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TARGET YOUR CAMPAIGNS BY MONTH

Each turn of the calendar offers a new marketing opportunity

A targeted marketing campaign delivers to your audience timely and relevant information on a regular basis. Since ophthalmology practices can provide a wealth of information on any number of topics related to vision and health, how do practices decide what topics to promote and when to promote them? One way is to customize your marketing messages and patient education by announcing timely events. For example, consider using “The American Academy of Ophthalmology Calendar of Monthly Observances” as a reference point.

For 2015, the observances include:

January:

Glaucoma Awareness Month

February:

Age-Related Macular Degeneration Awareness & Low Vision Awareness Month

March:

Workplace Eye Wellness Month & Eye Donor Awareness Month

April:

Sports Eye Safety Month & National Minority Health Month

May:

Healthy Vision Month & UV Safety Month

June:

Cataract Awareness Month & Fireworks Eye Safety Month

July:

Celebrate Senior Independence (Low Vision Awareness) & Dry Eye Month

August:

Children’s Eye Health & Safety Month/Back to School Eye Health

September:

Healthy Aging Month

October:

World Sight Day (Oct. 8), Eye Injury Prevention Month & Halloween Safety Month

November:

Diabetic Eye Disease Awareness Month

December:

Safe Toys & Celebrations Month

Note: These observances are subject to change. For the most up-to-date calendar, visit the Academy website (www.aao.org/newsroom).

AAO acquires rare ophthalmic book collection

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has acquired the Spencer E. Sherman, MD, antique ophthalmology book collection for its Museum of Vision public service program.

Among the 130-plus rare texts, the collection features Georg Bartisch’s “Ophthalmodouleia: Das ist Augendienst” (“That is the Service of the Eye”) (1583). The book is considered the first systematic work on ocular disease and ophthalmic surgery, and its ophthalmic atlas includes woodcuts depicting eye disease, surgical methodology, and instrumentation.

The collection will be displayed at the national AAO headquarters in San Francisco.

COURTESY: AAO

TIPS FOR AVOIDING COMPUTER EYE STRAIN

Give your eyes a much-needed break from the computer screen

With the increasing use of computers and smart devices, patients of all ages and their caregivers often need reliable information on computer-related eye strain.

Consider the following tips for your patients (and you):

• Follow the 20-20-20 rule. One of the most popular tips for minimizing eye strain is to take a break from the screen every 20 minutes and look at an object at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds or longer.

• Blink often. People blink less frequently when working on computers and smart devices. The site allabout vision.com recommends that every 20 minutes, blink 10 times slowly, as if you were falling asleep.

• Post a note on the computer or device that says “BLINK!” Geteyesmart.org, which presents eye health information from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, suggests this easy method for reminding you to blink.

• Tweak the factory-installed settings. If your computer is causing eye discomfort, adjust the brightness, contrast, and font size until you find the best settings, says WebMD.

• Sit about 25 inches from the screen and position it so the eyes gaze slightly downward. This, along with reducing glare, can help ease eye strain, says geteyesmart.org.

• Stay off the e-reader before bed time. Not exactly an eye-health tip, but according to a recent study published in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, light-emitting electronic devices used immediately before bedtime may cause sleep deficiency and disrupt circadian rhythms, both of which impact performance, health, and safety. OP