2015 PCO Quiz Bowl

From left to right: AOSA Trustee Christin DeMoss, Dr. Lori Gray, Dr. Steven Eiss, Quiz Bowl winner Marshall Ward, Dean of PCO Dr. Lori Grover, Associate Dean of PCO Dr. Melissa Trego and Dr. Alissa Coyne

Students run in with an American flag to rally support.

From left to right: Christin DeMoss, Dr. Lori Gray, Dr. Steven Eiss and POSA President Brian Johnson

Students gather for a non-competitive photo op.

A student shows off his rollerblading skills when he enters for the Quiz Bowl.

Photos taken by PCO students Ryan Chia and AJ Pastor.

Anthracite's Save Your Vision Month 2015

By Shannon Scheuren, O.D.

For Save Your Vision Month, approximately 2,000 second grade students from sixteen schools located in Carbon, Northumberland and Schuylkill counties participated in a coloring contest hosted by the Anthracite Optometric Society. All participants received a custom pencil and each classroom winner received a trophy. Out of the classroom winners, an overall school winner was chosen. The school winners had a party at McDonald’s in Saint Clair on March 28, 2015. Seymour Safely handed out balloons to winners and others at the party and posed for photos. Anthracite Optometric Society provided happy meals for the winners and McDonald’s gave out cookies. Praxair donated the helium for the balloons.

Dr. Gary Scheib, who has dressed as Seymour Safely since approximately 1979, spoke on the importance of our eyes and vision. Dr. Shannon Scheuren, Dr. Ann Marie Robert-Blehm and Dr. Bernice Machamer presented the winners with their certificates and trophies.

Photos provided by Dr. Shannon Scheuren.

Are Your Sunglasses Doing Their Job?

Pennsylvania Optometric Association stresses importance of quality UV protection to prevent vision problems

Harrisburg, Apr. 8, 2015 – With the promise of summer and vacations lingering just out of reach, many Americans may be contemplating buying a new pair of sunglasses. The Pennsylvania Optometric Association reminds consumers to be sure their stylish sunglasses provide protection from the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays.

According to the American Optometric Association’s (AOA) 2015 American Eye-Q^® survey, 47 percent of consumers purchase sunglasses without checking the UV protection level. Overexposure to UV rays can cause eye and vision problems, which is no way to remember a day of outdoor fun.

Your sunglasses checklist

To ensure your sunglasses are adequately protecting your eyes, follow these tips, which can also be found online in the AOA’s Sunglasses Shopping Guide.

• Be sure to buy sunglasses that block out 99 to 100 percent of both UV-A and UV-B rays. While some contact lenses offer UV protection, these should be worn with sunglasses to maximize protection.
• Sunglasses should screen out 75 to 90 percent of visible light.
• The frame of your sunglasses needs to fit close to your eyes and contour the shape of your face to prevent exposure to UV rays from all sides and angles.
• Pick lenses that are matched in color and lack distortion.
• Lenses should also have a uniform tint, not a gradual change from a dark area to a lighter one. The POA suggests a gray tint, which is helpful when driving because it offers the best color recognition.

UV exposure short- and long-term effects

If the eyes are exposed to excessive amounts of UV radiation over a short period of time, individuals may experience an effect called photokeratitis, which is known as a “sunburn of the eye.”

The effect of sunburn on the skin is painful, but photokeratitis hurts the eyes in a different way; painful symptoms include red eyes, a foreign-body sensation, gritty feeling in the eyes, sensitivity to light and excessive tearing. Fortunately, photokeratitis is usually temporary and rarely causes permanent damage to the eyes.

However, long-term overexposure to UV radiation over the course of one’s life can cause more serious problems, such as cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, cancer of the eyelids, eye and the skin around the eyes, and pterygium, which is an abnormal growth of the white of the eye onto the cornea.

Don’t forget the kids

Parents and guardians need to be sure their children have appropriate eye protection at all times while outdoors. The lens found in a child’s eye cannot filter out UV rays as easily as an adult’s. While protection from UV rays is important for all people, despite ages, a child’s eyes are more vulnerable and more transparent than adult eyes.

When children go outside to play, parents should get them in the habit of wearing sunglasses to instill good eye care practices for life.

To be sure your sunglasses will properly protect your eyes, your best resource is your optometrist, who will also help ensure your eyes are healthy through yearly, comprehensive eye exams. Find an eye doctor near you at www.poaeyes.org.

About the Pennsylvania Optometric Association (POA):

The Pennsylvania Optometric Association is the professional organization for over 1,250 doctors of optometry in Pennsylvania. An affiliate of the American Optometric Association, POA promotes the highest quality eye and vision care by optometrists, represents optometry to state government, provides its members with post-graduate education and membership benefits, and conducts activities in the interest of the visual welfare of the public. For more information, visit www.poaeyes.org.

About the American Eye-Q® survey:

The 10th annual American Eye-Q® survey was created and commissioned in conjunction with Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates (PSB). From February 19-March 4, 2015, PSB conducted 1,000 online interviews among Americans 18 years and older who embodied a nationally representative sample of the U.S. general population. (Margin of error is plus or minus 3.10 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.)

About the American Optometric Association (AOA):

The American Optometric Association, a federation of state, student and armed forces optometric associations, was founded in 1898. Today, the AOA is proud to represent the profession of optometry, America’s family eye doctors, who take a leading role in an individual’s overall eye and vision care, health and well-being. Doctors of optometry (ODs) are the independent primary health care professionals for the eye and have extensive, ongoing training to examine, diagnose, treat and manage disorders, diseases and injuries that affect the eye and visual system, providing two-thirds of primary eye care in the U.S. For information on a variety of eye health and vision topics, and to find an optometrist near you, visit aoa.org.

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A Message from Your President

Dr. Lori Gray (POA Secretary-Treasurer) attended the Chester-Delaware Optometric Society meeting with me a couple weeks ago. We had some great CE on diabetes and nutrition, and a very informative business meeting. I was very excited to see the comradery among the members, with lots of idea sharing, practice management tips and clinical discussions before and after the meeting. Some doctors spend a lot of money hiring consultants to help them with their practice, but if you aren't also taking advantage of the great resources you have in your local colleagues, you are really missing out on one of the greatest benefits of your POA membership.

From left to right: Dr. Ryan Edmonds (CDOS President), Dr. Richard Christoph (POA President), and Dr. Lori Gray (POA Secretary-Treasurer)

The 21st Century Eye: Protecting Your Vision Three Ways

Pennsylvania Optometric Association provides tips for Save Your Vision Month

Everywhere we go, we're reading, shopping, banking, or being entertained online via digital devices small and large - at work, school, vacation, and on our way in-between. In fact, according to the American Optometric Association's (AOA) 2014 American Eye-Q® survey, 55 percent of adults are using computers, smartphones, tablets and other hand-held devices for at least five hours a day. A separate AOA survey showed that 83 percent of children, ages ranging from 10-17, use an electronic device for more than three hours a day. Digital use will only continue to increase, making it important for consumers to make smart eye care choices like seeing an eye doctor for yearly comprehensive eye exams.

Below are three tips from the Pennsylvania Optometric Association (POA) in observance of Save Your Vision Month, which occurs yearly in March.

Give Your Eyes a Break

The POA recommends following the 20-20-20 rule to discourage digital eye strain - take a 20-second break every 20 minutes to view something 20 feet away.

Regular, lengthy use of technology may lead to digital eye strain, which is a temporary condition, but one that includes symptoms like burning or tired eyes, headaches, fatigue, loss of focus, blurred or double vision, or head and neck pain.

Early research has also shown that overexposure to high-energy, short-wavelength blue and violet light emitted from electronic devices may also contribute to digital eye strain. This blue light also increases the likelihood of developing serious eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration. Optometrists offer lens options including non-glare, filtering lenses, to help protect vision from harmful blue light.

Be a Savvy Shopper

There are many products available for purchase online, but prescription eyeglasses should not be one of them. Eyeglasses are meant to be individually custom-made; health and safety should trump convenience when it comes to eyewear. Internet orders often result in incorrect prescriptions, not to mention all the other problems that occur with any online transaction that can cost consumers more money and a great deal of hassle. According to a 2011 study done by the AOA, the Optical Laboratories Association and The Vision Council, nearly half of all glasses ordered online had either prescription errors or failed to meet minimum safety standards.

Eyeglasses are a medical device and should be treated as such. They are an investment in your health and future, and must be custom-fitted not only for comfort, but also to be sure precise prescription needs are met so that the wearers are seeing his or her best.

Skip Shortcuts

There is no substitute for a comprehensive, yearly eye exam by an eye doctor. Despite catchy claims, there is no "app for that." While a variety of new mobile applications and websites claim to evaluate vision or the fit of eyeglasses, often inaccurate or misleading information is given, and misinformed consumers end up delaying essential, sight-saving exams. Early diagnosis and treatment are critical in preventing a total loss of vision and often improve quality of life.

One of the most important, preventive ways to preserve vision and accurately assess eye health is to have yearly, comprehensive eye examinations. Diagnosing an eye disorder or disease, or determining if corrective lenses are needed, is also determined by these helpful eye examinations.

To find a nearby doctor of optometry, or for additional information on eye health in the 21^st century, please visit www.poaeyes.org.

About the Pennsylvania Optometric Association (POA):The Pennsylvania Optometric Association is the professional organization for over 1,250 doctors of optometry in Pennsylvania. An affiliate of the American Optometric Association, POA promotes the highest quality eye and vision care by optometrists, represents optometry to state government, provides its members with post-graduate education and membership benefits, and conducts activities in the interest of the visual welfare of the public. For more information, visit www.poaeyes.org.

About the American Eye-Q® survey:The ninth annual American Eye-Q® survey was created and commissioned in conjunction with Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates (PSB). From March 20-25, 2014, PSB conducted 1,000 online interviews among Americans 18 years and older who embodied a nationally representative sample of the U.S. general population. (Margin of error is plus or minus 3.10 percentage points at a 95% confidence level)

About the Children's Omnibus survey:The children's Omnibus survey was created and commissioned in conjunction with Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates (PSB). From March 24-31, 2014, PSB conducted 200 online interviews from March 24-31, 2014 with children ages 10 to 17. (Margin of error is plus or minus 6.93 percentage points at a 95% confidence level)

About the American Optometric Association (AOA):The American Optometric Association, a federation of state, student and armed forces optometric associations, was founded in 1898. Today, the AOA is proud to represent the profession of optometry, America's family eye doctors, who take a leading role in an individual's overall eye and vision care, health and well-being. Doctors of optometry (ODs) are the independent primary health care professionals for the eye and have extensive, ongoing training to examine, diagnose, treat and manage disorders, diseases and injuries that affect the eye and visual system, providing two-thirds of primary eye care in the U.S. For information on a variety of eye health and vision topics, and to find an optometrist near you, visit www.aoa.org.

PA optometrists now paid for additional procedure codes

In November of 2014, the POA sent a letter to the Department of Human Services requesting that optometrists get paid for ten Common Procedural Terminology (CPT) procedure codes. The POA is pleased to report that the department reviewed the optometrist’s Scope of Practice under the Pennsylvania State Board of Optometry and has determined that nine out of ten codes submitted for review will now be payable to optometrists.

For payment purposes, optometrists will be added to procedure codes 65778, 68761, 76510, 76511, 76512, 76516, 76519 and 92025, which already exist on the MA Program Fee Schedule. The department will issue a MA Bulletin to provide further payment information regarding these procedure codes to MA Program-enrolled optometrists. The department expects to issue the bulletin by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

The procedure code 83516, which was not added to the MA Program Fee Schedule, was left out because of the lack of specificity of the tested analyte. The department does not pay laboratories or physicians for this procedure code under the Fee-for-Service delivery system.

If the prescriber determines that the service reflected by procedure codes 65778, 68761, 76510, 76511, 76512, 76516, 76519 or 92025 is medically necessary, the prescriber may request a Program Exception through the 1150 Administrative Waiver Process, depending on the procedure specified in their MA Program Provider Handbook (Section 7.3), which is accessible by this URL: www.dhs.state.pa.us/cs/groups/webcontent/documents/form/s_001840.pdf.

Note: Optometrists rendering vision services under the managed care delivery system should address coding and payment questions to the appropriate managed care organization.

This is just another reminder of how the POA and its Third Party Center continually monitor payer issues and fights for you and your patients.

A Message from Your President

Thanks to the Lehigh Valley Optometric Association for its hospitality and for hosting a great meeting last night. As POA President, it is a great privilege to have the opportunity to attend local society meetings and talk with members. Congratulations and thanks to their Board of Directors as they start their new two-year terms of office.

From left to right: Dr. Mark Dalton (President), Dr. Serena Cox (Vice President), Dr. Carolyn Novak (Treasurer), Dr. Richard Christoph (POA President), and Dr. Steven Eiss (Board of Directors Trustee)