IOA's Formulary Seminar - July 15, 2009
Earn 7 hours of COPE-approved OLDPAC credit by attending IOA's Formulary Seminar on July 15, 2009. The event will begin at 8:00 a.m. (continental breakfast & registration) at the Ritz Charles in Carmel, Indiana.
Click here for details or to register on-line today!
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Hundreds of ODs, Optometry Students Storm Capitol Hill as AOA Launches Largest Federal Advocacy Campaign Ever
More than 500 ODs and Students Carry Optometry’s Pro-access, Pro-Patient Message Directly to the Offices of Every U.S. Senator and Congressman
WASHINGTON, DC (June 24, 2009) — More than 500 American Optometric Association (AOA) doctors of optometry and optometry students from around the nation converged on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 as the debate over health care reform intensified to urge Congress to ensure access to optometric eye and vision care for America’s families, including veterans, working men and women, children and seniors.
Optometry’s latest and largest advocacy campaign serves as the culmination of the AOA’s most massive federal advocacy event to date—the 2009 AOA Congressional Advocacy Conference: Advocacy for Optometry’s Future. Hundreds of AOA members as well as representatives of the National Optometric Association (NOA), the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) and the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) stormed Capitol Hill with the goal of raising awareness of the profession and advancing AOA’s pro-access, pro-patient agenda, including:
· Health Care Reform – Ensuring patient access to care by making provider non-discrimination safeguards a foundation of health care reform legislation.
· Medicare – Preventing the 21% Medicare physician payment cuts scheduled for January 1, 2010.
· Children’s Vision – Passing the Vision Care for Kids Act ( S. 259), a bill to establish federal grants to bolster state children’s vision and learning initiatives.
· Expanding Access to Eye and Vision Care – Securing recognition and full inclusion of optometry in Medicaid (HR 2697), the National Health Service Corps (HR 1884) and other federal health programs.
· Military and Veteran’s Health Care – Ensuring that America’s military service personnel and veterans are not forced to wait unnecessarily for the eye and vision care they need and deserve.
· InfantSEE® – Supporting optometry’s vision-saving and potentially life-saving public health initiative that offers eye assessments for infants at no cost (www.InfantSEE.org).
“From the moment President Obama and Congressional leaders made health care reform their top priority, we knew that optometry would have to out work anti-optometry organizations and special interests,” said AOA President Peter H. Kehoe, O.D. and AOA President-elect Randolph Brooks, O.D., FAAO said in a joint statement. “Today, at an important moment in the debate over national health reform legislation, 503 optometrists and optometry students from across the country and representing all 50 states traveled to Washington, DC to take AOA's pro-access, pro-patient legislative agenda directly to the offices of every U.S. Senator and Congressman.”
“The size and reach of our 2009 Congressional Advocacy Conference -- the biggest optometric advocacy event ever -- reflects the resolve of this profession and the patients we serve to be listened to and heeded when health care policy decisions are being made in the nation's capital,” said Drs. Kehoe and Brooks. “We could not be more proud of the doctors and students who have sacrificed to be here in order to put a national spotlight on optometry, on patient access issues and on the importance of eye and vision care in a way that's never been accomplished before.”
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The following information was issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and AOA wants members to know about this scam.
CMS has become aware of a scam where perpetrators are sending faxes to physician offices posing as the Medicare carrier or Medicare administrative contractor (MAC). The fax instructs physician staff to respond to a questionnaire to provide an account information update within 48 hours in order to prevent a gap in Medicare payments. The fax may have the CMS logo and/or the contractor logo to enhance the appearance of authenticity.
Medicare FFS providers, including physicians, nonphysician practitioners, should be wary of this type of request. If you receive a request for information in the manner described above, please check with your contractor before submitting any information. Medicare providers should only send information to a Medicare contractor using the address found in the download section of the CMS.gov Web site found at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNGenInfo/ or http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll.
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Indiana's Edwin Marshall, OD, MPH, was inducted into the National Optometry Hall of Fame on Friday, June 26, 2009, at the AOA Optometry's Meeting® in Washington, D.C. Dr. Marshall is a past-president of the IOA and was named IOA's Optometrist of the Year in 2006 and AOA's Optometrist of the Year in 2007. He has served optometry for over 35 years and has advanced eye care in the public health arena.
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The Indiana Health Coverage Programs (IHCP) has delayed the effective date for reimbursement of providers for polycarbonate lenses for members age 19 years old and younger until January 1, 2010. With this change, providers may submit claims for services rendered for dates of service beginning January 1, 2010, using procedure code V2784 - Lens, polycarbonate or equal, any index, per lens with the appropriate corresponding lens procedure code. Polycarbonate lenses will no longer require prior authorization and will not be subject to specific medical conditions for members age 19 years old and younger.
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Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed a measure into law on April 30th that will make the dispensing of contact lenses, including zero-powered lenses, without a valid and current prescription a violation of state law. The measure, Senate Enrolled Act 480, will go into affect on July 1, 2009.
Indiana's legislation follows a similar law passed by the US Congress in 2005. The federal law was widely ignored in Indiana because it lacked sufficient enforcement mechanisms. SEA 480 will be enforced by law enforcement officials in Indiana.
The improper fitting, use or care of a contact lens can cause corneal ulcers or lead to infection. Either condition can seriously injure the eye or cause blindness.
SEA 480 was supported by the Indiana Optometric Association and the Indiana Academy of Ophthalmology. The bill was authored by Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Bremen, and co-authored by Sen. Bob Deig, D-Mount Vernon, and Sen. Carlin Yoder, R-Elkhart, in the Senate. Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, served as the bill’s sponsor and Rep. Tim Brown, R- Crawfordsville, served as the bill’s co-sponsor in the House.
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on April 30 that the “Red Flags” Rule will not be enforced until August 1, 2009. When it is enforced, the rule will apply to healthcare providers, including optometrists.
The “Red Flags” Rule was promulgated by the FTC to identify, detect and respond to patterns, practices or specific activities that could indicate identity theft. A “creditor” is any entity that regularly extends or renews credit – or arranges for others to do so – and includes all entities that regularly permit deferred payments for goods or services. Professionals who provide services and that later bill for those services are considered “creditors” under the rule and must have written identity theft prevention programs in place prior to August 1, 2009.
The AOA has indicated that it will publish a manual on the “Red Flags” Rule for its members prior to the August 1 enforcement date. Information on the “Red Flags” Rule can be found at http://www.ftc.gov/redflagsrule.
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Last year the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a regulation designed to regulate vendors who sell durable medical equipment (DME) to Medicare patients. The rule sought to require DME vendors to become accredited and obtain a surety bond prior to selling DME to Medicare patients. The IOA was among the first organizations to seek an exemption for licensed healthcare professionals, like optometrists.
After intervention by Congress, CMS published its final rule in January 2009 and specifically exempted optometrists and physicians from the new requirements. This is because these professions are licensed and, unlike other DME providers, they can face action against their licenses if they improperly bill Medicare for DME.
However, the surety bond requirement will apply to an optometrist or physician if there is not doctor-patient relationship when the DME is provided to the patient. This is to avoid the use of optometrists or physicians as figureheads by DME vendors to avoid the new requirements. Additionally, opticians will require a surety bond because they are not exempt under the rule. If a practice employs an optician and the optician has a DME supplier number, the whole practice may need to obtain a surety bond to meet the new CMS requirement.
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Indianapolis optometrist Marjorie J. Knotts, OD., has been named the Indiana Optometric Association’s 2009 Optometrist of the Year. Dr. Knotts, a Connersville native, was given this honor at the IOA’s 112th Annual Spring Convention on April 18 in French Lick, Indiana.
The Optometrist of the Year award is the IOA’s highest award and is bestowed upon the IOA member who has demonstrated not only contributions to his or her profession, but also service in behalf of the visual welfare of the public and service to the community at large.
“I would really like to thank my patients, staff and the community on the northeast side of Indianapolis,” Dr. Knotts said to the more than 200 optometrists attending the convention while accepting the award. “They have all been delightful to get to know.”
Dr. Knotts, an Indiana University School of Optometry graduate, has gone above and beyond the call of duty for the profession of Optometry while she has remained actively involved in her community. In addition to serving at all levels of IOA leadership, Dr. Knotts has served her community on various boards, committees and commissions, including the Indiana State Handicap Commission, the Indiana Public Health Foundation, the Medicaid Advisory Committee, Prevent Blindness of Indiana where she has served as vice president for programming for eight years, and the Indiana University School of Optometry’s Dean’s Advisory Council.
She has donated her services to the community by providing vision screening for the Indiana School for the Deaf for the past 10 years, being a participant in ECCO (the Eye Care Community Outreach Program,) which provided vision service free of charge to the needy and through volunteering at the eye clinic at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Carmel.
While running her own practice on the northeast side of Indianapolis, she has served her business community as the treasurer of the Binford Commons Condominium Board and as a business consultant to Binford Redevelopment and Growth (BRAG,) an organization of citizens whose mission is the commercial and residential enhancement of Binford Boulevard and adjacent neighborhoods.
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Two optometrists were awarded IOA’s Distinguished Service Award during the IOA’s 112th Annual Spring Convention held April 17-19 in French Lick, Indiana.
Jim Van Winkle, O.D., of Bluffton, and Stacey O. Embry, O.D., of Evansville, were awarded the Distinguished Service Award for their long-term service rendered to the profession of Optometry for their outstanding ongoing record of achievement.
Dr. Van Winkle, a United States Air Force Vietnam veteran, has been an IOA member for 42 years. He has served as a Wells County Councilman for 21 years, and he also serves on the Wells County Foundation Board, a civic organization that provides money for projects, services and scholarships in his local community.
Dr. Van Winkle is on the Board of Voluntary Optometric Service to Humanity (VOSH,) is actively involved in organizing VOSH missions and raises funds to make those missions possible. He personally has made 15 or more VOSH missions to Honduras, Haiti and Guatemala since 1978. Dr. Van Winkle has also been a strong supporter of the Indiana University School of Optometry. Last year, he spearheaded efforts to raise funds from the IUSO Class of 1967 for the new eye care clinic at IU.
Dr. Embry has been an IOA member for 18 years. He is past president of the Indiana Optometric Association and a past president of the Southwestern Optometric Society. In addition to his service to the IOA, Dr. Embry remains active in his community. He performs glaucoma screenings at his local community health center, he has harvested eyes for the local Lion’s Club Eye Bank, he provides free eye exams for Volunteers of America, and he has served on medical missions to Haiti.
Dr. Embry teaches adult Christian education and is very active in his church. He is also a part-time instructor at Ivy Tech State College and a clinical investigator for Covance Pharmaceutical Research.
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Elections were held to determine IOA's leadership on April 17 during IOA's Annual Convention. The officers listed below will serve until April 2010. IOA Trustess, also listed below, serve two-year terms.
IOA’s 2009-2010 Officers:
| President: |
Richard Schamerloh, OD, FAAO, Bluffton |
| President-Elect: |
Linnea Robbins-Winters, OD, New Carlisle |
| Vice President: |
Jennifer Bailey, OD, New Castle |
| Secretary-Treasurer: |
Polly Hendricks, OD, Borden |
| Immediate Past President: |
Walt Egenmaier, OD, Evansville |
IOA’s 2009-2010 Trustees:
| Northeastern |
J.B. (Jim) Stewart, OD, Muncie |
| Northwestern |
Darren Minnich, OD, Nappanee |
| North Central |
Chris James, OD, Kokomo |
| Central |
Brad Sutton, OD, Indianapolis |
| Southeastern |
Aaron Cunningham, OD, Martinsville |
| Western |
Todd Niemeier, OD, Evansville |
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Terre Haute Optometrist Brian Ross, O.D., was awarded the Indiana Optometric Association’s President Citation award during the IOA’s 112th Annual Spring Convention held April 17-19 in French Lick, Indiana.
The President’s Citation, which is also known as the Young OD of the Year Award, is awarded to an IOA member who has been licensed ten years or less and who has demonstrated not only contributions to his or her profession, but also service in behalf of the visual welfare of the public and service to the community at large.
Dr. Ross is past president of the Western Indiana Optometric Society and has remained very active in the IOA. He currently serves on the IOA’s Legislative Committee.
In addition to his service with the IOA, Dr. Ross has been very active in his community. He is an active volunteer with the Salvation Army, he conducts numerous school vision screenings in Vigo County, and he is involved in several civic projects through his active participation with the Rotary Club.
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Bluffton optometrist Richard J. Schamerloh, O.D., F.A.A.O., will lead the Indiana Optometric Association over the course of the next year. Since 1993, Dr. Schamerloh has been a partner with Eyecare Associates of Bluffton in Bluffton, Indiana, and since 1996 he has served as a consultant to the VA Northern Indiana Health Care System.
From 1993 to 1996, he was an assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Optometry, from where he graduated with honors in 1992. While attending IU, Dr. Schamerloh belonged to the Beta Sigma Kappa Optometric Scholastic Fraternity and earned the Fisons Outstanding Clinician Award.
Dr. Schamerloh completed a residency in hospital-based primary care optometry and low-vision rehabilitation at the West Side VA Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, from July 1992 to June 1993, and participated in a residency rotation in low vision rehabilitation optometry at the Central Blind Rehabilitation Center at the Hines VA Hospital in Hines, Illinois, from December 1992 through June 1993.
In addition to his involvement with the IOA since 2001, Dr. Schamerloh also volunteers his time in many other capacities. He has been involved with and assisted in leading six Volunteer Optometric Services for Humanity (VOSH) trips to Honduras; he is an American Academy of Optometry Fellow, a member of the Indiana Chapter of the American Academy of Optometry, a member of the American Optometric Association, a member of Beta Sigma Kappa International Optometric Honor Fraternity, and has served as Section Chief Examiner and Clinical Examiner at numerous sites for the National Board of Examiners in Optometry.
Dr. Schamerloh is also very involved in electronic health records (EHR) development for optometry, serving as Lead Consultant for Clinical Trials for OD Professional Active EHRs Focus Group.
In his community, Dr. Schamerloh belongs to the Bluffton Lions Club, is a member of the Bluffton Chamber of Commerce and the Saint Michael Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne. He is also a guest lecturer discussing eye health on WBCL Radio’s Mid-Morning Show.
Dr. Schamerloh joined Drs. C. William Trubey, Sandra J. Hullinger and Dawn Gutwein Kazmierzak in 1993. He was joined by his current practice partner, Brady Hanlon, in 2005. The practice was founded in 1932.
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Over 200 optometrists attended IOA’s 112th Annual Convention on April 17-19, 2009, in French Lick, Indiana. The impressive facility combined with excellent seminars and great weather made for a perfect convention!
Plan to attend next year's convention which will be held April 16-18, 2010, at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Indianapolis!
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On April 17, 2009, the IOA House of Delegates voted to oppose the Joint Board Certification Project Team’s (JBCPT) proposed framework for board certification in general optometry. While IOA members voiced numerous concerns about the framework, the underlying concern was that the framework as proposed was seriously flawed and was not similar to other accepted board certification models. The IOA believes that any alternative to the JBCPT’s framework should not be adopted in June 2009 and that AOA members and its affiliates should have amble time to fully consider any alternative framework before it is advanced by the AOA or the other JBCPT members.
The IOA remains supportive of continued maintenance of competency in optometry. In fact, Indiana optometrists receive no less than 40 hours of continuing education during their two-year licensure period.
The JBCPT is composed of members from the AOA, the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), American Optometric Students Association (AOSA), the American Regulatory Boards of Optometry (ARBO) and the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO).
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Doctors on the Frontline of Eye & Vision Care
^ Click on the arrow above to play video
Click here to find an optometrist in your community!
Doctors of optometry (ODs) are primary health care professionals for the eye. Optometrists examine, diagnose, treat, and manage diseases, injuries, and disorders of the visual system, the eye, and associated structures as well as identify related systemic conditions affecting the eye.
- Doctors of optometry prescribe medications, low vision rehabilitation, vision therapy, spectacle lenses, contact lenses, and perform certain procedures.
- Optometrists counsel their patients regarding surgical and non-surgical options that meet their visual needs related to their occupations, avocations, and lifestyle.
- An optometrist has completed pre-professional undergraduate education in a college or university and four years of professional education at a college of optometry, leading to the doctor of optometry (O.D.) degree.
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Some optometrists complete an optional residency in a specific area of practice.
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Optometrists are eye health care professionals licensed to diagnose and treat diseases and disorders of the eye and visual system.
As primary eye care providers, doctors of optometry are an integral part of the health care team, earning their doctoral degree just as dentists, podiatrists and other doctors do. Prior to admittance into optometry school, optometrists typically complete four years of undergraduate study, culminating in a bachelor’s degree. Required undergraduate coursework for pre-optometry students is extensive and covers a wide variety of advanced health, science and mathematics courses.
Optometry school consists of four years of post-graduate, doctoral level study focusing on the eye, vision and associated systemic diseases. In addition to profession-specific courses, optometrists are required to take systemic health courses that focus on a patient’s overall medical condition as it relates to the eyes.
Upon completion of optometry school, candidates graduate from their accredited college of optometry and hold the doctor of optometry (OD) degree. Optometrists must pass a rigorous national examination administered by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO). The three-part exam includes basic science, clinical science and patient care. (The structure and format of the NBEO exams are subject to change beginning in 2008.) Some optometrists go on to complete residencies with advanced training in a specific sub-specialty. These specialties can include pediatric care, children’s vision, geriatric care, pre- and post-surgery care, specialty contact lens (for keratoconus patients or other corneal dystrophies) and many others. All optometrists are required to participate in ongoing continuing education courses to stay current on the latest standards of care.
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Have you updated your U.S. Dept. of Labor and OSHA posters? Do you want to know what's happening at the Indiana State House that could impact optometry? Do you need to find a new associate or the email address of a colleague? Sign onto the members-only side of this site today and take advantage of its many on-line resources!
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SAVE THE DATES
IOA's upcoming
educational events
OCTOBER 7 - 8, 2009- Fall Seminar - Indiana Memorial Union, Bloomington
FEBRUARY 10, 2010– Ocular Pharmacology Seminar, Ritz Charles
APRIL 16-18, 2010- IOA Annual Convention, Downtown Marriott Hotel, Inpls.
Watch this website for information on all future events.
Sponsorship opportunities available.
(317) 237-3561
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Copyright 2009 Medical News Today
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