Scott A. Edmonds, OD, FAAO

I am a lifelong Billy Joel fan. I started to follow the Piano Man when he was making the college tours in the 1970s. My wife and I had our first date at one of his concerts.

My wife is a lifelong Steelers fan; this, despite the fact that she has spent her entire adult life in Philadelphia. Born in the Pittsburgh area, she constantly informs me that Steeler fans are born into it, and it doesn’t change.

America is the land of the free and home of the brave.

The calendar finally turned to the long awaited 2020, “year of the optometrist,” and so far, our special year is off to a rough start.

Never in the history of American health care has there been such chaos, confusion and concern for the welfare of our citizens. Although often criticized for our high cost, limited access and our emphasis on treatment rather than prevention, Americans have been confident in our quality of care and successful outcomes.

As the days drag on for many of us sheltering at home, there is plenty of time for us to consider our personal role in this pandemic as well as that of our profession.

These are unprecedented times for all of us. The last pandemic was the H1H1 flu virus of 2009. Although that outbreak resulted in over 60 million cases in the U.S. and unfolded over the course of a year, the mortality rate was only 0.02%.

As an optometrist interested in the evolution of my profession to include more primary health care, I have my Healio email subscriptions and alerts set to receive the Primary Care News Wire. Although I often just skim these articles, I sometimes find an item of interest that has implications for optometry. Such was the case last month when I read, “New diabetes guideline reflects change in glucose therapy considerations.” Published online on Jan. 22, 2020, this article will affect my doctoring of patients with diabetes as well as those at risk for developing the disease.

The hot topic of discussion in health care reform this winter revolves around patient access to their medical information.

With the year winding down, many of us are reviewing the numbers for 2019, looking for Section 179 purchase items for this tax year and planning for the new year of the optometrist, 2020.