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Load the dice in your favor after PRK approval
With the Food and Drug Administration's approval of photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), an industry of unknown proportions is about to be born. Although many optometrists, ophthalmologists and entrepreneurial firms have been busy preparing for this moment, the fickle forces of public acceptance have yet to make themselves felt. If the ultimate fate of PRK is a crap shoot, the dice are still up in the air.
The best way to make sure they fall in your favor is, first, through knowledge, and second, through action. PRIMARY CARE OPTOMETRY NEWS can help on both counts.
In this issue of PRIMARY CARE OPTOMETRY NEWS, John Potter, OD, describes the specific steps an optometrist can take to gain--within 30 days--a profitable foothold in the flow of patients receiving refractive surgery.
Elsewhere in this issue, the ink on PRK approval is barely dry and it's easy to find people ready to leapfrog over it. Surgeon Albert C. Neumann predicts laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) will soon be the procedure of choice for many myopes. Optometrists Jeffrey M. Augustine and Karen B. Murray also have kind words for LASIK.
Several other articles feature laser refractive surgery centers and education for the refractive surgery patient.
You might check the pilot issue of PRIMARY CARE OPTOMETRY NEWS for an enlightening interview with Lou Catania, OD, who outlines the various laser center companies that have sprung up to deliver PRK. Then take action by contacting any of the companies listed.
If you would like to see what your colleagues are saying about PRK approval, or post a comment of your own, visit the Refractive Surgery portion of our Specialty Forums.
Consider checking out this Web site at least weekly in order to keep up on our Breaking News updates. An entirely new issue of PRIMARY CARE OPTOMETRY NEWS will appear here monthly. In February, expect to receive the first of our monthly print editions, which will have much material that is interactive with our Web page.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions on how we can improve this Web site. It's all part of how we aim to load the dice in your favor.