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Optometry, ophthalmology academies plan educational collaboration
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The American Academy of Optometry and the American Academy of Ophthalmology announced in a joint press release that the organizations plan to “advance mutual continuing education programs for enhanced patient care.”
The release said the groups are fostering a collaborative approach to providing care for the growing number of U.S. patients who will seek eye care in the near future due to the increasing prevalence of chronic disease and health care reform.
“The professions of optometry and ophthalmology complement each other in many ways,” American Academy of Optometry President Bernard J. Dolan, OD, MS, said in the release. “It is refreshing to embark on this cooperative initiative in the area of continuing education to improve patient care in a collegial environment of mutual respect.”
“More and more ophthalmologists are practicing with optometrists in the same point-of-care environment and are seeking information and models that will optimize the impact for patients,” American Academy of Ophthalmology Chief Executive Officer David W. Parke II, MD, said in the release. “The better prepared our two professions are and the more effectively they work together, the better care we will be able to provide for all patients.”
The organizations anticipate that the educational programs will be developed over the next 12 to 18 months and formally launch in 2015. In the meantime, they are soliciting feedback from their respective memberships.