Dec 2016

News
in brief
NEW BRIEN HOLDEN AWARD
The American Academy of Optometry (AAO)
announced the establishment of the Brien
Holden Humanitarian Award to honour the
memory and work of the late great eye-care
humanitarian, Professor Brien Holden. The
new award, established by the Brien Holden
Vision Institute and the Holden family estate,
will be administered by the AAO and awarded
annually to an individual or organisation who
has made significant contributions to improve
eye care within a country or region.
NOVARTIS ALCON SALE?
Drugmaker Novartis is considering selling its Alcon eye care division,
chairman Joerg Reinhardt confirmed in an interview with Swiss
weekly SonntagsZeitung. Alcon was bought from Nestlé in 2010
after a lengthy series of deals totalling US$52bn as part of former
CEO Dan Vasella’s vision to build a European healthcare giant. Since
Vasella’s departure in 2013, Novartis has switched focus back to its
prescription drugs and Sandoz generics business units, leaving Alcon
to struggle, say commentators. “In the long run, the question arises
as to whether we are the best owner for Alcon,” said Reinhardt.
BETTER TESTS FOR HYPEROPES
Research suggests noncycloplegic retinoscopy and the Retinomax
autorefractor are better for detecting moderate hyperopia in
children than other tests. The study, led by Dr Bruce Moore from
the Massachusetts College of Optometry, screened more than
4,000 three to five year olds for amblyopia, strabismus, significant
cycloplegic refractive error and reduced visual acuity.
AUSTRALIAN EYE-HEALTH REVEALED
The results of the first Australian
National Eye Health Survey were
revealed on World Sight Day in
October showing indigenous
Australians are three time more
likely to suffer from blindness
and vision impairment than the
non-indigenous population; and
cataracts were the leading cause of blindness among indigenous
Australians, while age-related macular degeneration was the
main cause in the rest of the population. For more, visit www.
vision2020australia.org.au
ODOB FEE, PRACTICES REVIEWS
The ODOB is conducting reviews of the 2017/18 fees and optometry
scopes of practice. Consultation documents can be viewed on the
ODOB website, www.odob.health.nz. Submissions are due by the 9
and 23 December 2016 respectively.
RANZCO UNDER FIRE
Optometry Australia has criticised RANZCO’s Referral Pathway for
Glaucoma Management released in August. The RANZCO guideline
document “fails to reflect the diversity of optometry expertise
and clinical circumstances and optometrists’ scope of practice,
and diverges from current guidelines,” said Optometry Australia,
in a statement released after consultation with the industry.
“The RANZCO referral pathway was developed without advice
from Optometry Australia, the professional organisation which
represents the optometry profession in Australia, yet it seeks to
advise our profession on patient care… Though RANZCO has every
right to release referral pathways to its own members, it does
not have authority to instruct the optometry profession on how
patients should be managed or referred,” said national president
Kate Gifford.
PHARMAC PARTNERSHIP
PHARMAC announced a new partnership with the Best Practice
Advocacy Centre NZ, based in Dunedin, and the Goodfellow Unit
of Auckland University, to support prescribing decisions and
promote responsible use of medicines. The partnership will provide
healthcare professionals with high-quality clinical information
to enhance patient care and prevent the overuse or misuse of
medication, said PHARMAC deputy medical director, Dr Bryan Betty.
EXAGGERATED BLUE LIGHT CLAIMS CRITICISED
UK high street opticians Boots and Vision Express have come under
fire again in UK media for making allegedly exaggerated and bogus
claims about the dangers of blue light from devices. Researchers
for the BBC’s Watchdog programme (similar to Fair Go) found Boots
staff are still misleading customers even after the Advertising
Standards Authority banned Boots’ adverts last year. It was found
there was no good scientific evidence to support the chain’s claims
about their Protect Plus Blue lenses.
DEXTENZA PASSES PHASE III
Professor Brien Holden
Indigenous populations have different eyehealth
needs
Ocular Therapeutix announced positive topline results from its
phase III clinical trial of Dextenza (dexamethasone insert) 0.4 mg,
for the treatment of post-surgical ocular inflammation and pain.
The trial achieved statistically significant differences between
the treatment group and the placebo group for the absence of
inflammatory cells on day 14 and the absence of pain on day eight,
respectively, said the company. ▀
CONTINUED FROM P3
devices; the mid, near to intermediate devices; and Room, more
intermediate and extended vision (the television across the room).
The new lenses are aimed at new and existing presbyope wearers
looking for a solution for the office, specific occupational needs and
other activities; people whose head/body posture is causing them
discomfort when they use their computers; or people whose hobbies
and leisure activities (like needlework) require specific correction.
The new lenses are available in all materials including Transitions
photochromic lenses and all coatings, and are available to all.
Sunglass deal for Essilor partners
Also announced at the Essilor Platinum Partners roadshow is the
company’s new promotion to encourage more practices to sell more
prescription sunglasses, Sun2Max.
Research (Essilor’s and others) shows there’s a massive opportunity to
grow revenues by growing sunglass sales, said Guy Parbury, Essilor NZ’s
business development consultant.
Seasonality in sunglass sales is not so much driven by the seasons,
but by the enthusiasm of practice managers when their new sunglass
stock arrives, he said. “You can sell sunglasses through the year.
Seasonality is driven by our behaviour, not our patients behaviour.”
Practice owners should ask themselves: do we have the frames
to sell? Do we display them well? Do we have the right offer?
Do our patients know our offer? Do we offer it at the right time?
Sunglasses should be displayed all year round and should be displayed
prominently alongside other frames, and patients should be given a
simple and very cost effective offer to encourage them to buy. This
It’s been a big couple of months for Wanakabased
practice Eyes on Ardmore, who unveiled
its new brand, Ocula, on 24 November.
“Eyes on Ardmore was recently remodelled in
anticipation of the new name, bringing it in line
with the new, modern concept,” said Danielle Ross,
director and principal optometrist.
A new, second practice under the Ocula name
will be opening on 9 December in Queenstown,
owned by Danielle Ross and eyewear specialist
John Winstone, who acquired Bridgman and Dean’s
Queenstown practice in November. All the patient
records from Bridgman & Dean Queenstown are
being transferred to Ocula.
Drivewear becomes sportswear
Younger Optics’ award-winning polarised photochromatic
Transitions Drivewear lenses and plano sunglasses are flying
off the shelf, not for driving, but for sports people, says the
company, leading to a whole new consumer marketing campaign and
a new focus.
“Transitions Drivewear has been around for a few years now and it
was originally developed as a driving lens, but what we’ve found over
the last couple of years is that we are selling more and more to sports
people,” says Craig Johnston, Younger Optics’ ANZ national sales and
marketing director.
The lens is proving particularly popular with fishermen, golfers and
cyclists, so for the first time the company has launched a direct-toconsumer
marketing campaign in several Australian golf, fishing and
cycling magazines, many of which are also available in New Zealand.
The consumer campaign is echoed in practices with free point-of-sale
materials, such as window posters, counter cards and brochures so
eye care professionals can offer their sporty patients an edge, says
can either be at the end of their visit, after they’ve selected their new
frames and lenses or, if this is too much information for them, when
they come back to collect their new glasses, suggested Parbury.
This simple offer, however, was not simple in the making with Essilor
engaging a marketing consultancy and contacting all its preferred
frame partners to tie together something that works. The result:
with every pair of prescription glasses a patient buys from an Essilor
Platinum Partner, that patient can also buy a pair of sunglasses, with
exactly the same prescription, coatings etc. for just $249.
All lenses include Crizal Sun UV for added UV protection, and have
the Cancer Society NZ tick of approval. Excluded are more high-end
sunglass frames, and it costs an extra $80 for patients to upgrade to
polarised lenses.
New point-of-sale and window display materials have been produced
and are available now for any partner practice that wishes to give it a
go. The one trial practice that had, at the time of presentation, grew its
sunglass sales from a yearly average of 6% to 18% in one week and 22%
in week two, said Parbury. “So why wouldn’t you give it a go!”
For more marketing wisdom from the Essilor Platinum Partner’s
roadshow, see February’s NZ Optics.
Would you like Transitions with that?
All change for Eyes on Ardmore
Fisherman and golfers are opting for Transitions Drivewear to give them “an edge”
With evidence showing that once people have tried photochromatic
lenses, they tend to stay with them, Essilor is also offering its
Platinum Partners the opportunity to encourage their patients to
give Transition lenses a go by making Transitions free with EyeZen
or Digitime lens from now until the end of the year! ▀
“Ocula exists to deliver an exceptional eyecare
and eyewear experience, providing full-scope
optometry, the latest diagnostic equipment and a
range of exclusive eyewear brands,” said Ross.
Eyes on Ardmore has been serving Wanaka since
2001, with Ross acquiring the business in 2009.
The company’s focus is on providing a high level
of clinical expertise backed up by retail innovation
and excellent customer service, said Ross.
Reflecting this, Eyes on Ardmore’s team was
the recipient of the prestigious Outstanding in
Professional Services award at the inaugural
Wanaka Chamber of Commerce Business Awards in
November. ▀
PICTURE FROM CAMPAIGN
John Winstone and Danielle Ross at the
Wanaka Chamber of Commerce Business
Awards
Johnston. “That’s the whole concept behind the campaign, because
that’s what our Drivewear lenses do, they enhance your vision, to give
you that extra edge, make you that little bit better at what you do.”
Younger’s free point-of-sale materials are available in New Zealand
and if the consumer campaign is successful in Australia – which it’s
looking like it will be, says Johnston – it’s very likely this will be rolled
out in similar magazines in New Zealand.
The new marketing drive also gives the company an opportunity to
re-educate the market about Transitions Drivewear lenses as they are
still unique, says Johnston.
Transitions Drivewear lenses are the only polarised, photochromatic
lenses that automatically change to three different colours, while
darkening and lightening.
“The lenses change colour for a reason. The colours are designed to
enhance vision and increase your visual field depth. That’s why sports
people have picked them up, because they enhance the colour of
the ball, the undulations on a golf course, and give you better vision,
blocking blinding glare, whether you’re cycling, fishing or whatever.”
More and more ophthalmologists in Australia and the US are also
prescribing them for their low vision patients, says Johnston. “They
can’t increase their patients’ prescriptions, but by enhancing their
vision through colour, they can enhance their vision and increase
their depth of field.”
According to the company’s marketing materials, “in bright sunlight
Transitions Drivewear darkens up to a 90% tint with a dark brown
colour to block intense light. While in overcast conditions, the lens
lightens to an olive colour with a 63% tint allowing wearers to see
more of their world. When driving or in mid-light conditions, the
lens darkens or lightens to a copper colour with approximately 75%
tint for excellent depth perception and enhanced contrast for visual
quality and safety.”
Developed with ophthalmologists and optometrists in the US,
Transitions Drivewear combines Transitions’ photochromic technology
and Younger Optics’ NuPolar polarisation. The lenses are available
in 1.50 hard resin, high-impact polycarbonate and Younger’s Trilogy
materials and come in a wide range of designs and prescriptions. ▀
To order the free point-of-sale material visit
www.drivewear.com/ECP
www.nzoptics.co.nz | PO Box 106954, Auckland 1143 | New Zealand
For general enquiries, please email info@nzoptics.co.nz
For editorial and classifieds, please contact Jai Breitnauer, editor, on 022 424 9322 or editor@nzoptics.co.nz.
For advertising, marketing, the OIG and everything else, please contact Lesley Springall, publisher, on 027 445 3543 or lesley@nzoptics.co.nz.
To submit artwork, or to query a graphic, please email lesley@nzoptics.co.nz.
NZ Optics magazine is the industry publication for New Zealand’s ophthalmic community. It is published monthly, 11 times a year, by New Zealand Optics 2015 Ltd. Copyright is held by
NZ Optics 2015 Ltd. As well as the magazine and the website, NZ Optics publishes the annual New Zealand Optical Information Guide (OIG), a comprehensive listing guide that profiles the
products and services of the industry. NZ Optics is an independent publication and has no affiliation with any organisations. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily
those of NZ Optics (2015) Ltd.
4 NEW ZEALAND OPTICS December 2016