Opening Lines

D.C.-AREA EYE DOCTOR SETS UP FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED

Physician offers procedures to visually impaired

■ After years of humanitarian missions around the world, J. Alberto Martinez, MD, has created a foundation to offering surgeries to help the visually impaired gain their sight. The Visionary Ophthalmology Foundation, a 501 (C)(3) eye health organization, was established in 2012, after many years of collaborating with others on humanitarian medical missions to Africa and Latin America. Dr. Martinez, who practices in Rockville, MD, will serve as the president. “I believe philanthropy is the greatest expression of human kind, and I feel blessed for being in the position to contribute to other people’s welfare,” Dr. Martinez says.

The foundation will fight blindness both in its own locale and abroad and will focus primarily on cataracts and corneal disease. It relies on support from partners and the time and efforts of volunteers. Dr. Martinez, who has been consistently named a “Top Doctor” by The Washingtonian magazine, provides funding himself through his private practice in Rockville, MD.

Dr. Martinez with a patient after performing corneal transplant surgery.

Dr. Martinez (right) performing cataract surgery in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

For more information: www.visionaryfoundation.net.

HIPAA ANNOUNCES UPDATES TO RULES

Along with new patient privacy measures, new penalties are described.

■ Announced updates to HIPAA regulations will be implemented three years after amendments to the patient privacy rules were proposed. Compliance is required by September 23rd. Among the more profound changes are provisions that now apply to business associates. These individuals will now be liable for noncompliance and could face increased penalties for violations. The maximum penalty, according to HHS, is set at $1.5 million and will be judged based on the severity of negligence. These rules extend to subcontractors who themselves are considered business associates. Covered entities and business associates will then have another year to modify contract in order to comply. A few of the changes include:

■ Provisions allowing patients paying in cash to instruct providers not to share information about their treatment with their health plan.

■ Provisions indicating patients can request electronic copies of their EMR.

■ New limits on what information can be disclosed for marketing and fund-raising.

■ Streamlined processes for patients to authorize their health information for research.

■ A simplified process for parents who want to share immunization information with their childrens’ schools.

STUDIES SHOW BETTER EYE HEALTH AMONG INSURED

Research suggests having vision insurance is necessary for patients’ ocular health

By Bill Kekevian, senior editor

■ Vision insurance is vital to ocular health, according to several recent studies. One study, published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, compared people with and without vision insurance. It found the insured were more likely to have had an eye care visit in the preceding year (64.3% versus 45.3%). That study, from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, also found those with insurance were more likely to report no difficulty seeing friends across the street or reading printed material. Led by Sudha Xirasagar, MBBS, PhD, researchers examined data from 27,152 adults ages 40 to 64. Of the participants, 11.6% had diagnoses of glaucoma, cataracts, AMD or a combination of ailments.

About 40.6% of the total population and 38.1% of the subgroup with eye disease did not have any vision insurance. Most, however, had general health insurance (86% and 88.6%, respectively).

A study presented at the 2012 ARVO meeting concluded low-income patients older than age 65 without access to government-insured annual eye exams were at increased risk of vision problems. That study, led by Yaping Jin of the University of Toronto, showed higher incidents of non-refractive vision problems in households with an income below mid-level than in those at mid-level or higher and in non-Caucasians compared to Caucasians. Amongst those Caucasians with incomes below mid-level, the prevalence of non-refractive vision problems was greater in those with no insurance than it was in those with insurance. The mean age of diagnoses of glaucoma and cataracts was about two years later for those without insurance than for those with insurance. The study involved about 460 participants.

IN BRIEF

Groups Revise Pediatric Eye Care Guidelines

The Vision Screening Committee of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus has revised its guidelines for automated preschool vision screening. The new guidelines were published in the February issue of the Journal of AAPOS. For more information, visit www.aapos.org.

VMA Treatment, Jetrea, Now Available to Patients

Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group is the first on the West Coast to offer patients Jetrea (ocriplasmin), a new non-surgical treatment option for patients with symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion (VMA). In October 2012 the FDA approved Jetrea as the first pharmacological agent for the treatment of VMA. The injection became available to patients in February.

LensAR Laser Receives New FDA Clearances

LensAR Inc.’s femtosecond laser system received 510(k) FDA clearance for executing corneal incisions during cataract surgery. The system is now cleared for all critical components of laser cataract surgery, including lens fragmentation, anterior capsulotomy (with or without phacofragmentation) and corneal incisions.

Haag-Streit USA Announces New Business Unit

Haag-Streit USA recently announced the launch of Haag-Streit Surgical, a new unit that will market a line of surgical microscopes that already enjoy significant market share in Europe. Formerly known as Möller-Wedel, the devices are now being offered in the U.S. under the new Haag-Streit Surgical brand.

Identifying Alzheimer’s Disease Through the Eyes

Acton, Massachuset-based Cognoptix announced that it has begun a 40-patient clinical trial of its SAPPHIRE II eye test designed to identify Alzheimer’s disease patients via a beta amyloid (“Ab”) signature in their eyes. The test is significantly faster and less expensive than brain-imaging, says the company.