Regulatory/Legislative News

The Idaho House of Representatives passed legislation Feb. 6 designed to update Idaho’s Optometric Physician Licensing Act to better reflect current practice, licensing and duties of the State Board of Optometry, the Idaho Optometric Physician Association stated in a publicly available informational sheet.

Leaders from the FDA and the National Institute on Drug Abuse said during a recent House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing that there is a pressing need for federal laws that allow more research into marijuana, including research investigating the effects of different amounts of THC.

The CustomFlex artificial iris was granted transitional pass-through payment status from CMS, effective Jan. 1, 2020.

Vyzulta has been approved in Mexico for the reduction of IOP in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension, Nicox announced in a press release.

Twelve ophthalmology leaders have signed a public letter to the U.K. government calling for a national plan to address sight loss, according to a press release from Fight for Sight.

As a new decade begins, Healio.com/OSN looks back at some of our biggest stories in the past 10 years. Over the years, ophthalmology has evolved to include new treatment options, both surgical and pharmaceutical, for numerous conditions affecting every part of the eye.

On Wednesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced that it agreed with a district court that the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate was unconstitutional, but it sent the case back to the district court for additional analysis.

Today, HHS officials announced that they are seeking public input on two broad strategies that would, for the first time, allow “safe and affordable” prescription drugs to be imported from Canada.

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority has cleared Roche’s pending acquisition of Spark Therapeutics, ruling the deal would not negatively affect competition, according to a press release.

Heavy workloads, medical errors and sleep deprivation are recognized factors that can affect the mental health of training physicians. Recently, however, researchers discovered that political events could sour the mood of young doctors and have “professional consequences.”