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It's all connected: the energy-economy-ophthalmology nexus
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What does big oil have to do with our modest boutique profession of eye care? Most of the major petroleum fields of the world have passed their peak production and are rapidly depleting, which is why oil prices spiked last year just before the Great Recession. Although oil prices have been sharply lower since then, some economists and peak-oil theorists agree that as post-recession oil demand rises, reserve capacity will be stretched thin and barrel prices will be briskly leveraged back upward into triple digits, snuffing out the nascent global economic recovery. A U.S. economy that falls backward or only grows anemically will have several knock-on effects for eye care providers, including:
- A longer period of high unemployment, constraining the rolls of insured patients and snapping purses and wallets closed;
- Depressed consumer confidence, retarding the purchase of elective services;
- A stronger pretext for health care reform and/or draconian Medicare fee reductions; and
- Sustained challenges for others in the eye care community, including manufacturers of ophthalmic equipment and products.
Get more expert perspective from John Pinto live at Hawaiian Eye 2010, to be held January 17-22, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt Kauai. Learn more at OSNHawaiianEye.com