Ahead of Vision Expo West (VEW) 2023, Glance’s Jackie Garlich, OD, FAAO, spoke with Marc Boomenstein OD, FAAO, on a sneak peek of his co-presented panel session, “The Greatest Anterior Segment Disease and Medical Management.”
Editor’s note: The following interview has been edited for clarity.
Give us a quick highlights version of your talk.
So I'm fortunate enough to be one of a panel of doctors: Jack Schaeffer, OD, FAAO; Paul Karpecki, OD, FAAO; and Laura Periman, MD.
It’s exciting to see how the four of us, all practicing in somewhat different modalities, are able to tackle anterior segment disease.
The course itself was put together by Dr. Schaeffer at a time when anterior segment discussion was not as relevant as it is now, especially with all of the new technologies and the new diagnostics.
So it’s a great way to blend how we’re integrating the things that we used to do into the way we do it now, but also getting practical experiences, talking about cases, and just hearing from different perspectives.
Why is this an important topic for clinicians?
Everything we do as optometrists happens in the front of the eye
Whether you’re somebody who wears contacts or glasses, or someone who basically cares about their quality of vision, we [optometrists] have to keep some semblance of homeostasis on the anterior segment.
And there’s just constant new technology; there’s two companies that just launched new products in the anterior segment space—one of them being unique in the sense that it’s their first and only medication for Demodex blepharitis, and the other one, which is not even a water-based treatment, actually works on evaporation.
What’s important is how you can integrate those into your practice, regardless of what kind of practice it is, to help your patients.
Can you give us a few key takeaways?
The biggest key takeaway is being proactive as well as being preventative.
When clinicians walk out of our lecture, you know, we try to be entertaining … but the bigger thing is how to practically manage patients.
Generating revenue for your practice is one thing, but the key is helping to keep your patient’s quality of vision at a level where you and both of them want it.
VEW 2023 is being held September 27-30, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Venetian Convention & Expo Center.