Feb. 21, 2018
February is AMD Awareness Month, and Prevent Blindness has launched a campaign to spotlight this disease that affects 9 million Americans. ODs play a vital role in detection and treatment. See how a new virtual reality simulator developed by Bausch + Lomb can dramatically portray the disease’s progression and treatment.
DETECT. Screen all patients for AMD, and emphasize the need to watch even more closely for the disease after the patient turns 50.
CO-MANAGE. Establish relationships with local retinal specialists, to whom you can send patients with the disease for consult, and possible further treatment.
EDUCATE. Emphasize the importance of an annual exam with dilation for all patients, and the link that has been discovered between smoking and AMD, stressing that, in addition to all the other reasons to quit smoking, doing so can help prevent blindness.
Michael Cooney, MD, is a retinal specialist, in New York City.
Lester Hosten, MD, is director of medical affairs, consumer OTC, for Bausch + Lomb.
