders (OWL) will hold a networking reception and meeting Monday, April 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel. The event will take place during the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Washington, DC &#8212 Patients who do not have glaucoma and those with glaucoma should be carefully monitored in the immediate postoperative period following phacoemulsification and at postoperative day 1 for low and high IOPs, according to Bradford J. Shingleton, MD.

As the understanding of the genetics of glaucoma advances, it may one day be possible for people to obtain a cheek swab that will determine their risk of developing glaucoma.

Washington, DC &#8212 Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, was chosen to present the Charles D. Kelman Innovator's Lecture at the 2005 ASCRS Symposium on Cataract, IOL, and Refractive Surgery in recognition of his work as the co-inventor of optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Today, when patients come for a visit, ophthalmologists have the discretionof using either the eye codes (92002 to 92014) or the E/M codes in billing.But, when is it truly appropriate to use a certain set of codes for a givenvisit? Unfortunately, there's no one standard. It all depends on the rulesset by the carriers in your state.

Augusta, GA-Despite negative results in an early trial, effortsare continuing to determine whether external-beam irradiation can slow visionloss caused by subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in age-relatedmacular degeneration (AMD), said Dennis M. Marcus, MD.