Educating someone on what ODs do.

[Tasteestuff]

---

Members don't see this ad.

This is going to be a long post.
I am not sure if anyone subscribes to a magazine called 'Best Life' by Men's Health but latest issue had an article by the chief editor and it disturbed me quite a bit.

To make the story short.. 'He writes in this magazine that he was too dumb to correctly direct himself to the right personnel when it comes to his own health. He had an episode of corneal laceration while removing contact lenses and ended up in emergency room due to extreme pain. OMD on call, gave him some eyedrops and told him that it was due to ill fitting contact lenses fit by less qualified ODs. He states that now he understands that he should have correctly sought after care for his eyes.. He should have gone to OMD from the get go to get eye exams and be correctly fit with contacts by specialist and not by someone who is sitting behind a shiny dispensary room.

His conclusion was that we as americans do not correctly know who to go to receive the best health care and he was a victim of his own ignorance.

This article bothered me so much since we devote so much of our time fitting contact lenses and seriously... how much time does OMD spend fitting contact lenses?? Even OMD forum moderator Dr. Andrew Doan often states that he would go to OD for contact lens fit, this idiotic editor claims that we should all go to OMD for routing eye exams and contact lens fits since we are simply not qualified.

This is a national magazine which has a huge 20s to 50s professional male audience and he is making a ******ed statement.

I would like to write a professional letter to him to educate him on the differences of our education and who is truly more qualified to provide the care that he was looking for but I am NOT a good writer...

So, can anyone help me write a simple rebuttal letter to this dork why we are the experts in contact lens fitting??

 

[rpames]

This is something the AOA should take a hold of, in fact, the AMA should also get involved. I know that sounds extreme, but I have never spoken to an OMD who thinks they are better at CL fits than ODs. Something like that proves the editors ignorance on more than just one area of his life.

 

[KHE]

This is going to be a long post.
I am not sure if anyone subscribes to a magazine called 'Best Life' by Men's Health but latest issue had an article by the chief editor and it disturbed me quite a bit.

To make the story short.. 'He writes in this magazine that he was too dumb to correctly direct himself to the right personnel when it comes to his own health. He had an episode of corneal laceration while removing contact lenses and ended up in emergency room due to extreme pain. OMD on call, gave him some eyedrops and told him that it was due to ill fitting contact lenses fit by less qualified ODs. He states that now he understands that he should have correctly sought after care for his eyes.. He should have gone to OMD from the get go to get eye exams and be correctly fit with contacts by specialist and not by someone who is sitting behind a shiny dispensary room.

His conclusion was that we as americans do not correctly know who to go to receive the best health care and he was a victim of his own ignorance.

The emergency room OMD was just grandstanding. THere are a few doctors out there of all specialties, optometry included who will take every chance they can to run down another doctor or profession. Thankfully, these are relatively rare.

Its unfortunate that in this case the patient was a writer for a health magazine. (It's possible that thats why the doctor grandstanded)

Fact is, there are always going to be doctors out there like that. NOt much you can do about it.

 

[cpw]

I would take the article to some local ODs in your area (that are politically active) and see if they would help ya write a letter. I'm sure others have seen it and might even be working on it already.

I'd post a copy of the letter on the optcom board. Many very vocal ODs are there and many are very good writers. Make sure you post the editors/magazines address to submit letters to the editor.

I don't know one OMD in my area that fits contact lenses. They usually don't want to bother. When I was an intern with an OMD he used to grab me to fit contacts on any patients of his who wanted them.

 

[r_salis]

There is a post about it at odwire.org -- someone there should be able to get someone from the AOA to respond "officially" to the magazine.

I just read that editorial. Yikes. I agree with Tasteestuff that "Best Life" hits an important and educated demographic who really shouldn't be given such disinformation! I'm so disappointed because Men's Health is usually such a good magazine. 🙁

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

Send a copy to the director of your state OD association. They're best equipped to take action on things like this.

 

[Tasteestuff]

for anyone interested in this article, I have attached it below.

I have decided to send a letter to my state association because this ***** misinformed a huge audience and needs to be corrected.

Please, I am asking all of you to do the same and let your state association see this article and let's send a letter demanding clarification from this idiotic editor.

 

[cpw]

I'm really mad after reading that article !! It makes us sound like incompetant hacks with no doctoral education! 😡

I'm fowarding this to Dr Hyde

 

[Bravehrt]

I subscribe to this Men's Health since 2009 and have read many articles where ocular health articles had interviews with optometrists, not ophthalmologists. Its upsetting to see that the editor of the magazine would make such a statement and dedicate the whole magazine issue to a statement that demeans our profession. I agree we should definitely collaborate on writing the same person about this issue. Even students should get involved because this isnt the impression optometry wants to be known for.
-Bravehrt
P.S. If we can collaborate on writing the same person that would be great.

 

[cpw]

Okay, sent the article off to two docs I know to be active in AOA and AOA-PAC. (also Texas Optometry)

I'll see if i can get someone from FOA involved as well. If they get 200 letters they'll have to publish some kind of apology 😉

Get that ball rolling guys !

 

[mthomas2]

I read the article. Can't believe it. Count me in on sending my letter.

 

[sparikh]

Here is the article that I found online from people that wanted to read it.


One night a few years ago, I burst through the doors of a downtown hospital emergency room, staggering blind and in agony, and learned a few sharp lessons about American health care.

First, it's good to know that when you charge into a waiting room clutching your face and screaming, "My eyes! My eyes!" it tends to get taken relatively seriously, and you can quickly scoot ahead of the hematomas and heart palpitations and other humdrum health concerns piled up in the waiting room. (I may use this technique the next time I have a really bad splinter.)

I was on an examining table within minutes, and the ophthalmologist on duty quickly diagnosed that I had torn my cornea attempting to take out an ill-fitting contact lens, which had been prescribed for me by an optometrist in the back room of an eyeglasses store.

That was lesson number two: I'd been experiencing eye problems for a few years but never saw a specialist. If I had invested my time and money wisely, found a top ophthalmologist to give me an eye exam and properly fit me with contacts, I wouldn't have sheared away the outer layer of my eyeball trying to unstick what was stuck. But like most men, I took the easy way out and went to the local joint with the best frames in the window and the cutest optician behind the counter. Who would have thought that for something so simple, the right health-care provider would have made all the difference?

The best health care in the world exists right in this country, yet finding it is a struggle, and you have to be mercenary about demanding the right doctors' attention. So this month we sent the staff of Best Life poring over the studies and statistics and badgering the experts to identify the most important health issues for men and the single best place to go to address each of them.

Not all of these resources are available to all Americans; you need the means and the motivation to access the nation's best doctors. But you owe it to yourself, and your family, to click here and discover "America's Best Body Shops."

As for me, I've gotten religion when it comes to finding the perfect health-care provider -- I'll take even a case of poison ivy to be looked at by a specialist. Oh, and the contact lenses I'm wearing in the picture on this page? Prescribed by a top ophthalmologist, not by someone in the back of an eyeglasses store.

My wife and kids are too good-lookin' for me to settle for anything less.

Steve Perrine
Editor-in-chief

 

[Tasteestuff]

DONE my share. 🙂

My state reps have received it.

 

[gsinccom]

yeah you gotta love it when someone in the "infomation industry of journalism" gives us some unresearched opinion...aren't they supposed to take classes on fact checking🙂 maybe we should all research if his "...wife and kids are too good-lookin' for me to settle for anything less..." are really all that good looking afterall🙂 what a dick!

 

[Tasteestuff]

Updates anyone??

 

[cpw]

The Texas peeps forwarded it to the PR people at the AOA (from what I heard anyway)