News Blinks — September 30, 2016

Here’s a quick look at some industry news you may have missed this week. 

• The American Optometric Association (AOA) recently announced legislation had been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would ensure online sellers of contact lenses are held accountable for deceptive, abusive and illegal sales tactics that threaten patient health.
• With Halloween around the corner, the American Academy of Ophthalmology recently released a consumer-oriented press release warning patients of the risks of wearing contact lenses without a prescription.
• The Western University of Health Sciences’ College of Optometry recently celebrated the opening of its Eye Care Institute as part of its Patient Care Center in Pomona, Calif. Originally the Eye Care Center, the Institute will continue to offer comprehensive patient care and education from experienced WesternU faculty and interns, as it has since its opening.
• Visionworks and Davis Vision have teamed up to provide up to 4,000 free eye exams and glasses to students in Chicago Public Schools through their Let's Go See initiative. Additionally, Visionworks is purchasing passes from the Chicago Transit Authority to ensure CPS families have transportation to and from their eye exams.
• A study conducted by the Orange County Business Council shows Allergan's California operations have generated a combined annual economic activity in the state of approximately $6.35 billion and net economic impact of $3.45 billion.
• Latham and Phillips Ophthalmic (LPO) Products have recently entered into a partnership with Briot USA that will allow both companies to provide customers with a portfolio of products and services across the full spectrum of optical finishing equipment, classical lane and high-tech ophthalmic equipment.
• The Cooper Companies — parent company of CooperVision, Inc. — has joined recently joined Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
• Vision Benefits of America (VBA) recently announced Costco Optical was now a participating retailer, reportedly providing members with additional opportunities to maintain and manage their eye health.
• Protective eyewear use by hospital and operating room (OR) staff is decreasing despite an increase in eye-related infection risk, according to scientific research by TIDI Products, LLC presented at the recent 2016 OR Manager Conference in Las Vegas.
• A new study conducted by the University of Phoenix® College of Health Professions School of Health Services Administration says that nearly three out of four (72 percent) U.S. adults are concerned that their online healthcare records are vulnerable to hackers. However, 59 percent are comfortable with healthcare records being transmitted across networks and even across country borders.
• New research has found doctors many times avoid getting help for depression and other mental illnesses, with two-thirds surveyed citing perceived stigma concerns as the reason.
• And Jamal Robinson, founder of DESIAR Eyewear, was recently awarded $35,000 as the winner of the 2016 New Venture Competition by Ivy Tech Community College Northeast. Robinson will reportedly be using the funds to kick-off his new line of Hoosier wooden eyewear that are manufactured in Indiana.