One in Four School-Age Children Have Some Form of Vision Problems: The First Test Your Kids Take This Year Should Be Their Eye Exam.

We’re less than a month away from the beginning of the school year for most children, and while that means shopping for school supplies and back-to-school clothes (as well as maybe fitting in one last family vacation), one area that you’ll want to make sure you don’t neglect is your child’s vision.

Healthy vision and the ability to effectively learn go hand-in-hand.  If fact, when a child is experiencing difficulty in school, exhibits signs of a learning disorder or suddenly (or sometimes gradually) experiences a decline in grades, the first stop should be the eye doctor.

Since 80 percent of a child’s learning is visual, a child’s ability to clearly see the blackboard and the words on a page is critical.  Prevent Blindness America, the nation’s oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, has declared August as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Awareness month in an effort to encourage parents to learn about ways they can help protect their child’s vision.

One in four school-age children and one in 20 pre-schoolers have some form of a vision problem. Sometimes the signs are immediately apparent, for example squinting, eyes crossing, holding objects near the face or sitting closer to the television than normal.  In other instances, the problems may be less recognizable and require a thorough pediatric eye exam or at least a vision screening to identify.

The Importance of Early Detection of Eye Disorders & Vision Problems

Early detection and prompt treatment of ocular disorders in children is important to avoid lifelong visual impairment. It also can improve performance in school and reduce behavioral and learning problems.

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VSP Vision Care Expands Coverage for Diabetes with Launch of Diabetic Eyecare Plus Program(SM); Urban Optiques Participating

Earlier this week, VSP® Vision Care announced new, expanded coverage for members who have diabetes.

The Diabetic Eyecare Plus Program is an extension of VSP’s current coverage for members with diabetes, and the  program offers specialized services for members with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, including diabetic eye exams, diagnostic tests, and digital retinal imaging.

Services included in the Diabetic Eyecare Plus Program play an important role in the prevention, early detection, and management of diabetic eye disease. Through comprehensive eye exams, eye doctors can detect signs of chronic conditions including diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension.

Diabetes: The Leading Cause of Blindness

“Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among adults and can lead to other serious health conditions such as kidney damage and cardiovascular disease,” said Gary Brooks, VSP Vision Care President. “This program reinforces VSP’s commitment to not only eye health, but overall health and wellness, and by adding on this new program, employers can offer a unique and valuable benefit to their employees with diabetes for a very affordable cost.”

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A Recent Rash of Lens Remakes on External Prescriptions Underscores the “Art” portion of Vision Correction.  Learn The Steps We Are Taking to Ensure Your Outside Prescription Is Accurate.

Lens remakes are the bane of any optometrist’s existence.

Not only are they costly for both the practice and the labs, but they also create frustration with patients and clients who may have to endure one or more lens remakes before they are actually able to see clearly.

No one wants them and every optician and optometrist works hard up-front to avoid them.

However, they do happen every now and then.

Why?

Well, unfortunately, sometimes a lab will make a mistake and get the script wrong.

Sometimes what a patient thought was “clear vision” during the exam isn’t so “clear” when they actually put the finished glasses on.

Other times, we just need to “tweak” a prescription and lens a few times, especially for new progressive wearers or people with complex vision correction needs like prism.

In very rare instances, a person’s vision may literally change between the refraction and the delivery of the finished frame and lenses.

Our Philosophy: We Work Until We Get Your Lenses Right. Period.

In all of these cases, we continue to work with the patient until we get the finished product right, and often we do this at considerable extra cost to Urban Optiques – both in additional lab rework fees and the staff’s time.  It’s just part of the process of providing good vision care and an accepted cost of business for us (even though we want to minimize it.)

The good news is that when we actually perform the eye exam and refraction at Urban Optiques, we have an extremely low remake rate. There are few specific reasons for this, which I’ll touch on a bit later.

But first, let me tell you about a recent “mystery” at Urban Optiques around remakes.

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