From Vision Monday
WATERLOO, Ontario—A newly published review paper addresses the dangers and consequences of inappropriate soft contact lens substitution by consumers and resellers, offering an objective, evidence-based perspective on a globally proliferating issue. The paper, “All soft contact lenses are not created equal,” is now in press from Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, the peer-reviewed journal of the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA), according to a recent announcement by the Centre for Ocular Research and Education (CORE). Its authors represent some of the most prominent researchers in the contact lens field: Nathan Efron, Phillip Morgan, Jason Nichols, Karen Walsh, Mark Willcox, James Wolffsohn, and Lyndon Jones, who is director of CORE, which is based here.

It seems to happen all too often. Pick up the phone in the office, and it’s a contact lens prescription verification request that may need to be replayed more than once to be understood. The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety notes, “Confirming the accuracy of contact lens prescriptions, which includes several specifications, is far too complicated for an automated phone system or robocall. Information relayed in these robocalls is oftentimes garbled or does not align with a patient’s medical record—making it difficult, or even impossible, for a doctor to correctly identify the patient and proper prescription within the eight-hour passive verification window.” This message from Johnson & Johnson Vision Care sends a glimmer of hope to eliminate this problem, but only if we all take action.

In 1951, Czech chemist Otto Wichterle developed the first soft contact lens polymer made from hydrophilic hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). The water-loving lens allowed more oxygen to pass through to the cornea. The early lenses were made by filling small molds with the polymer, then allowed to harden. The resulting “buttons” were then cut to the desired prescription. The edges had to be smoothed by hand. Clearly, a more efficient way to make the lenses was needed.

I knew Andy Karp, Group Editor Lenses and Technology for Vision Monday and 20/20 Magazine, was a musician, but I didn’t know the extent of his talents.